أحمد بن يحيى
In February 1948, Imam Yahya was assassinated and his successor, Imam Ahmad bin Yahya came to power. The new Imam called upon all Arabs to unite against the Zionist State. He made promises to provide Egypt assistance in the war against Israel, but his contributions were minor. After hearing about Arab defeat and the establishment of the State of Israel, the new Imam feared that the Israeli government might demand reparations for property left by Jews who immigrated to Israel, and therefore quickly allowed them to leave the country in a massive emigration enterprise known as "Operation Magic Carpet" in which nearly 50,000 Jews were flown safely out of Yemen.