Letter From Sana’a

An update on the Jews left in Yemen

Yemenite Jews clinging to the only life they have ever known.

But time is chasing after them, urging them to leave; but they don't want to go to Monsey or to Israel.

They cling fiercely: “There is no place like Yemen,” he tells a visitor. “Not in America, not in Israel, it is just not the same. When the people of Yemen say, ‘We don’ want a single Jew here,’ I will go, but until that day, Yemen is my home, and it is where I will stay.”

"Al-Marhabi is the rabbi and leader of this band of refugees — some of the last remaining Jews in Yemen — and it has been three years since these Jews have seen the village in which their ancestors have lived for centuries. Now, says 24-year-old Abdallah bin Suleiman Marhabi, the rabbi’s cousin, “There’s nothing for me there. They took everything after we left, and then destroyed our homes.”

"Prior to the 1950s, Yemen had more than 50,000 Jews spread throughout the country, but with the creation of the State of Israel, the vast majority left, in a legendary operation known as Magic Carpet. Several thousand remained until the early 1990s, until they, too, left for Israel. Now, only a few hundred remain. Besides the 67 refugees from Sa’ada now living in the capital, fewer than 200 live in a small village called Raida, roughly two hours north of Sana’a. It was in Raida that a Jew named Moshe Yaish al-Nahari was murdered one year ago, gunned down in the street outside his home. His murder sparked a new exodus of Jews from the country."

"The families of this community are particularly concerned about their children losing touch with their heritage and religious tradition, should they emigrate. Those who have gone to Israel and returned have told tales of scantily clad Israeli women, men without peyes who do not pray and the disintegration of traditional Yemeni Jewish life. Faced with a multitude of options in Israel, children are no longer bound to the Jewish community by default, and the retention rate within the community plummets. From this perspective, Yemen is a vastly more pious country, where the children will be raised with a strong and comprehensive Jewish education — in the distinctive Yemeni way."

A very nice article about their vanishing life was featured in the Forward January 6th.

In this audio slideshow, photojournalist Rachael Strecher recently spoke by phone with the Forward about her experience photographing the 67 Jews who remain in Yemen’s capital city of Sana’a.

The Jews of Sana'a from Jewish Forward on Vimeo.

These young girls like many young American Jews are very attached to their country and couldn't think of leaving; however in Yemen, while very submerged in the Muslim surroundings these girls will grow up living as Jews according to the Torah given to us by Moshe Rabbeinu

while many of the young girls in America are submerged in America's so-called 'freedom' and land of plenty are far from knowing how to live through their Mesorah.

Jews living in their respective Diaspora host countries are picturesque examples of their environment. Kaleidoscope puzzle pieces nearing their puzzle completion via the Geulah. And even though many are gathered under the blue and white flag of Israel, some how I don't think that this is what the total picture will look like. Returning to our Biblical heritage will take a few gentle transformations led by our generation's Ezra in the form of Moshiach.