JERUSALEM: An Israeli organisation said yesterday that it has secretly flown 17 Yemeni Jews to Israel after evacuating them from the Arabian Peninsula country.
A direct flight from Yemen brought four adults and one child to Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on Wednesday, said Arielle Di Porto, a spokeswoman for the Jewish Agency responsible for Jewish immigration to Israel. They joined 12 relatives who had come from Argentina a few days before in a similar operation, Di Porto told AFP.
The Argentina-based contingent had been secretly evacuated from Yemen in 2011 with the help of the Satmar Hasidic Jewish community, many of whom are based outside of Israel. Di Porto gave no details on how the fleeing Jews were evacuated, saying these were “secret operations,” but a Jewish Agency statement yesterday said it had worked “hand in hand” with the Israeli foreign and interior ministries to carry them out. “Some 50 Yemenite Jews have arrived in Israel over the past few months as the security situation in Yemen deteriorates,” Di Porto said. AFP
