Druze Lawmaker Fulfills Promise to 'Bring Jews Home' - Israel Today

Druze Lawmaker Fulfills Promise to 'Bring Jews Home'

Monday, March 21, 2016 |  Israel Today Staff

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Jewish Refugees

Israel on Monday completed its final rescue of Yemenite Jews, a goal that had been central to the campaign promises of Member of Knesset Ayoub Kara (Likud), a leading member of the Arabic-speaking Druze community.

The mission, accomplished in coordination with the Jewish Agency and the US State Department, saw 19 of the remaining members of Yemen’s Jewish community “come home” to the Jewish state.

A further 50 Jews chose to stay in Yemen, where they all live in a protected compound adjacent to the US Embassy in Sana’a.

“This is a highly significant moment in the history of Israel and of Aliyah,” stated Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky. “This chapter in the history of one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities is coming to an end, but Yemenite Jewry’s unique, 2,000-year-old contribution to the Jewish people will continue in the State of Israel.”

Kara, who serves as Deputy Minister for Regional Cooperation, was particularly pleased by the accomplishment.

“I am happy to have achieved this very important goal for my Jewish brothers in Yemen to come to Israel,” said the Druze lawmaker. “We successfully brought Jewish families that were threatened by death and assimilation.”

The Houthi jihadists that are currently in control of much of Yemen had threatened the country’s Jews to either convert to Islam or face execution.

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