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Thousands in Jerusalem protest abduction of Yemenite babies following disclosure some were experimented on

Over 2,000 Israeli Yemenite Jews and supporting activists gathered in Jerusalem last Wednesday to mark an annual day of awareness for what families say was a state-sponsored program to abduct Yemenite Jewish infants and other Israeli children born to parents who were recent immigrants from Arab countries.

Known as the Yemenite Children Affair, in the first decade after the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, there was a systematic kidnapping of newborn Yemenite children, carried out by Israeli hospitals and government institutions. Mothers, who often were in Israel for a short time and did not speak Hebrew, would enter hospitals or other state facilities to give birth. Once the child was born medical staff told the parents the child died unexpectedly. Yet none of the families were shown bodies or burial documents. Many of the families did not practice any mourning ceremonies because they believed their missing children were still alive.

The babies who went missing, parents claim, were given away to childless Ashkenazi families (Jews of European descent–the dominant ethnic group in Israel at the time), leaving the Yemenite families with no answers regarding their children’s fate. In most cases, the families were told the children died unexpectedly.

There have been a few national state committees tasked with investigating the matter over the decades, but they were previously accused of ignoring real evidence and helping government efforts to cover up the affair. Following recent pressure by the third generation of Jewish Yemenite activists, part of the national archives and state protocols were disclosed to the public.

Last year Benjamin Netanyahu had more than 3,500 government files on the investigation into the disappearance of the children published online.  A Knesset committee followed up by confirming earlier this month that Yemenite babies died during the 1950s after state medical institutions conducted experiments on them. Despite the disclosures, the families are still in the dark regarding their relatives, and the matter is still an open wound in the Israeli society.

Seeking more answers, the Israeli nonprofit Amram organized the protest in Jerusalem last week under the title “Recognition, Justice, Healing,” calling on the government to open all of the national archives, which could allow for family reunification. The demonstrators also want the affair recognized as a crime against humanity.

This was the largest protest on the topic in the history of Israel to date.

(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
“The son of Yitzak and Tamar Ma’touf.”(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
A protester holds a sign that reads: “Shout my lovely country against the Jewish Nazis.”(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org
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Dear Shiraz, this story must be told, thank you. Diversity is the key to strength. Jews will be harmed if one group of Jews tries to discriminate against another (ex: “white/European Jews vs. dark/Arabic speaking Jews).

Hello Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen,
Is there anything more known about these alleged “experiments”? This would be such a horrific revelation, and warrants far more than the simple mention of it.
Is it possible to supply what the Knesset committee said? Or any other credible information?
Many thanks.

Experimenting on stolen babies? More evidence that Zionists learned at the foot of masters.

“…a state-sponsored program to abduct Yemenite Jewish infants and other Israeli children…A Knesset committee followed up by confirming earlier this month that Yemenite babies died during the 1950s after state medical institutions conducted experiments on them.”

Israel is the country where all Jews can be safe from oppression, right?

“The babies who went missing, parents claim, were given away to childless Ashkenazi families”

But would it not be a bit embarrassing for those Ashkenazi families to have children who were rather more heavily shaded in than Ashkenazis usually are?

Yemeni Jews are genetically identical with Yemenis, as Israeli scientists can confirm, they tested them to find out, so not so bad then, at least no precious genes were squandered, I mean Arabs there’s hundreds of millions of them.