A 75-year-old Jewish widow, Doda Badra, left Yemen on June marking a significant moment for the dwindling Jewish community in the war-torn nation.
Her departure, prompted by deteriorating health and the loss of her husband, Yahya Dawoud, to cholera in June 2024, leaves only three Jews in Yemen.
The couple, known for their deep love for their homeland, had repeatedly declined offers to emigrate despite Yemen’s ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis.
Houthi rebels permitted Badra’s departure. The operation was supported by a collaborative effort involving Attorney Mordechai Tzivin, a specialist in international legal cases, alongside rabbis, Jewish-Yemeni activists from the U.S. and Europe, and an Israeli billionaire from Bnei Brak, known for funding religious institutions.
The businessman covered the costs of Badra’s journey and pledged to assist the remaining Jews, a brother and sister, and a man imprisoned since 2015 for allegedly smuggling a Torah scroll to Israel, in leaving Yemen.
The Jewish community in Yemen, once numbering over 50,000 in the 1940s, has nearly vanished due to emigration, conflict, and persecution.