Figure 1.--These two Jewish boys were taken photogrphed in Dhale Governorate, Yemen during October 1945. Yemni Jrews were first photographed in 2001 and were a Jresh population separated from world Jewery for two millennia. DNA studiesorovide some sugestions of their history. The boys are dressed differently than what we see Arabs boys wearing. We are not sure, however, as we do not have a large Yemeni archive. What we do have uggss that the rounded caps wee common for Jews, but similarvcaps were worn by Arab boys. The neck jewelrywas not common for boys. We are less sure anout the basic dresses and smock-like garment the older boy is wearing.

There used to be a substantial Jewish minority with a destinctive culture. The origins of the Jewish community is not known, but there are legends. They include both the migration of Jews from the Levant and the pre-Islamic conversion of local peoples. There is some archeological evidence for an important Jewish presence in modern Yemen. DNA studies show some interesting insights. First of all there are great similarities between Jews and Arabs to begin with a relatively recent separation. There are, however, some genetic differences. One DNA reseracher writing about Jewish genetics in general, tells us, "Despite their long-term residence in different countries and their isolation from one another, most Jewish populations were not significantly different from one another at the genetic level. The results support the hypothesis that the paternal gene pools of Jewish communities from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East are descended from a common Middle Eastern ancestral population, and they suggest that most Jewish communities have remained relatively isolated from neighboring non-Jewish communities during and after the Diaspora." [Hammer] DNA studies suggest that the vast Majority of Middle Eastern Jewish communities descend from the earliest Assyrian (late-8th Century BC) and Babylonian (6th Century BC) Jews and their foreign exile. Their mtDNA pools virtually lack sub-Saharan L and North and East African-specific M1 and U6 mtDNA variants. Thhere are genetic conections with both Levant and Ethiopian Jews. The genetic traces are primarily through the paternal line. [Thomas et al., 2002] Gentic reserch so far suggests that the Yemeni Jews were primarily a migratory group with no evidence of the massive conversion of local peoples. [Non, et. al.] There were reprtedly about 50,000 Jews in Yemen in the early-20th cedntury. They dominated important industries such as silversmiths. Most Yemeni Jews after the establishment of Israel emigrated to the new nation. Operation Magic Carpet was particularly important (1949-50). Only a few hundred Jews remain in Yemen.

Sources

Hammer, M.F. Proc. Nat'l Academy of Science (June 9, 2000).

Non, Amy L., Ali Al-Meeri, Ryan L. Raaum, Luisa F. Sanchez, and Connie J. Mulligan. " Mitochondrial DNA Reveals Distinct Evolutionary Histories for Jewish Populations in Yemen and Ethiopia," American Journal of Physical Anthropology (2010).

Richards, Martin "Extensive female-mediated gene flow from Sub-Saharan Africa into Near Eastern Arab populations," American Journal of Human Genetics (April 2003) Vol. 72 No. 4, pp. 1058–1064.

Thomas et al. (2002).

Created: 3:38 PM 1/6/2018
Last updated: 3:38 PM 1/6/2018