One of Yemen’s last remaining Jews moves to Israel

Zev Stub is the Times of Israel's Diaspora Affairs correspondent.

One of the last remaining Jews in Yemen has immigrated to Israel, according to Hebrew media reports.

Badra Ben Youssef left Yemen in June, a year after her husband Yahya passed away, Ynet reports, citing a source in Yemen. The couple had no children, and Yahya was buried by his Muslim neighbors, the report says.

Only four Jews now remain in Yemen, including one who was arrested in late 2015 on accusations of smuggling a Torah scroll to Israel, the report says.

Jews have lived in Yemen for over 2,000 years, with some traditions claiming that Jewish settlement in the region dates back to the time of King Solomon (10th century BCE) or shortly after the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE.

About 49,000 Yemeni Jews were airlifted to Israel during Operation Magic Carpet in 1949–1950.

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