Many readers have been emailing YW regarding the plight of the Yemeni Jews who have fled their homes after being threatened (as reported on YW). This article from the Yemeni Observer is the latest information available:

The Yemeni Jews threatened by extremists were still far away from their homes until late Thursday, despite the government’s promises to see them returned and punish those behind the threats. The governor of Sada’a, Yahya al-Shami, said repeatedly that arrangements were underway to return the Jews to their homes in Al-Salem in Al-Haid in Sa’ada province, with a security escort. 

However, he did not set a date for the return of the 45 Jews who have been staying in the Paris Tower hotel in Sada’a town since January 17th. The Jews fled their homes after receiving a threatening letter that told them to leave the country. The letter claimed that the Jews were spreading vice.  

“Yemen pays all attention and care for the Jewish community, they are Yemeni citizens, and nobody dares to harass them or evacuate them from their houses,” said al-Shami. The governor said that primary investigations have shown that the threats against the Jews were released by elements affiliated with “the officially banned Al-Shabab al-Mumen,” a Shiite group loyal to the slain cleric Badr al-Deen al-Houthi.
 
“The threats were released by an irresponsible man who is now being hunted down, and he will be brought to justice, once he has been arrested,” the governor said. Israel has expressed concerns over the threats against the Jewish community in Yemen, but the Yemeni government said that the Jews are Yemeni citizens and that they are being protected by the constitution and by Yemeni laws.   The Yemenis Jews have also refused any interference from Israel on this issue.

“We are Yemenis living under the flag of the State of Yemen, we do not care about the Israeli statements, because Israel has nothing to do with us, and we have nothing to do with it, it has no right to interfere in our affairs,” the state-run SEPTEMBER NET website quoted Yahya Yaish, chief rabbi of the Yemeni Jewish community as saying. “We are living our life naturally, we are practicing our religion freely under the auspices of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who deals with us the same way he deals with the rest of Yemenis,” the rabbi Yaish added. 

Most of Yemen’s Jews were brought over to Israel during a well-known operation called the Magic Carpet in 1949-50, following the 1948 Muslim riots that destroyed the Jewish community in Aden and killed 82 people. There were about 63,000 Jews in Yemen in 1948. Now, only about 400 Jews remain in the country, most of whom are living in Raida, in the Amran province.  

“After an accurate surveillance of the Jews who are residing in Al-Haid, it has become clear to us that they were doing things which serve mainly Zionism, which seeks to corrupt the people and distance them from their principles, their values, their morals, and their religion, and spread all kinds of vice in the society,” said the letter, a copy of which was faxed to the Yemen Observer. The letter was signed by a man called Yahya Sad al-Khudhair, who described himself as the leader of al-Houthi supporters in Al-Salem, the place where the Jews live. 

The handwritten letter concluded with the words: Allah is Greater, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse to Jews, and Victory to Islam. The words form the slogan of the slain Shiite cleric, Hussein Badr al-Deen al-Houthi, who was accused by the government of rebellion.  The Jews submitted a relatively lengthy complaint to the governor of Sa’ada, appealing to him to protect them and return them to their homes.  

“It is not a secret that we are “Themmies” (free non-Muslims, enjoying the Muslims’ protection), we are in the protection of the Prophet Mohammed, and in the protection of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. We are in your protection. We would rather die than leave our homes,” stated the complaint, which was signed by the Jews of Auzair.