By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen– The Jewish community of Amran Province is facing renewed threats of violence from their Muslim neighbors since the renewal of hostilities between Israel and Gaza began on December 27, 2008.  Yemen currently has a small Jewish community, comprising approximately 400 people.

Tensions between the Jewish and Muslim communities in Yemen initially increased in December 2008, following the murder of Jewish citizen Masha Al-Nahari.  At the trial of the accused murderer, Abdul Aziz Al-Abdi, journalists and attorneys present in the courtroom described the proceedings as, “full of chaos and quarrels.”  According to witnesses, one Yemeni soldier was attacked by a family member of the accused, while Al-Nahari’s family has received death threats.  The violence and threats follows after the government agreed to transfer the trial to the capitol due to a lack of security at the court in Amran, where the Al-Nahari family resides.

Currently, Yemeni Jews in Amran are living in a state of fear, after receiving numerous threats from the relatives of Al-Abdi and his supporters.  Hostility towards the Jewish community in Yemen, which began in the aftermath of Al-Nahari’s murder is increasing throughout the country in response to the ongoing situation in Gaza.  According to Hayeem Yaish, a Jewish activist in Yemen, harassment against Jews has rapidly increased since the start of the crisis in Gaza.  According to Yaish, “protesters told us the state [Yemen] won’t protect us and that they would attack us secretly if not openly.  We are intimidated every day and out pain grows constantly.  We even receive threats on our mobile phones.”

As the Al-Nahari trial continues and the violence in Gaza escalates, the Jewish community in Yemen has grown increasingly concerned with their safety, as they continue to face threats and intimidation in their neighborhoods.  According to the Jewish community, conservative Muslims are entering synagogues and Jewish community centers attempting to provoke a response from the Jews.  Jewish women are threatened with forced conversion in the streets, and anonymous groups have stoned Jewish homes and threatened to kill them.  Many Jews are now afraid to leave their homes.

On January 3, Jewish children in Raidi were attacked with stones by Muslim students who were protesting Israeli actions in Gaza.  One individual, Zaher Salem, was seriously injured after being hit in the head by a stone.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has promised to provide a piece of land and compensation to every family of the Jewish community, relocating them to larger cities.  The government has increased its efforts to protect the Jewish community, announcing a new plan to relocate the Jewish community of the Raida district of Amran province to Sana’a in light of the recent surge of violence and threats of violence against Jews.  However, the relocation, initially scheduled to occur on January 4 has not yet been implemented.  Yaish maintains that the longer the Jewish community remains in the Raida district, “the more the threats against us.  We really fear for our lives and the lives of our children.”  The Jewish community claims that the government has not taken adequate measures to protect them.  They maintain that while other citizens carry guns or knives in order to protect themselves, the members of the Jewish community do not, and therefore they are dependent on the state for protection.  While the government has delayed the relocation, no one in the Jewish community has been told when the transfer will in fact occur. 

For more information, please see:

IRIN –Yemen: Jews in North Increasingly Being Harassed – 5 January 2009

Yemen News Agency – Children Attack Yemeni Jew in Amran Governorate – 5 January 2009

Yemen Times –While Gaza Crisis Cause More Hostility Against Yemeni Jews, Murdered Jew Family Demands Transferring Trail to Sana’a – 4 January 2008

News Yemen – Yemeni Jews Abused Over Israeli Offensive in Gaza – 4 January 2009