Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, former Chief Rabbi of Israel and spiritual leader of the Shas party, has called on the remaining Jews in Yemen to immigrate to Israel. Most of the remaining Yemenite Jewish community is planning to leave soon.
On Wednesday night, Rabbi Yosef hosted in his Jerusalem home a group of 35 Jews who recently made Aliyah (immigration to Israel) from Yemen with the assistance of the Jewish Agency. He praised the new citizens on their decision to settle in Israel and called upon those Jews still in Yemen, approximately 200 people, to join their brethren here.
Photos by Sasson Tiram for the Jewish Agency
The rabbi's guests were clearly moved by the meeting and requested that Rabbi Yosef give his blessing to their families. The rabbi happily acceded to their request and gave a special blessing to each of the children in the group.
The meeting was the result of efforts by Minister Meshulam Nahari, a Shas representative, and Eli Cohen, the chairman of the Immigration and Absorption Department of the Jewish Agency. The two detailed for Rabbi Yosef the work they are involved in through their respective offices for the successful absorption of the new immigrants in Israeli society.
Among the new immigrants Rabbi Yosef received in his home was Sa'id Ben-Yisrael, who was a leader of the Jewish community in Raydah before his Aliyah. He came to Israel in February 2009, just a few weeks after Islamic fundamentalists threw a grenade into his home in Yemen.
Most of the Jews still in Yemen currently live in Raydah, just north of the capital city of Sana'a. A smaller group lives in Sana'a under the official protection of Yemen's President Ali Abdallah Saleh after their evacuation from the north of the country in the wake of tribal and Islamist threats.
Earlier this year, the United States State Department smuggled 60 Jews out of Yemen, giving them asylum in America. The resettlement project began in July, following several attacks on Jews in Yemen, including the murder of Jewish community leader Moshe Yaish al-Nahari. Several of the recent arrivals from Yemen to the U.S. described growing anti-Semitism and fear of attack prior to their departure.
In August, it was reported that half of the Jews in Yemen were planning to make Aliyah, while the others were seeking refuge in the U.S. or remaining in Yemen.