Thursday, February 19, 2009
Ten Jews from Yemen arrive in Israel today
In a clandestine operation, the Jewish Agency for Israel brings a community leader and his family
Some 280 Jews remain in Yemen, under increasing threat from Al Qaeda groups
In a special Jewish Agency aliyah operation, ten new immigrants from Yemen arrived in Israel today (Thursday, February 19). The immigrants included Sayid Ben Yisrael, a leader of the 200-strong Jewish community in Raida, Yemen, his wife and their seven children, and another Yemenite Jew.
After landing in Israel, the Ben Yisrael family travelled with Jewish Agency staff to Beit Shemesh, where they will settle. The other new immigrant will be going to the Jewish Agency’s Ye'elim Absorption Center in Beersheva. Yemenite families will receive a special grant of $10,000 when they arrive in Israel.
To date, there are 280 Jews still in Yemen, about 230 in the city of Raida and 50 in the capital of Sanaa, who moved there after their town came under attack by terrorists associated with Al Qaeda. While Yemenite Jews have the special protection of the Yemenite President Ali Abdallah Salah, there have been growing harassment and attacks on Jews in recent years. These events climaxed with the December 10 murder of Moshe Yaish-Nahiri, father of nine and Hebrew teacher in the local school, who was shot dead near his home in Raida by a Muslim fundamentalist. In response, the Yemenite government paid to relocate the city’s Jews to the capital of Sanaa in January to better protect the community, but some Jews were refusing to move, according to a Yemenite news report, fearing it put them at yet greater danger.
Working through several clandestine channels to ensure the safety of both those who chose to come and those who chose to stay, the Jewish Agency launched a special operation to bring Yemenite Jewish community members to Israel.
Rescuing Jews from persecution and ensuring their safety and success in Israel is a core mission of the Jewish Agency, said Aliyah Department Director Eli Cohen, who welcomed the new arrivals at Ben Gurion Airport. "The Jewish Agency is working continuously to ensure the safety of the Yemenite Jewish community in light of recent events. We will strive to bring as many Jews as possible who are interested in moving to Israel from Yemen as quickly as possible.”
Credit for all photos: Sasson Tiram / Jewish Agency for Israel
The Jewish Agency is supported by founding constituent partners: Keren Hayesod, United Jewish Communities and Jewish federations around the world; and primary funders: Keren Hayesod, United Jewish Communities and major Jewish Federations in North America, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
