Lost and Found

One of the ugliest stains of the history of the State of Israel is the kidnapping of hundreds of Yemenite children. Parents were told their babies died and never saw them again. Decades later, technology is allowing some of those lost children to find their way home. This is one woman’s story

November 29th, 1947.

T

he UN announce their Partition Plan, authorizing the creation of separate Arab and Jewish states in Eretz Yisrael. The Middle East becomes tense, and in cities throughout the Arab world, mobs attack the Jewish quarters.

In Aden, Yemen, in response to the threat of riots, many Jews gather in the Hashad refugee camp, which would later be nicknamed “Geulah.” The ground under their feet is shaky, and they realize their best option is to make aliyah.

But the Egyptians have blocked the Suez Canal to Israeli boats. The only way to reach the Holy Land is via air. A small American airline named “Alaska” is hired by Joint Distribution Committee representatives to transport most of Yemenite Jewry. The name of the project: Operation Eagle’s Wings or Operation Magic Carpet, in reference to the pasuk in Shemos, “And I will carry you on the wings of eagles.”