In 1949, the newly formed State of Israel launched Operation Magic Carpet, an ambitious project to airlift the Jews of Yemen to the Jewish homeland. Magic Carpet was completed the following year, with almost 50,000 Jews having made the journey. It was a monumental achievement, considering it was carried out in secret and high-capacity jumbo jets didn’t exist at the time. The episode brought to a close a chapter in Jewish history that, by all accounts, stretched back thousands of years and developed a rich, unique cultural and religious identity. Today, a mere handful of Jews remain in Yemen, while an estimated 400,000 Israelis of Yemenite background are part of the tapestry of Jews in Israel.
Source: Wikipedia
The history of Yemenite Jews is fascinating — learn much more on Wikipedia. >>
See early photos of Jews in Yemen that, according to an article in Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “stunned the Jewish world.” >>
Photo: Pinterest (a Jewish woman in traditional Yemenite wedding attire).
Amazing Jews
In Celebration of the Jewish People
To learn about these and many more AmazingJews, watch a compilation put together by JewOfTheWeek.net in 2015 and posted on YouTube.