page_title: Yemenite Jews
section_title: Middle Ages
hierarchical_section_title: Yemenite Jews / Jewish–Muslim relations in Yemen / Middle Ages
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of Jews from the mountain village Maswar, in Northwest Yemen, in 1902 Tiếng Việt: Ảnh chụp những người do thái đến từ ngôi làng vùng thượng Maswar ở miền Tây Bắc Yemen, năm 1902
context_page_description: Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen. The term may also refer to the descendants of the Yemenite Jewish community. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet. After several waves of persecution throughout Yemen, the vast majority of Yemenite Jews now live in Israel, while smaller communities live in the United States and elsewhere. Only a handful remain in Yemen. The few remaining Jews experience intense, and at times violent, anti-Semitism on a daily basis.
  Yemenite Jews have a unique religious tradition that distinguishes them from Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardi Jews, and other Jewish groups. They have been described as "the most Jewish of all Jews" and as "the ones who have preserved the Hebrew language the best". Yemenite Jews are generally described as belonging to the "Mizrahi Jewish" ethnireligious group, though they differ from the other Mizrahi Jews who have undergone a process of total or partial assimilation to Sephardim and Sephardic liturgy.
context_section_description: As Ahl al-Kitab, lit. "The People of the Scriptures," the Jews were assured freedom of religion only in exchange for payment of a poll-tax (Arabic: jizya), imposed on certain non-Muslim monotheists (people of the Book). Their feudal overlords imposed the annual poll-tax upon Jews, which, under Islamic law, was to ensure their status as protected persons of the state. This tax (tribute) was assessed against every male thirteen years and older, and its remittance varied between the wealthy and the poor. In the early 20th-century, this amounted to one Maria Theresa thaler (riyal) for a poor man, two of the same coins in specie for the middle classes, and four or more thalers for the rich. Upon payment, Jews were also exempt from paying the zakat which must be paid by Muslims once their residual wealth reaches a certain threshold. Active persecution of Jews did not gain full force until the Zaydi clan seized power, from the more tolerant Sunni Muslims, early in the 10th century. The legal status of Jews in Yemen started to deteriorate around the time Tahirids took Sana'a from Zaidis, mainly because of new discriminations established by the Muslim rulers. Such laws weren't included in Zaidi legal writings till comparatively late with Kitab al-Azhar of Imam al-Murtada in the first half of the fifteenth century. This also led to deterioration of economic and social situation of the Jews.
  The Jewish intellectuals wrote in both Hebrew and Arabic and engaged in the same literary endeavours as the Muslim majority. According to a late 9th century document, the first Zaydi imam al-Hadi had imposed limitations and a special tax on land held by Jews and Christians of Najran. In the mid-11th century, Jews from a number of communities in Yemen highlands including Sana'a appear to have been attracted to Sulayhids' capital of Dhu Jibla. The city was founded by Abdullah bin Muhammad al-Sulaihi in mid-11th century and according to Tarikh al-Yamman of famed Yemenite author Umara al-Yamani (1121–74), was named after a Jewish pottery merchant.
  During the 12th century, Aden was first ruled by Fatimids and then Ayyubids. The city formed a great emporium on the sea route to India. Documents of the Cairo Geniza pertaining to Aden reflect a thriving Jewish community led by the prominent Bundar family. Abu Ali Hasan ibn Bundar (Heb. Japheth) served as the head of the Jewish communities in Yemen as well as a representative of the merchants in Aden. His son Madmun was the central figure in Yemenite Jewry during the flourishing of trade with India. The Bundar family produced some celebrated negidim who exerted authorities over Jews of Yemen as well as Jewish merchants in India and Ceylon. The community developed communal and spiritual connection in addition to business and family tied with other Jewish communities in the Islamic world. They also developed ties with and funded Jewish centers and academies of Babylon, Palestine and Egypt. Due to the trade, Jews also emigrated to Aden due to mercantile and personal considerations.
  Yemenite Jews also experienced violent persecution at times. In the late 1160s, the Yemenite ruler 'Abd-al-Nabī ibn Mahdi left Jews with the choice between conversion to Islam or martyrdom. Mahdi also imposed his beliefs upon the Muslims besides the Jews. This led to a revival of Jewish messianism, but also led to mass-conversion. While a popular local Yemenite Jewish preacher called Jews to choose martyrdom, Maimonides sent what is known by the name Iggeret Teman (Epistle to Yemen), requesting that they remain faithful to their religion, but if at all possible, not to cast affronts before their antagonists. The persecution ended in 1173 with the defeat of Ibn Mahdi and conquest of Yemen by the brother of Saladin and they were allowed to return to their faith. According to two Genizah documents, the Ayyubid ruler of Yemen, al-Malik al-Mu'izz al-Ismail (reigned from 1197-1202) had attempted to force the Jews of Aden to convert. The second document details the relief of Jewish community after his murder and those who had been force
caption: Jews of Maswar, Yemen, in 1902
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