Jews protest bad living conditions

SANA'A, Mar. 10 (Saba) - Yemeni Jews held a sit-in in front of the
Cabinet Presidency on Tuesday to protest bad living conditions, a
protest which coincides with the weekly meeting of the minister
council.

Chief Rabbi Yahya Yousef said the living conditions of Jews in Yemen
have deteriorated particularly after recently the Tourist City
Administration in Sana'a, where they live after their relocation
from Saada and Amran, has deprived them from their allowances
approved by the government.

"Jews here have sold all they owned to feed their families," he
said, urging the government led by the cabinet to ask the competent
authorities to release their allowances.

Jews were transferred from Saada in 2002 after they were harassed by
Houthis rebels in the northern province of Saada.

In December 2008, a Jew was murdered in Amran, the incident which
came amid a lot of harassment the Jewish community in the province
claimed they had started to experience.

Early this month, Jews in Amran were also relocated to Sana'a after
the murder of a Jew late last month.

Chief Rabbi's brother Masha Yaish, 25, was shot dead at a market by
a man who was an ex-pilot in the Yemen Air Force.

The murderer was arrested shortly by police.

He went on trial and last week the Amran Penal Court ruled he was
not accountable due to mental illness.

The verdict meant he would be hospitalized at a psychiatric
facility.

The victim's family dismissed the ruling as unjust and vowed to
pursue justice.

Father of the victim said he will complain to President Ali
Abdullah Saleh about the unfair ruling which he says allows a
criminal to go away with murder, however, a lawyer for the family
expressed fear that the verdict could help further harassments
against Jews in the country.


FR