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UN Report highlights 'systemic persecution' of Jews in Yemen
'Most of the Jewish population left Yemen after several years of persecution... intensified under the Houthis'
The systematic persecution of Jews in Yemen by Houthi rebels and the previous government left few in the country, with only seven individuals remaining, according to a United Nations panel of experts.
The revelations, detailed this week by Jewish Insider, are in a report commissioned by the UN Security Council on the civil war ravaging the country.
According to the report, one of the seven Jews in Yemen faces imprisonment. The Jewish community once contained roughly 50,000 people.
"The panel documented the systematic persecution of Jews in Houthi-controlled areas," said the report, released January 26.
"Most of the Jewish population left Yemen after several years of persecution, which began under former President Ali Abdullah Saleh but intensified under the Houthis," the report continues.
"The panel is aware of seven Jewish individuals still in Yemen, including one who remains detained despite a release order issued in July 2019."
This appears to refer to Levi Marhabi, arrested for his role in bringing an ancient Torah to Israel.
The Houthis, an Iranian-backed Shiite faction, assassinated Saleh in 2017 after allying with him in an attempt to overthrow his successor.
The report also says the Houthis preach anti-Jewish violence to their school-age children.
"Children were expected to regularly shout the Houthi slogan 'Death to America, Death to Israel, Damn the Jews, Victory to Islam,'" the report said, describing a Houthi summer camp.
In addition, the report places much of the blame for the conflict on the Houthis, describing their practices as "posing a constant threat to the civilian population."
It also notes that airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, which supports the Yemeni government, "also continue to cause civilian casualties."