The Community That Stayed Behind
Estimates of the Yemeni Jews who chose not to perform aliyah afterwards, down to 1962, range from 1,000 to 3,000, mostly in outlying tiny hamlets, many near the border of Saudi Arabia. In this period just 400 heeded the call. Immense efforts were made by the Aden Jewish Community Council to get the remnant communities to perform aliyah, but these were met with strong hesitation, and many Yemeni Jews were ambivalent about emigrating.
It was forbidden to native-born Yemeni Jews who had left the country to re-enter, rendering communication with these communities difficult. Muslims were therefore hired as shelihim (emissaries) to locate the remaining Jews, pay their debts, and transport them to Aden. Little came of this.
Read more about this topic: Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen)
Famous quotes containing the words community and/or stayed:
“What I wanted was to create thoughtful citizens—people who believed they could live interesting lives and be productive and socially useful. So I tried to create a community of children and adults where the adults shared and respected the children’s lives.”
—Deborah Meier (b. 1931)
“While waiting to get married, several forms of employment were acceptable. Teaching kindergarten was for those girls who stayed in school four years. The rest were secretaries, typists, file clerks, or receptionists in insurance firms or banks, preferably those owned or run by the family, but respectable enough if the boss was an upstanding Christian member of the community.”
—Barbara Howar (b. 1934)