Personal Stories

Mally Mazal Davidoff recounts her upbringing in a Yemenite Jewish family in Jerusalem, her participation in the Haganah during Israel's struggle for independence, and her work assisting Yemenite Jewish refugees immigrating to Israel during Operation Magic Carpet.

Eliezer Jehassi recalls growing up in a Yemenite Jewish community in Herzliya, witnessing Israel's independence and the arrival of thousands of Yemenite Jews during Operation Magic Carpet, and the importance of preserving his community's religious and cultural traditions.

Watch JIMENA's video interviews with Jews from Yemen, including Margalit Oved, Yehuda Tassa, and Etti Tassa.

Yehuda Tassa recounts his family's Yemenite Jewish heritage, his journey from a childhood apprenticeship in traditional silver filigree to a distinguished career in aerospace engineering, and his efforts to revive and preserve Yemenite Jewish craftsmanship for future generations.

60 years ago, the two-year-old state conducted Operation Magic Carpet to bring tens of thousands of Yemenite Jews to Israel. Sara Eden was there.Sara Eden remembers most of her childhood in Yemen fondly.Born sometime in 1927 or 1928 to Yosef and Sa’ida Eden, Sara Eden spent the first five years of her life in a beautiful valley beside Jabal Bani Hajaj, south Yemen.

The last remnants of the Jewish community in Yemen are finally leaving the country, and those who left long ago are ready to welcome them with open arms.The closest that Azri Sharabi has ever gotten to Yemen was when he was in the Israeli Navy over 30 years ago. “We were patrolling in the Red Sea,” he recalls. “Suddenly, there were my roots, just 300 yards away on the shoreline!”