Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

YEMEN: Jews in north increasingly being harassed
05 Jan 2009 08:20:59 GMT
 Source: IRIN

Background

•  Israeli-Palestinian conflict

•  Children

MORE >>
SANAA, 5 January 2009 (IRIN) - Members of the small Jewish community of some 270 people in Amran Governorate, northern Yemen, say they have been receiving renewed death threats from their Muslim neighbours since the start of the Israeli offensive against Gaza on 27 December.

Harassment and intimidation have been stepped up: On 4 January a number of schoolchildren attacked Jews with sticks and stones in Raydah District during a protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza, local Jews said.

"Zaher Salem, 36, was injured after boys threw stones, hitting him in the head. The boys also attacked Jews in a number of houses, breaking windows and frightening children," Hayeem Yaish, a Jewish activist, told IRIN.

Yaish said Jews had been receiving threats from Muslim extremists since the killing of a Jew on 11 December by a Muslim extremist [see: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82079], but that harassment had increased since the Israeli action in Gaza.

"The protesters told us the state won't protect us and that they would attack us secretly if not openly," he said, adding: "We are intimidated every day and our pain grows constantly. We even receive threats on our mobile phones."

The Interior Ministry's Information Centre said on 4 January that the boys who had attacked the Jews - along with the boys' fathers - had been arrested by the authorities.

Relocation delayed

According to Yaish, the Jews were told by the authorities they would be moved to Sanaa City on 4 January, but that has not yet happened. "The Jews got ready to be relocated to Sanaa but the process of transferring us was delayed. We don't know when we can move," he said.

"The longer we stay here in Raydah, the more the threats against us. We really fear for our lives and the lives of our children."

The Jews, unlike other local people in Amran Governorate, do not carry guns or daggers. Only the state can provide protection for them, said Yaish.

"When a minor problem occurs between a Muslim and a Jew, you can see armed men gather to protect the former. But when we get harassed, no one stands by us," he said, adding that tension had been simmering in Amran since two Jews were killed by Muslims in separate incidents a few years ago.

Apart from the Jewish community in Amran Governorate, some 45 Jews live in Sanaa City, having been moved there from Saada Governorate, northern Yemen, in early 2007.

maj/ar/cb

© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Children

MORE >>

Emergencies

•  Israeli-Palestinian conflict

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  International Medical Corps Prepares Response to Crisis in Gaza
IMC - USA

•  Gaza: Oxfam supported health worker killed, ambulance destroyed
Oxfam GB - UK

•  Gaza: Oxfam supported health worker killed, ambulance destroyed
Oxfam GB - UK

•  Save the Children Delivers Food to Families in Gaza Despite Violence
Save the Children - International Alliance

•  Gaza: chaos as conflict intensifies
ICRC - Switzerland

MORE >>

Latest news

•  YEMEN: Jews in north increasingly being harassed

•  7 die in second Israeli strike on Gaza family home

•  Israeli shell kills 3 Palestinian children in Gaza

•  Israeli shell kills 3 Palestinian children in Gaza

•  Israel presses on with Gaza attack;France seeks truce

MORE >>

IRIN news

Background information

Briefings
Israeli-Palestinian conflict - [Who works where]

Topics
Children
Statistics graphs
Human development index ranking (2005)
Chart for Human development index ranking
View more stats >>

Related articles

Breaking stories
 YEMEN: Jews in north increasingly being harassed (1 minute ago)

7 die in second Israeli strike on Gaza family home (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 Violence an everyday fear for children in Thailand's south - UNICEF (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 International Medical Corps Prepares Response to Crisis in Gaza (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Our house was shaken by six airstrikes (1 minute ago)

Maps
 Situation Map-Gaza Crisis (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-05T071612Z_01_MAN11_RTRIDSP_2_PHILIPPINES_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/MAN11.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-05T070716Z_01_MAN08_RTRIDSP_2_PHILIPPINES_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/MAN08.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-05T070430Z_01_MAN07_RTRIDSP_2_PHILIPPINES_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/MAN07.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-04T234952Z_01_JER23_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER23.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-04T230756Z_01_EGA13_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/EGA13.htm

Children carry their belongings retrieved from a fire that engulfed their homes in a slum community in Manila's outskirts January 5, 2009. Hundreds of families were left homeless when a fire ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon Jan 5 08:21:42 2009