Middle East Conflict: Jews told leave within 10 days or be abducted and killed

About 45 Jews from the village of Al-Salem in the volatile northern province of Saada have been seeking refuge in a hotel in the provincial capital after receiving death threats asking them to leave the province within 10 days.

The threats were issued by followers of radical Shi'ite religious leader Hussein Badr Eddin al-Houthi, who was killed in September 2004, following months of battles with Yemeni security forces. A former member of parliament for the monarchist al-Haqq (Truth) Islamic party, al-Houthi had wide religious and tribal backing, particularly in Yemen's northern mountains. He was fiercely anti-US and anti-Israel.

According to the government, on Saturday, a group of Shi'ite militants led by al-Houthi's son, Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, killed six Yemeni soldiers and wounded 20 when they attacked locations belonging to the armed forces and security in Saada province.

Dawood Yosuf Mousa, a local Jewish community leader, told IRIN that the Jews were worried about their lives if they return to their homes as security was not well provided there.

"We want to return to our homes, but local authorities haven't told us to return yet. If we return now, the followers of al-Houthi [religious scholar Hussein Badr Eddin al-Houthi] would slaughter us and kidnap our children," he said, adding that they were more secured at the hotel than in their own homes.

"We can't protect ourselves, so we demand the President [Ali Abdallah Saleh] to provide us with protection and security. We didn't react to the threatening letter, but, instead, we turned to the State for protection," he said.

Mousa said that there were soldiers at the hotel for their protection, which seemed more secure than in their areas.

On 10 January, Mousa was approached by four masked men who gave him a letter which warned that if the Jews do not leave within 10 days they would be abducted, killed and their property would be looted.

Part of the letter read: "After an accurate surveillance of the Jews who are residing in al-Haid [a location in al-Salem village], it has become clear to us that they have been acting to first and foremost serve global Zionism, which seeks to corrupt the people and distance them from their principles, their values, their morals, their religion and spread all kinds of vice in society."

The letter had been faxed to a number of local media outlets, including the Yemeni Observer and to Arab websites, including www.almotamar.net, the website of the ruling party, General People's Congress.

Since then the Jews who live in al-Salem village have been staying at a local hotel in Saada city at the expense of a Yemeni Muslim businessman.

"The Jews are still in a hotel. They might come back to their homes in the days to come," Salem al-Wehaishi, deputy governor of Saada told IRIN. "Since they have received threats from supporters of al-Houthi we will provide them [Jews] with protection. We are investigating the case."

It is estimated that 200 Jews live in Yemen today in Saada and Amran provinces.

Reproduced with the kind permission of IRIN
Copyright IRIN 2006
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies