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Israel secretly airlifts 19 Jews from Yemen

Xinhua, March 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israel said on Monday it secretly brought 19 Jews out of Yemen, the last group who agreed to leave the war-ravaged country.

Seventeen Yemenite Jews arrived in Israel on Monday, in addition to a couple who arrived a few days ago, the Jewish Agency, an Israel-based organization aimed at encouraging Jewish immigration to Israel, said.

According to a statement by the agency, the group comprises a family of five from Sanaa and 14 people from the town of Raydah in northwestern Yemen.

About 40-50 Jews still remain in Yemen, refusing to leave the country despite the ongoing civil war, it added.

Channel 2 TV news reported that the U.S. State Department helped coordinate the trip from Yemen, with which Israel has no diplomatic relations.

In 1949-1954, Israel airlifted more than 50,000 Yemenite Jews out of Yemen and brought them to Israel in two secret operations, but some Jews had decided to stay on inside Yemen.

"Today we bring that historic (immigration) mission to a close," Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky said in a statement. "This is a very significant moment in the history of the state of Israel and for immigration to Israel." Endit