Yehia Ben Youssef, one of the last Jews still left in Yemen, niftar last Thursday at nearly 100 years old. His Muslim neighbors helped bury him, as there are not enough Jews remaining in Yemen to carry out the funeral tradition.
Ben Youssef chose to remain in Yemen despite harassment from the Houthis, whose rise to power during Yemen’s civil war led to increased harassment and violence against the few remaining Jews in the country. Yemeni Jews have faced oppression as “dhimmis” or second-class citizens for over 2,000 years, including forced conversions in the 12th century and banishment from cities in the 1600s.
Most Yemeni Jews made aliyah in 1949-50. The community’s Facebook page described the funeral as “an act of unity and respect from the local Muslim community.”
