REYDA JEWS FACE NEW THREATS OF VIOLENCE IN WAKE OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 001994


FOR NEA/ARP AMACDONALD
FOR SEAS S/E GRICKMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2018
TAGS: PHUM PREF KIRF YM
SUBJECT: REYDA JEWS FACE NEW THREATS OF VIOLENCE IN WAKE OF
MURDER

Classified By: Ambassador Stephen Seche for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. Days after the December 11 murder of a
Yemeni Jew in Reyda, the town's Jewish community reports
continued harassment and violence, and complains of ROYG
inaction. Minister of Interior Rashad al-Masri assured the
Ambassador on December 13 that the ROYG would protect the
nation's dwindling Jewish population, but the situation
continues to deteriorate in Reyda. Post continues to press
the ROYG for action, and recommends SEAS Rickman convey this
message to Yemeni Ambassador al-Hajjri (see para 7). END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) Moshe Yaish Nahari, a prominent member of the
55-family Jewish community in Reyda, a town north of Sana'a,
was shot and killed there on December 11. Within hours of the
killing, security forces arrested a suspect, Abdulaziz
al-Abadi, according to Haim Yaish, one of Moshe's brothers.
Press reports indicate that al-Abadi, called "an extremist
who suffers from mental problems" by Amran Deputy Head of
Security Ahmed al-Sarihi, has confessed to the slaying. Abadi
reportedly murdered his wife two years ago.


3. (C) On December 13, the Ambassador pressed Minister of
Interior Rashad al-Masri to thoroughly investigate the case
and ensure that the Reyda Jewish community is protected from
further attacks. He also asked the Minister to make
arrangements to move any of the Reyda Jews who wish to do so
to Sana'a. Al-Masri assured the Ambassador that the ROYG will
continue to protect Yemen's Jews. He denied that the killing
was religiously motivated, instead calling it a "criminal
act" perpetrated by a single individual and said the event
was not indicative of the wider situation for Jews in Amran
governorate. The Minister rejected the allegation that
roadblocks had prevented Reyda Jews from traveling to Sana'a
last week, countering that community representatives met with
his deputy at the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) in Sana'a on
December 11. (Note: Post confirmed the meeting with contacts
in Reyda, who said the Deputy Minister had promised the Jews
protection, but that local security services were failing to
follow through on MOI's instructions. End Note.) Al-Masri
further promised to investigate claims that the Jews in Reyda
are subject to regular harassment and intimidation.


4. (C) Yahya Yaish, the victim's brother and a rabbi in
Reyda, told POL/E FSN that his home has been surrounded since
December 13 by several armed men who have thrown stones at
his house and shot at his roof. His family is unable to leave
home for fear of harassment and violence, he said. He also
reported that the murder suspect was one of eight persons
arrested in Reyda on charges of harassing the town's Jewish
population; the other seven men were quickly released and
continue to harass the Yaish family, according to Yahya. Haim
Yaish, a brother of Moshe and Yahya, told POL/E FSN on
December 15 that the brothers' wives have been beaten and
threatened at gunpoint by men from the town. According to
Haim, the attackers have said they want to "terminate the
Jews from the area." The Yaish family called the local police
for help on Saturday, and two DSHK's, 12.7mm truck-mounted
machine guns, were sent to protect the house. Haim reported
that the DSHK's were "chased away" by the harassers after
only 12 hours, and there has been no security presence at the
house since then. Haim reported that he and his family want
to move away from Reyda, even if it means "leaving everything
behind."


5. (C) Saeed Israel Saeed Halla, another member of the
Jewish community in Reyda, told Pol/E Chief and Pol/Off that
an explosive device was thrown at his home from a moving
vehicle around 1 a.m. on December 15. It bounced off the
window and exploded outside his residence with no casualties
reported. Halla and a delegation of up to 25 Reyda Jews are
traveling to Sana'a on December 15 for a meeting with Sheikh
Abu Shawareb, an important leader from Amran governorate.
EmbOffs plan to meet with Halla and his delegation at 4 p.m.
today, and will report results of that meeting. Halla also
told Pol/E Chief and PolOff that he does not want to remain
in Reyda.


6. (C) During a conversation December 15 with close
Presidential advisor Abdul Karim al-Eryani, the Ambassador
expressed his concern over recent events in Reyda, a concern
that Eryani said he shared. "I fear that the Yemeni tradition
of obligatory protection for the Jews is disappearing," he
said, noting that in the past this tradition bound both
tribal leaders and the government itself to take measures to
ensure the safety of Yemen's Jews. He said that, if the
Reyda Jews feel strongly that they must re-locate to Sana'a
in order to avoid further acts of violence, he supported this
course of action, and would convey his views to President
Saleh at the first opportunity. He added that he would also
encourage the ROYG to facilitate the departure from Yemen of
the remaining Jews if that is what they wish, although he
observed that he would deeply regret such an outcome, since
Judaism in Yemen pre-dates the arrival of Islam.


7. (C) The Ambassador will raise this issue with Deputy
Foreign Minister al-Dhabbi on December 16. He also has asked
to meet with Minister of Human Rights Huda al-Ban, who is
currently traveling, as soon as she returns to Sana'a, and
has requested a follow-up meeting with Minister of Interior
al-Masri. Post recommends that Special Envoy Gregg Rickman
meet soonest with Yemeni Ambassador Abdulwahab Al-Hajjri in
Washington to further press the Yemeni government to take all
necessary measures to protect the Reyda Jews.

COMMENT
--------------


8. (C) The Minister of the Interior's assurances of
protection for the Reyda Jews nothwithstanding, the murder of
Moshe Yaish Nahari and evidence of subsequent intimidation
point to a sharp deterioration in their situation. Post will
continue to press ROYG officials to take specific measures to
protect the Reyda Jews, including moving those who wish to do
so to Sana'a. END COMMENT.


SECHE