Anti-Semitism on the rise in this Arab nation
Feb. 22, 2009
It wasn’t the repeated death threats that caused Sa'adia Ben Yisrael to decide it was for him and his family to move to Israel. A grenade thrown at his home was the final straw.
Ben Israel, a leader in the tiny Jewish community, and his family of nine left the Muslim nation for Israel in a secret airlift planned by the Jewish Agency and Israeli officials. Another man joined the entourage.
Jewish Agency Spokesman Michael Jankelowitz refused to say how the 10 were rescued, citing security concerns, but said they had been threatened by al-Qaida and that the grenade attack on the family's home could have been carried out by al Qaida-affiliated extremists. No one was injured in the attack.
There are only 280 Jews left in Yemen, most of them in the newly constructed Jewish Quarter in Raida, where anti-Semitism is on the rise. About 50 live in Sanaa, the capital. Yemenite Jews have the special protection of the President of Yemen Ali Abdallah Salah. However, anti-Semitic attacks have escalated in recent years culminating in the murder of Moshe Yaish Nahari, father of 9, by a Muslim extremist, in December.
Following Israel's recent three-week offensive in Gaza, threats against Yemeni Jews rose significantly.
"They're actually in great danger,” said Rabbi Moshe Tenamil. “They're in real danger, we know who we're dealing with.”
Ezra Tzubari, Ben-Yisrael's cousin, said he hoped the family's decision would encourage others to do the same.
"To the people still there in Yemen who are even a little in danger – just come here and see this completely different world," he said.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment