An American Embassy official in the Republic of North Yemen recently came upon a small community of some 40 Jews living in Wadi Wajbara in the nor Jews living in Wadi Wajbara in the northern part of the country. Although it had been thought that the entire Yemenite Jewish community had been brought to Israel by “Operation Magic Caret” in the early 1950s, the American official was told by the Wadi Wajbara group that between 1,000 and 2,000 Jews still live in North Yemen.
According to the Embassy official’s report, the Jewish residents of Wadi Wajbara are all craftsmen working in wood or silver and own a small jewelry shop. They informed their American visitor that they enjoy good relations with their Moslem neighbors as well as the freedom to practice their religion and to travel throughout the country. In addition, although they have been cut off from relatives in Israel and other countries, they do maintain contact with Jews in Ridah and Sadah.
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