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.
Feb 22, 2009
Random Katyusha lands in the north, wounds three
Feb. 22, 2009
A Katyusha rocket fired from Lebanon on Saturday nearly hit home in Israel’s western Galilee region, injured three family members in that home and damaged the building.
A second Katyusha was said to have landed in Lebanon. Israel fired into southern Lebanon. No warning sirens went off and no group claimed responsibility for firing the rockets.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Lebanon was committed to implementing UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended a month-long war between Israel and Hizballah in 2006, but blamed Israel’s counter attack for threatening the area's.
"Prime Minister Siniora (said) the rockets launched from the south threaten security and stability in this region and are a violation of resolution 1701, and these issues are rejected, condemned and denounced ... Israeli artillery (fire is an) inexcusable violation of Lebanese sovereignty," the statement said.
Hizballah denied involvement in the attack.
A Katyusha rocket fired from Lebanon on Saturday nearly hit home in Israel’s western Galilee region, injured three family members in that home and damaged the building.
A second Katyusha was said to have landed in Lebanon. Israel fired into southern Lebanon. No warning sirens went off and no group claimed responsibility for firing the rockets.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Lebanon was committed to implementing UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended a month-long war between Israel and Hizballah in 2006, but blamed Israel’s counter attack for threatening the area's.
"Prime Minister Siniora (said) the rockets launched from the south threaten security and stability in this region and are a violation of resolution 1701, and these issues are rejected, condemned and denounced ... Israeli artillery (fire is an) inexcusable violation of Lebanese sovereignty," the statement said.
Hizballah denied involvement in the attack.
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