The Jewish Community of Aden

Aden

In Arabic: عدن‎‎ 

A seaport city in Yemen. Aden was under British control from 1839 until 1967.

Aden had a prominent medieval community that peaked during the 12th century attested to the documents and letters found in the Cairo Genizah (discovered in 1896) that were by, or about, the Jews of Aden. Additionally, Aden was a point via which Yemenite Jewish communities communicated with other Jewish communities.

At the end of the 11th century the merchant Abu Ali Hasan (Hebrew: Japheth) ibn Bundar was leader of the Jewish community of Aden and Yemen and held the title "Sar HaKehillot" ("chief of the communities"). His son Madmur was "Nagid (leader; also spelled "magid") of the Land of Yemen." The jurisdiction of the rabbinical court of Aden extended to Jewish communities as far away as India and Ceylon; it, in turn, was under the authority of the rabbinical court in Fustat (now part of Old Cairo). During the 11th and 12th centuries there was frequent correspondence between Aden, Egypt, Babylon, and Eretz Yisrael regarding questions of halakha and religious principles; additionally, the Jews of Aden sent money and expensive gifts to yeshivahs in these areas. In spite of the connections between the Jews of Aden and inner Yemen, the rabbinic authorities of Aden did not have any authority over the communities in Yemen. Indeed, there were significant differences between the Yemenite Jewish community and the Jewish community of Aden and the communities were distinguished by the terms "Yemeni" and "Adani."

In 1835 a British traveler reported on a small Jewish community in Aden, writing that the Jews of Aden lived in huts and had one synagogue and two schools. When the British occupied Aden in 1839, 250 Jews were living in Aden. The colonization of the British brought economic developments to the area, particularly after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The Jews of Aden moved away from traditional handicrafts and began to engage in commerce; some members of the community became quite wealthy, particularly the Messa (Moses) family who for generations virtually controlled the community; for example, in the 1870s the Anglo-Jewish Association of Britain expressed interest in opening a school in Aden, but the Messa family and the rabbis of the community turned down the offer. The population grew as Yemenite Jews arrived, fleeing from a precarious political situation in Yemen. By 1860 there were 1,500 Jews in the city; this included about 300 Jews of the Bene Israel community of India who came with the British Army in military and administrative positions, and brought their families along.

Aden had 15 synagogues, among them Magen Abraham, which was founded in 1860 by Mehahem Messa, the private synagogue Moshe Hanokh, Al-Farhi, and Shemuel Nissim. There were also the Magen David synagogue of the Jews of Rada and the magnificent synagogue Sukkat Shalom (Salim), built in 1924 by Salim Mehahem Messa, the synagogue of the Yemenite refugees hospice, and the synagogue of the Havshush family. The community also had two cemeteries, one of them private.

After the British occupation Aden became a significant port city and Sephardi Jews from India, Egypt, Iraq, and Turkey settled in Aden and left their mark on the community. Prominent families included the family of Rabbi Moshe Hanokh Halevy, which arrived from Izmir in Turkey, and the Messa family. Menahem Messa Banin was the first president (leader of the Jewish community, formerly referred to as the "nagid") after the British occupation; he died in 1864. In addition to the president, a beit din also helped lead and organize the community. The head of the beit din controlled the donations to the community and its charity fund. Among the dayanim (judges of the beit din) were Rabbi Yeshua, Mari Itzhak Cohen, and Menahem Banin. Itzhak Hacohen was among the rabbis of Aden.

In 1891 a Hebrew printing press was founded by Menahem Awad. A school for boys, Jehuda Menahem Moshe, was opened in 1912. In 1914 the Messa family founded another school for boys, which was later named after King George V of Britain; the community's Jews called it "Al-Iskul." A school for girls, Shalom, was opened in 1928.

Shemuel Yavne'eli visited Aden in 1911 on behalf of the Zionist organization of Eretz Yisrael, with the purpose of investigating the possibility of bringing Jews from Aden to British-mandate Palestine. In spite of the objections of the still-powerful Messa family, significant Zionist activities began in Aden in 1923 with the establishment of local branches of Keren Hayesod and the Jewish National Fund. The Association of Hebrew Youth, was founded in 1928 and a year later the community sent a delegate to the 21st Zionist Congress. A Jewish Agency mission arrived at Aden in 1930 and organized the emigration of 585 Yemenite Jews to Eretz Yisrael via Aden. Later, in 1945, emissaries from Mandate Palestine organized the Hebrew clubs Hatikvah and the Jewish Club and began courses to train youth instructors. By 1947 HeHalutz and HeHalutz HaTzair had 300 members in Aden, in spite of opposition from the community's leaders. In 1949 four Jewish youth unions were active in Aden: HeHalutz, Hatikvah, The Jewish Club, and HaOved, in addition to two scout clubs, the Boy Scouts (founded in 1929) and Girl Guides (founded in 1932), and a women's society of mothers.

When the British originally colonized Aden, the Jews lost their status as a protected community (dhimmi). This, along with conflicts taking place with the Arabs in Mandate Palestine led to tensions between the Jewish community and the Muslim majority that occasionally led to outbreaks of violence. In May 1932 local Muslims rioted for days through the Jewish Quarter; shops were looted, the Farhi synagogue was vandalized, and 55 Jews were injured. Hostilities against the Jews further increased during the Arab riots in Palestine (1936-1939). Though many in Aden wanted to emigrate to Mandate Palestine and escape the pressures and violence in Aden, the British government issued only a limited number of certificates allowing Jews to emigrate to Palestine.

Following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, pogroms broke out against the Jews of Aden which the British did not attempt to stop; in the end, 82 Jews were killed in Aden and in the area, 76 were injured, two Jewish schools were burned down, and 170 Jewish businesses were vandalized and looted. The investigating judge ruled that the Jewish community was entitled to partial compensation, but the authorities evaded paying what was due. The school Sukkat Shalom, which had been burned down, was eventually reopened and functioned until the last Jews left Aden in 1967.

In 1945 there were 4,500 Jews livingin Aden. By 1946 that number had dropped to 1,100 and in the mid-fifties there were only 831 Jews remaining, most of whom were businesspeople and property owners. Jews continued to leave Aden, a result of the increasing precariousness of their situation due to the tensions between Israel and the Arab states, and the radicalism of the Islamic nationalist movement in Aden and its struggle against the British.There were further hostilities against the Jews in 1953, and tensions again reached a peak in 1958 when the federation of Egypt, Syria, and Yemen was declared; Jews were attacked in the synagogues, cars were destroyed, and someone attempted to burn down a Jewish school. In 1965 the number of Jews in the community dropped to about 450. The last 150 Jews left Aden after the Six Day War in June 1967, leaving behind all of their property. The British left in November 1967.