8 arrested in murder of Jewish man in Yemen

Eight men have been arrested in Yemen on suspicion of involvement of the murder Thursday of Moshe Nahari, a father of nine. Nahari was shot to death in a market in the city of Rida, after the alleged murderer called on him to convert to Islam.

The alleged assailant, a former Yemeni Air Force pilot released from service due to mental problems, has confessed.

Nahari has four sisters living in Israel, who left for Yemen as soon as they heard of the tragedy.

A friend of the family in Israel told Haaretz that Narhai had chosen not to leave Yemen, where "they receive everything they need, everything is not hard like it is here. The Yemeni government helps the Jews and so do Jewish organizations."

The independent Yemeni Web site Yemen News reported yesterday that the suspected gunman had confessed, and that about a month ago, the man had told the Jewish community of the city, which is located north of the capital Sa'ana, they could convert or leave Yemen, or face death. Reports say Nahari's assailant killed his own wife several years ago, and the crime was dealt with in the tribal framework, and not by the Yemeni justice system.

Rabbi Yihya Yehuda, the rabbi of the Rida community, called on Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Salah to protect the Jewish community. There are only a few hundred Jews in Yemen, mainly in Sa'ana and Rida.