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Hajar, Yemen (Sa'ada Governorate, near Haydan)

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Background: Historically, from the inception of Zaydi imam rule during the Middle Ages, Jews in this general region were under pre-Islamic tribal shaykh enforcement rather than under the official Zaydi laws of the land, as was the norm with Jewish population centers not directly situated under imams[4]. Most of such imams, a small ruling class of Shia sayyids (despite Sunni Arabs making up a near majority of the population) who claim descent from the Prophet Muhammad through Ali, enforced dhimmi laws and restrictions on Yemen’s Jews [5].

Tribesmen, or jars, who valued their historical independence, typically opted to enforce ancient tribal law on their Jews rather than dhimmi codes. This law saw Jews as a member of a non-tribal, guest-like element in their society, also known as a jiran, and any attack on a tribesman's Jew/Jews was a direct attack on a tribesman’s honor[6]. Tribesmen often declined to enforce embarrassing and belittling dhimmi codes on their Jews, hence, unlike in imam-dominated centers like San’a, the Jews of Al-Hajar could have houses of equal height to Muslim Arabs and could ride horses rather than only donkeys[7]. The relationship between a tribal shaykh and Jew was still based on a superior-inferior relationship in which the Jew would typically provide gifts to his jar while also asking the jar for approval for important activities. In turn, the jar would provide his Jew help in times of need. Jews in Al Hajar were known to take part in raids alongside their respective sheikh. This general perception is how Al-Hajar was run, except during periods of Ottoman occupation where qanun law was substituted for such tribal laws[8].

Like most Jewish communities, with the exception of those on the eastern fringes of Yemen, the Mawza Exile decimated the community. Following the revival of Zaydi Islamist fundamentalism in the wake of Ottoman expansionism, many areas previously under tribal law eroded to general Islamic law, and Al Hajar would eventually be enveloped in such legal notions.

Modern History: Following the Mawza Exile, little would be recorded about the Jewish community in Al Hajar until the 19th and 20th centuries. Relevant information regarding the community concerns some of the notable Jewish families of Al Hajar. These families were commonly employed in various positions under imams to accomplish a variety of administrative duties alongside leading the respective Jewish community of Al Hajar. The notable families who could be defined as occupying such roles include the Alsheikh, Maddar, Araqi, Kafara, and Tabib families[9].

As noted by the presence of “sheik” in the name Alsheik, a patrilineal ancestor likely possessed this title during the medieval era and passed such title on to future generations[10]. The Alsheikh family likely gained the title due to patrilineal ancestors being the “president” of the Jewish community, thus granting them the title of sheikh[11]. The president had important roles besides governing the Jewish community, including working with administrative units under imams to collect the crop tax from Arab Muslims. The assistant to the president, the Akel, headed a council made up of leaders from local synagogues and private religious leaders (as many religious activities were done in private quarters) to carry out the orders of the president as well as to collect taxes from the Jewish community. Due to the Al Hajar community being smaller and far from other Jewish centers, it likely lacked the ceremonial bet-din court of justice, hence relying on the president and Akel for most legal issues. Ritual slaughters were still likely taxed to provide money for communal social causes[12]. Like most other Yemenite Jews, Al Hajar’s Jewish community typically possessed occupations in carpentry, craftsmanship, and blacksmith work[13].

Moving to more recent history, one can gain a deep insight into a very traumatic event in Yemenite Jewish history, the Orphan Decree, through the testimony of members of the Al Hajar Jewish community. Avraham Tabib, a rabbi from Al Hajar who would make Aliyah to Israel in 1909, commented that the Orphan Decree was “the mother of all evil decrees”[14]. Following the decline of Ottoman law in Yemen following their defeat in the First World War, Zaydi Islamists sought the implementation of the “commandment to convert [Jewish] orphans” in Yemen. This commandment is stressed as one that will grant automatic access to paradise for any Muslim who Islamizes a non-Muslim minor orphan[15]. Minors, specified as those who had not undergone puberty, were taken in by government officials or other wealthy dignitaries. Islamicization would happen by, rather than a joyous conversion ceremony, forcing males to have their payot shaved off, having Jewish garments removed in favor of traditional Arab Muslim clothing, and then forcibly feeding the kids meat slaughtered according to Muslim religious tradition[16].

The Jewish community claimed this law was a violation of their dhimmi status[17]. In response, many orphaned Jews would be married off (to avoid the classification as minors) at ages already below the low average for Yemenite marriages. In the 1930s, many orphaned Jews were smuggled to Israel to escape their cruel fate[18].

Professor Eraqi-Klorman, a history professor at the University of California, recounts in her 2001 peer reviewed article, The Forced Conversion of Jewish Orphans in Yemen, the story of a nine year old girl from Al Hajar, hailing from the Maddar family. Her parents passed away in 1944 and her siblings arranged an immediate marriage; however, an imam demanded the child be turned over to the government. Arab acquaintances of the family attempted to hide the girl, but she was discovered, taken to the governor’s home, and converted to Islam[19]. During roughly the same period, many Jews from Al Hajar were making Aliyah. Around 1,700 of Al Hajar’s 2,000 Jews would migrate to Israel via Operation Magic Carpet. The remaining community was apparently encompassed by three synagogues, with the primary synagogue being present at Joseph Shatari’s residence[20].

The 1980s saw Al Hajar’s life documented by researchers from Israel. Myriam Tangi documented the everyday life of the Al Hajar Jewish community and made such photos publically available. The examining researchers found that the community still possessed a president, David Faiz, and a representative council made up of Joseph Shatari, Jacob Hamami, and Jacob Faiz[21]. Many remaining Jews would eventually migrate to Israel in the 1990s[22].

Hajar, Yemen

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