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Last update - 13:01 22/01/2007
Yemenite Jews flee their homes following threats by extremists
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent

Some 45 Jews of Sa'ada county in Yemen left their homes after being threatened by radical Muslims, the Saudi daily Al Wattan reported on Monday.

According to the report, the extremists told the Jews to leave their homes within ten days, after which time they will be exposed to abductions and looting.

The Jews moved into a hotel in the town of Sa'ada, north of the Yemenite capital Sana. A formal complaint was submitted to the Yemenite President Abdullah Salah, the report said.
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The threat message - attributed to disciples of Shiite-inclined religious leader Hossein Bader a-Din al-Khouty - said that the Jews are acting in a manner that "primarily serves global Zionism, which is acting persistently to disseminate decay amongst the people and to cut them off from their principles, values, their morals and religion."

The message also said that the threats are based on surveillance conducted on the Jews, and that "Islam calls upon us to fight against the disseminators of decay."

Israel Radio on Monday interviewed a recently-arrived immigrant from Yemen, who identified himself only as Masoud, who managed to contact one of the women forced out of their homes.

The man was told that the Jewish community received letters last Friday, saying "whoever remains at his home, will be killed or his children will be taken away."

According to Masoud, the Jews who fled their homes told him "their condition has worsened, they are staying in a hotel, and they are scared." He said that the members of the Jewish community are not interested in immigrating to Israel, and wish to keep living in Yemen.

They blame their strife on the oblivious Yemenite government, which refuses to offer them assistance. The Jewish community, say its members, does not have efficient communication channels with the regime that would allow it to influence its actions.

The Jews under threat contacted local authorities and demanded fair treatment as ordinary Yemenite citizens. They told the authorities among other things that Islam imposes taxes on Jews in return for protection and security.

The Al Watan report said also that last week four masked men approached Yehie Moussa Merhavi, member of the Jewish community, to emphasize the will act on their threats. Merhavi said he was told that if the Jews do not leave their homes in two days, "they will only have themselves to blame" for the consequences, which will include abductions and looting.

Following the incident, the community was forced to evacuate the homes in which they lived for generations, and leave their home town under the protection of tolerant local sheikhs.

"We have been taken out of our homes, our money is lost, we cannot provide for our children. We came to the county's capital (Sada) to plea before the president and the government to treat us fairly, because we are Yemenites," Merhavi told Al Watan.

The Jewish community in Yemen consists of several hundred members, who are not interested in leaving it. The Jews maintain a community life, including a cheder for children's torah instruction and regularly pray.
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  1.   EU`s Solana will be silent on this 11:20  |  Absolute Sweden 22/01/07
  2.   ship them out 11:33  |  Clickagain 22/01/07
  3.   This is sad 11:40  |  Maral 22/01/07
  4.   Where is Kofi, Solana, the U.N., E.U., the Quartet, etc. etc.? 11:54  |  Yacov 22/01/07
  5.   Who said there is no anti-Semitism in the Arab world? 12:00  |  Yoram Tehar-Lev 22/01/07
  6.   Protection needed 12:00  |  Sami 22/01/07
  7.   Arab anti-Semitism, this what it is ! 12:23  |  Anat 22/01/07
  8.   Idiots should have come to Israel long ago 12:25  |  Yemenite 22/01/07
  9.   This is racisizm!!! 12:28  |  A. Tibi; A. Beshara 22/01/07
  10.   *!#% ! 12:44  |  christoph 22/01/07
  11.   # 3 Deeper rift 13:08  |  Lynn 22/01/07
  12.   Johnboy,Marilyn and Clickfool are.... 13:55  |  Kapule David Mabuta 22/01/07
  13.   Where is the International Solidarity Movement? 13:56  |  JEHIEL CHALEFF 22/01/07
  14.   EU`s Solana 14:07  |  Edith 22/01/07
  15.   yemenite jews 14:10  |  terrence 22/01/07
  16.   Tolerance 14:25  |  ScotGuy 22/01/07
  17.   Looks like a re-run of 1948 14:35  |  Avi 22/01/07
  18.   A RESPONSE FOR EDITH 14:43  |  Brant 22/01/07
  19.   Zionism 14:53  |  zznhl 22/01/07
  20.   #8 judging others 15:01  |  peter 22/01/07
  21.   Jimmy Carter, Amira Hass, Levy, Aloni silent on Arab aparthied 15:11  |  David Stoler 22/01/07
  22.   Dear Mr. Brant 15:21  |  Edith 22/01/07
  23.   Yemenite Jews 15:22  |  Yaacov 22/01/07
  24.   They make out the case for a Jewish State! 15:24  |  Ian 22/01/07
  25.   Yemenite government not "oblivious" but complicit 15:30  |  David Teich 22/01/07
  26.   And of course,our daily minyan of Jew/Israel haters 15:32  |  Hastaroth 22/01/07
  27.   WHERE IS CARTERS BOOK ON THIS? 15:33  |  BMT 22/01/07
  28.   Tolerant sheikhs and non "conforming" Jews in Yemen? 15:38  |  sandra chitayat 22/01/07
  29.   GIVE PEACE A CHANCE DREAMERS NOTE 15:44  |  paul harris 22/01/07
  30.   Hastaroth are you blind? 15:49  |  Maral 22/01/07
  31.   headline says it all 15:53  |  ATLAS 22/01/07
  32.   # 9 15:54  |  two sides to issue 22/01/07
  33.   No problem. They`re only Jews... 16:12  |  hypocrisy 22/01/07
  34.   3rd try in following up to Kapule David Mabuta`s post 16:20  |  Anat 22/01/07
  35.   Scared out of their homes 16:23  |  Joe 22/01/07
  36.   I guess Jews just never learn. 16:24  |  bat yam 22/01/07
  37.   Speak out Peanut Carter on worse than Aparteid 17:00  |  albert amato 22/01/07
  38.   WHO CARES ABOUT THIS!!! 17:04  |  gabriel 22/01/07
  39.   What`s the Excitement? 17:10  |  Brad 22/01/07
  40.   #32 17:13  |  natan 22/01/07
  41.   Israel & Jews are doomed 17:19  |  Benyamin 22/01/07
  42.   Arabs persecuting Jews 17:28  |  Brod 22/01/07
  43.   Jews are the true refugees 17:49  |  David 22/01/07
  44.   absolutly shameful 17:50  |  Archangel 22/01/07
  45.   Arab anti-semitism alive and well as it was in 1948 18:01  |  Bimmer 22/01/07
  46.   Ignorant arab people of Yemen 18:11  |  Tamir Gaza 22/01/07
  47.   ZIONISM 18:17  |  Zion I 22/01/07
  48.   Religion of peace?? The true face emerges! 18:18  |  William 22/01/07
  49.   (Shrug) History Repeats itself 18:29  |  Matthew Sawtell 22/01/07
  50.   i look at complainers face 18:37  |  fair 22/01/07
  51.   Archangels comments are shameful #44 18:37  |  William 22/01/07
  52.   That`s a disgrace and criminal... 18:37  |  anti-racist 22/01/07
  53.   Tamir - should Jews sue ALL Arab governments? #46 18:44  |  William 22/01/07
  54.   Anti-racist is anti-fact #51 18:47  |  William 22/01/07
  55.   too much Painful 18:56  |  Mohammed 22/01/07
  56.   Take Pals land 19:05  |  Dav 22/01/07
  57.   This is exactly why Israel needs to be a Jewish state 19:07  |  David G 22/01/07
  58.   Al Jazeera 19:17  |  Ari 22/01/07
  59.   NEWS 1948: PALESTINIANS FLEE THEIR HOMES FOLLWING THREATS BY EX.. 19:21  |  THE JACKAL 22/01/07
  60.   Yemeni Government should find and persecute the aggressors 19:29  |  Bandar Michaels 22/01/07
  61.   to the anti-racist #51 19:30  |  BO 22/01/07
  62.   I am very ashamed as an Arab Yemeni 19:35  |  abdullah 22/01/07
  63.   What do you expect? 19:45  |  Berm 22/01/07
  64.   This is exactly The Arabs wanted to do in 1967 six days war 19:45  |  e.m 22/01/07
  65.   #59 Bo : Rejects? 19:58  |  Guy From NYC 22/01/07
  66.   Racism 20:10  |  Realistic Arab 22/01/07
  67.   Yemenite Jews flee. 20:16  |  David Nigel Braham 22/01/07
  68.   William 20:16  |  Tamir Gaza 22/01/07
  69.   Arab States expediting Zionism 20:17  |  Reality Check 22/01/07
  70.   peter #20 20:19  |  Cessaro 22/01/07
  71.   65hey guy. Why don`t you read what BO wrote. 20:25  |  "our ilk" 22/01/07
  72.   To The Jackel. There is more than one million Muslims in Israel.. 20:26  |  dzone 22/01/07
  73.   Yemeni tit of tat treatment