IS R A E L L IV E S A G A IN ! Third In A Prophetic Series
By George T. B. Davis*
S HERE are now over one million Jews in the land of Israel, regathered from all parts of the world. And week by week and month by month, by ship and plane, great throngs of sons and daughters of Abraham are arriving at the ports of Israel. All of this modern migration of the Jews to the land of their forefathers is taking place today before our eyes exactly as predicted by the Old Testament prophets long centuries ago. In Isaiah 43:5,6 we read: “ I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.” Among all the Jews who have returned to Israel during the recent months there are none whose home-coming has been more dramatic and interesting than that of the Yemenite Jews from the land of Arabia. God has indeed said to the south, “ Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth,” and 40,000 Yemenite Jews have come from the “ south” to the land of Israel. The bringing of 40,000 Yemenite Jews from Aden to Israel by plane was one of the most brilliant exploits of the young State of Israel. The quick air-transfer of these Jews from Aden to the Lydda airport in Israel was called “the magic carpet”—in remembrance of the story in the “ Arabian Nights.” The country of Yemen is an independent kingdom with its own king, in the southwestern part of the Arabian pen insula, next to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. A periodical published in Israel says: “ The Jewish com munity of the Yemen is one of the oldest in the world,
members of the community who preceded the recent arrivals are hard-working, law-abiding citizens, and the new immi grants are expected soon to become a productive and in dustrious element in the population of Israel. For genera tions they have dreamed and yearned for the day of their return to Zion, and the air-lift to Israel is to them a miraculous fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.” The Yemenite Jews for years had diligently studied their Hebrew Torah —the five books of Moses—and among the many passages that impressed them was a portion of Exodus 19:4: “ I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.” After the establishment of the new State of Israel, the Jews of Yemen expressed to the Israeli government their great desire to return and to become citizens of Israel. The Israeli government sent special representatives to the king of Yemen and a covenant was made with him to allow the Jews to leave the country. The king of Yemen permitted the Jews to take only a few of their personal possessions with them and they were robbed of some of these along the way through the desert. But they clung to their precious copies of the Torah and carried the scrolls with them as they toiled along the sands. Arrangements were made to bring them by air from Aden to Lydda as that seemed the only possible way to transport them out from the midst of the enemy countries round about them. After weeks of traveling through the desert by foot, and some on donkeys, the Yemenites arrived at Aden, and walked unafraid onto “ the magic carpet.” They had never flown before but these great planes were to them “ the eagles’ wings” that would bring them to Zion to await the Messiah’s coming. During our stay in Israel, Mrs. Davis and I saw many of these dark-skinned Yemenite Jews, small in body, but wiry and full of energy. We found them very likeable and friendly, and those we met gladly accepted New Testaments in Hebrew. While Mrs. Davis and I were in Tel Aviv, one day we went to see a photographer who with his associates had taken thousands of pictures of people and scenes in the land of Israel. As we were looking over their pictures, one of the photographers began to tell us about a trip he had made to Aden several months before. He spoke with enthusiasm about the Yemenite Jews and told us the following story of the discovery of these Jews bv the outside world: “ In 1858 two men from Great Britain visited the land of Yemen. They found large numbers of people there who declared they were Jews. They were dark-skinned like the people of Arabia but worshipped the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The visitors said to them, ‘You say you are Jews. How can you prove it?’ “ In reply the Yemenites showed them their scrolls of the Torah, the five books of Moses, and said, ‘Come and hear our children read the Scriptures in Hebrew even though the language of the land is Arabic.’ “The visitors were deeply impressed with the evidence that these Yemenite Jews presented and it was reoorted abroad that Jews were living in southern Arabia, largely cut off from the rest of the world.” The photographer continued: “ The Yemenite Jews have always been very industrious. They have been chiefly ar tisans, working with their hands at various trades. They Paae Seven
General view of Jerusalem with YMCA Building with a history dating back to the Second Temple and pos sibly even farther than that to the days of Solomon. The Jews of the Yemen are backward but quick to learn. The *Executive Secretary of the M illion T estaments C ampaigns . Reprinted from the book, I srael R eturns H ome A ccording to P rophecy , obtainable at 1505 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
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