The Jews of Yemen 

Jews arrived in Yemen perhaps as early as 600 CE.  They remained there until nearly everyone immigrated to Israel after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. 

Life for the Jews of Yemen was never easy.  Most were very poor.  Once the State of Israel was established, rioting broke out in most Arab countries including Yemen.  The imam of Yemen agreed to allow the Jews to leave en masse. 

Israeli and British planes were stripped down and refitted with benches in order to hold more people.  The secret operation was called “On Eagles Wings” (Kanfei Nesharim) but became known as “Operation Magic Carpet.”

Thousands of Jews, mostly children, made the dangerous trek through Yemen, combating hunger, thirst, sickness, bandits and more to the city Aden on the southern coast of Yemen. 

Many of the refugees had never seen an airplane.  To combat their fears, the rabbi reminded them of the Bible verse about Benei Yisrael and their escape from Egypt:

    “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I bore you on wings of eagles, and brought you to Myself.”     Ex. 19:4

Close to 50,000 Jews were rescued.

The Yemenite community brought with them a rich heritage of music, art, and Torah study. 

BHC Summer Katan is exploring the community of Yemenite Jews this week on in Camp Magic Carpet.  Four children ages 5-7 work, study, sing and cook with Cantor Marlena and camp assistant Shira Linowes.

Camp Magic Carpet Day One

The campers set out on their long trek through Yemen toward the “eagles” in Aden.  (Well, the trail looked very much like the Franconia Basin Trail!)  We had to search for water and fruit along the way.  Climbing through the “treacherous mountains and desert” was hard but we managed to make it and return to BHC almost on time.  Ada’s mom, Emily Cowan was along for extra support.

Along the way we sang songs from the Diwan (song book) found in our saddle bags.  The songs are Shabbat morning prayers set to Yemenite tunes.

Here are some pix of our trip.  Included is the map pointing to spots were food and water were found.