Iranian-backed Houthi militias have deported 13 Jews from Yemen, effectively ending the community in the country.
The group, composed of three separate families, was reportedly transferred to Egypt as part of a deal to free Jewish prisoner Levi Salem Marhabi.
Mr Marhabi has been detained by the Houthi militia for over four years, accused of assisting a Jewish family in removing a centuries-old Torah scroll from the country.
One of the 13 deported Jews told London-based Arabic international newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat: “They gave us a choice between staying in the midst of harassment and keeping Salem a prisoner or having him released.
“History will remember us as the last of Yemeni Jews who were still clinging to their homeland until the last moment.
“We had rejected temptations time and time again, and refused to leave our homeland, but today we are forced.”
The report also claimed the group was refusing to go to Israel and was awaiting further instruction from the UN refugee agency about alternative asylum arrangements.
The Jewish community in Yemen is thought to be between 2500 and 3000 years old. While some reports claimed the group of 13 were the last in the country, others stated a handful might remain.
One is Mr Marhabi, who is believed to remain in prison. An official quoted in the Times of Israel denied the suggestion that the 13 deported Jews had negotiated a quid pro quo for his release.
Mr Marhabi’s arrest was last year condemned by the United States Government.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote in a statement: “The United States stands with the Yemeni Jewish community in calling for the unconditional release of Levi Salem Musa Marhabi.
“Mr Marhabi has been wrongfully detained by the Houthi militia for four years, despite a court ordering his release in September 2019.
“His health continues to deteriorate as he languishes in a Sana’a prison, where the threat of contracting Covid-19 is a real possibility.
“Mr Marhabi is one member of an ever-shrinking community of Yemeni Jews who have been an important part of Yemen’s diverse social fabric for thousands of years.
“We call on the Houthis to respect religious freedom, stop oppressing Yemen’s Jewish population, and immediately release Levi Salem Musa Marhabi.”
