Concern: Jews in Yemen in mortal danger

Last Jews refuse to leave Yemen: the Foreign Ministry is concerned about the lives of scores of the last Jews left in Yemen, after the country fell to the rebels in recent months.

According to the publication by Arad Nir, foreign news reporter on Channel 2, the remaining members of the Jewish community in the country refuse to leave it - not to Israel or anywhere else in the world. The Foreign Ministry defines the situation as "seriously life threatening" and expressed frustration at their refusal to flee to safety.

Most of the remaining Jews live in Raida in the northern Amran province, the heart of the area which is currently controlled by Huties, whose leaders have made the hatred of Jews a central part of their political platform.

The radical Islamic terrorist organization, which is considered an extension of Iran in Yemen, recently had a number of significant achievements, and controls large parts of the country.

The security escalation in Yemen and the fact that the Huties espouse anti-Semitic ideology, causes great concern to Foreign Ministry officials.

Foreign Ministry responded to Channel 2 news: "We are closely following the developments in Yemen in general and the situation of the Jews of Yemen in particular."

Two weeks ago, Yaakov Avraham, a 36-year-old Jewish community member, arrived in the city market to meet journalists for a rare visit to his community, riding on a shaky motorcycle with peyos flapping in the wind, clear evidence of his Jewish origin, as described by Rod Nordland, New York Times reporter. When traffic halted for a moment, one of the vendors approached the Yemeni interpreter of the visitors. "What are you doing with a dirty Jew, why are you nice to him?" the vendor asked one of the journalists. "He is a human being", he replied: "No, he is not a person, G-d cursed him."

The two countries which helped the immigration of Jews from Yemen, the US and Britain, recently closed their embassies in Yemen, as did most of the Western countries, and the strong man in the country, who for 30 years took the Jews in his country under his auspices, former President Ali Abdullah Salah, was overthrown and is not acceptable to the Huties. "We have no friends," said Yaakov, "so we try to stay away from everyone as much as possible."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!