Why did over 2,000 Yemenite babies disappear in 1950s Israel? | Al Jazeera World Documentary - YouTube

Why did over 2,000 Yemenite babies disappear in 1950s Israel? | Al Jazeera World Documentary

211,338 views Oct 23, 2024 #documentary #AlJazeeraWorld

The disappearance of more than 2,000 babies – suspected victims of irregular adoption – who arrived in Israel in 1949.

How can more than 2,000 babies simply disappear? It's a question being asked in Israel, as the mystery of the Yemenite Children Affair nudges ever closer to the truth.

This film tells the remarkable story of the aftermath of "Operation Magic Carpet" - the 1949 relocation of almost 50,000 Jews from Yemen to the newly created state of Israel. Most settled in Israel but it is alleged several thousand babies were separated from their parents while staying in transit camps. Did these infants succumb to deadly childhood illnesses or is there a darker truth?

Evidence now suggests that many were given up for adoption without their parents' knowledge and were raised by wealthy childless Israeli and American couples. Israel has finally acknowledged the state's role in the Yemenite Children Affair and launched a redress scheme, but many questions remain unanswered.

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<요약: 1950년대 이스라엘에서 예멘계 유아 2,000여 명은 왜 사라졌는가?>

사건의 배경과 개요
- 1948년 이스라엘 건국 이후, 1949년부터 약 5만 명의 예멘 유대인을 이스라엘로 이주시킨 이른바 <마법의 양탄자 작전(Operation Magic Carpet)>이 실행되었다.
- 이들은 이스라엘 전역의 정착 수용소(마아바롯, Ma'abarot)에 분산 수용되었는데, 이 과정에서 최소 2,000명 이상의 영유아가 부모의 품에서 사라지는 사건이 발생했다.
격리와 실종 메커니즘
- 당국은 텐트나 양철집보다 돌로 지어진 영유아 전용 시설이 안전하다는 명목으로 아기들을 격리 보호하도록 유도했다.
- 이후 한밤중에 부모의 동의 없이 영유아들을 도시의 대형 병원으로 이송한 뒤, 부모에게는 아기가 질병(폐렴 등)으로 사망했다고 일방 통보했다.
- 대부분의 부모는 사망진단서나 유해, 무덤을 전혀 확인하지 못했으며 장례조차 치르지 못했다.
불법 입양과 조직적 인신매매 의혹
- 사라진 아이들이 사망한 것이 아니라, 자녀가 없는 유럽계 아슈케나지 부유층 가정이나 미국 유대인 가정에 비밀리에 입양되었다는 정황과 증언이 잇따랐다.
- 병원에 입원했던 아이들은 복지부와 국제 여성 시온주의자 기구(WIZO) 등의 네트워크를 거쳐 영아원으로 보내졌고, 부모의 친권 포기 절차 없이 비정규적인 입양이 진행되었다는 증언이 제시되었다.
- 세월이 흘러 사망했다고 통보받은 자녀들의 이름으로 군 입대 소집 영장이 날아오면서, 서류상 사망 처리조차 되지 않았음이 드러나 가족들의 진상규명 운동이 시작되었다.
조사와 은폐 논란
- 이스라엘 정부는 1967년부터 세 차례에 걸쳐 공식 조사위원회를 운영했으나, 대부분의 아동이 질병으로 사망했고 일부 불법 입양은 있었으나 국가 주도의 조직적 납치는 없었다고 결론지었다.
- 그러나 핵심 문서들이 파기되거나 익명 처리되었으며, 2001년 코헨-케드미 위원회의 방대한 기록물은 2071년까지 기밀로 묶였다.
- 2021년 이스라엘 정부는 유족들에게 유감을 표명하고 총 4,500만 달러 규모의 보상안을 제시했으나, 국가를 상대로 한 소송 포기를 조건으로 내걸어 '책임 인정 없는 봉합'이라는 비판을 받고 있다.

<평론: 시온주의 국가 건설의 이면과 인종주의적 폭력>

본 다큐멘터리는 근대 민족국가 형성 과정에서 자행된 국가 폭력과 우생학적·오리엔탈리즘적 위계질서가 어떻게 한 집단의 가족을 해체했는지를 집요하게 파헤친다.

첫째, 유대인 단일 민족국가를 표방한 시온주의 내부의 극심한 인종적·문화적 위계(아슈케나지 대 미즈라히)를 정면으로 고발한다. 건국 초기 주도권을 쥔 동유럽계 엘리트들은 아랍 문화권에서 온 예멘 유대인을 '종교적으로는 순수한 유대인이지만 문화적으로는 미개하고 원시적인 존재'로 타자화했다. "부모가 아이를 돌볼 능력이 없으니 더 나은 환경의 문명화된 가정에 보내는 것이 아이를 위하는 길"이라는 식의 가부장적·식민주의적 태도는 합법의 탈을 쓴 영아 탈취를 정당화하는 윤리적 면죄부로 작동했다.

둘째, 개별적 일탈이나 의료 혼란이 아닌 '제도화된 시스템'으로서의 국가 범죄를 드러낸다. 이동 캠프, 의료진, 복지 관료, 시온주의 여성 조직(WIZO)에 이르기까지 이어진 전달 경로는 영유아를 단순한 보호 대상이 아니라 국가 정체성을 보완하고 특정 계층의 수요를 채우는 '자원'으로 취급했음을 보여준다. 숟가락 하나 분실해도 철저히 비용을 청구하던 치밀한 수용소 행정 체계 속에서 유독 수천 명의 영유아 기록만 일제히 '실수'로 유실되었다는 변명은 관료제의 구조적 은폐를 방증한다.

셋째, 국가가 보여주는 기만적인 과거사 청산 태도를 날카롭게 짚어낸다. 세 차례의 위원회를 거치면서도 핵심 문서를 2071년까지 비공개로 봉인하고, 법적 소송 취하를 전제로 돈으로 입을 막으려는 시도는 국가 책임을 공식 인정하지 않으려는 전형적인 회피 수법이다.

결국 이 작품은 예멘계 유아 실종 사건을 단순한 미제 사건이 아니라, 이스라엘이라는 근대 국가가 출발선에서부터 품고 있던 인종주의적 모순과 폭력의 본질을 증언하는 서사로 확장해낸 수작이다. 국가가 인구 정책과 동화라는 명분으로 약자의 인권을 어떻게 짓밟았는지 묻는 동시에, 불투명한 진상규명 속에 방치된 유족들의 끝나지 않은 비극을 생생하게 환기한다.

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1950년대 이스라엘에서 왜 2,000명 넘는 예멘계 아기들이 사라졌는가?

— 알자지라 월드 다큐멘터리 <Why did over 2,000 Yemenite babies disappear in 1950s Israel?> 요약·평론

이 2024년 알자지라 월드 다큐멘터리는 이스라엘 건국 직후 발생한 이른바 <예멘계 아동 사건>(Yemenite Children Affair)을 추적한다. 1940년대 말부터 1950년대 초까지 예멘을 중심으로 중동·북아프리카와 발칸 지역에서 이스라엘로 이주한 유대인 가정의 영아와 어린이들이 병원이나 이민자 수용소에서 사라졌고, 부모들은 수십 년이 지난 뒤까지 그 아이들이 실제로 죽었는지, 다른 가정에 입양되었는지 알지 못했다. 다큐멘터리는 이를 단순한 행정 혼란이나 몇몇 개별적 사고가 아니라, 건국 초기 이스라엘 사회의 인종적·계급적 위계와 국가기관의 권력이 만들어낸 구조적 사건으로 해석한다.

사건의 시작 ― ‘마법의 양탄자 작전’과 예멘계 유대인의 이주

1949~1950년 이스라엘은 <마법의 양탄자 작전>(Operation Magic Carpet)을 통해 약 5만 명의 예멘 유대인을 신생 이스라엘로 이주시켰다. 다큐멘터리는 이들이 이스라엘 사회에 도착했을 때 이미 유럽계 아슈케나지 유대인이 국가의 정치·의료·사회복지 기관을 주도하고 있었다는 점을 강조한다.

예멘에서 온 가족들은 임시수용소인 마아바로트(ma'abarot)에 배치되었고, 영유아들은 종종 부모와 떨어져 병원이나 아동시설에 보내졌다. 부모에게는 “아이에게 더 좋은 의료와 돌봄을 제공하기 위해서”라고 설명되었다. 그런데 병원에 아이를 맡긴 뒤 다음 날 찾아가 보면 아이가 사라져 있는 경우가 있었다. 직원들은 부모에게 아이가 밤사이 사망했다고 말했지만, 시신을 보여주지 않았고 장례에도 참여시키지 않았으며 묘지의 위치나 사망증명서조차 제공하지 않은 사례들이 등장한다.

여기에서 이 사건의 가장 오래된 의문이 생긴다. 정말 아이들이 모두 죽은 것인가, 아니면 일부가 다른 가정으로 보내진 것인가?

“죽었다”고 했는데 시신은 없었다

다큐멘터리의 중심에는 가족들의 증언이 있다. 부모가 아이를 병원에 맡기고 돌아왔을 때 의료진에게 갑자기 사망통보를 받았다는 이야기가 반복된다. 시신을 보겠다고 요구하면 이미 매장되었다고 했고, 어디에 묻혔느냐는 질문에는 제대로 답하지 못했다.

더욱 이상한 것은 일부 부모가 훗날 이미 죽었다고 들었던 자녀 앞으로 이스라엘군 징집통지서를 받았다는 증언이다. 이것은 모든 아이가 살아 있었다는 증거는 아니지만, 당시 주민등록·사망기록·가족통보 체계에 심각한 문제가 있었다는 사실을 보여주는 중요한 정황이 되었다.

다큐멘터리는 여러 증언과 문서를 연결하면서 일부 아이들이 이스라엘이나 미국의 유대인 가정에 입양되었을 가능성을 제시한다. 특히 자녀가 없던 유럽계 유대인 가정에게 예멘계 아이들이 보내졌으며, 이 과정에서 생물학적 부모의 동의가 제대로 확보되지 않은 사례가 있었을 수 있다고 주장한다.

여기서 영화는 한 단계 더 나아간다. 문제가 단지 몇몇 아이의 불법입양이 아니라, “누가 적합한 부모인가”를 국가와 사회복지·의료기관이 결정했던 구조 자체였다는 것이다.

사건의 핵심 ― 아슈케나지와 미즈라히 사이의 위계

다큐멘터리가 가장 강하게 제시하는 해석은 인종과 문화의 위계이다.

건국 초기 이스라엘에서는 유럽 출신 아슈케나지 유대인이 국가기관의 중심을 차지한 반면, 예멘·이라크·모로코 등 중동과 북아프리카 출신 유대인, 즉 미즈라히(Mizrahi)는 후진적이고 교육 수준이 낮으며 대가족을 이루는 집단으로 바라보는 시선이 존재했다는 것이다.

다큐멘터리에서 연구자들은 당시 일부 의료인과 사회복지 관계자들이 “이 가족들은 아이를 제대로 키우지 못한다”는 식의 가부장적·문명화론적 사고를 가지고 있었다고 지적한다. 따라서 아동을 더 ‘현대적’이고 경제적으로 안정된 유럽계 가정에 보내는 것이 아이에게 오히려 좋은 일이라는 사고가 존재했다는 것이다.

이 부분이 다큐멘터리의 가장 중요한 문제제기이다.

즉 쟁점은 “이스라엘 정부가 전국적인 비밀 납치 명령을 내렸는가?”라는 좁은 질문만이 아니다. 공식적인 중앙명령이 없었다 하더라도 의료기관·사회복지기관·입양기관 사람들이 동일한 인종적 편견을 공유했다면, 수많은 개별 행동이 결과적으로 하나의 ‘제도적 패턴’을 형성했을 수 있다는 것이다.

세 차례의 국가 조사와 남아 있는 간극

이스라엘 정부는 논란이 계속되자 세 차례에 걸쳐 조사위원회를 운영했다. 마지막이 1995~2001년의 코헨-케드미 국가조사위원회였다. 이 위원회들을 통한 공식 결론의 핵심은 대다수 아동은 병원에서 사망했으며, 국가 차원의 조직적 납치를 입증할 증거는 발견되지 않았다는 것이었다. 일부 아동의 행방은 끝내 확인되지 않았다.

바로 여기에서 국가 조사와 가족들의 기억이 충돌한다.

위원회의 논리는 “국가가 계획적으로 아이들을 납치했다는 증거가 없다”는 것이다. 반면 가족과 활동가들은 “그것이 곧 아무 일도 없었다는 뜻은 아니다”라고 반박한다. 아이들이 부모에게서 분리되고, 부모에게 사망 사실과 매장지가 제대로 통보되지 않았으며, 일부 입양이 부모와 단절된 상태에서 이루어진 사실 자체가 이미 국가기관의 책임을 보여준다는 것이다. 이 문제를 연구한 학계에서도 바로 이 차이, 즉 ‘중앙집권적 음모가 있었는가’와 ‘제도적 실패와 차별이 반복적으로 발생했는가’를 구별해야 한다는 논의가 계속되어 왔다.

2016년 이스라엘 정부가 관련 문서 약 20만 페이지를 공개한 것도 사건이 단순히 근거 없는 소문으로 정리되지 않았음을 보여준다.

우지 메슐람과 사건의 재등장

다큐멘터리는 예멘계 랍비 우지 메슐람(Uzi Meshulam)의 역할도 다룬다. 그는 1990년대 이 사건을 다시 공론화하면서 예멘계 아이들이 조직적으로 빼앗겼다고 주장했다. 1994년 그와 지지자들이 자택에 바리케이드를 치고 경찰과 대치하면서 사건은 이스라엘 전국의 정치적 논쟁으로 확대되었다.

그의 행동방식 자체는 큰 논란을 일으켰지만, 사건을 더 이상 주변부 예멘 공동체의 ‘기억’으로 묻어둘 수 없게 만들었다는 점은 중요하다. 이후 국가조사위원회가 다시 구성되고 가족들의 증언과 자료가 본격적으로 조사되었다.

2021년 보상 ― 인정인가, 사건 종결인가

2021년 이스라엘 정부는 피해 가족들을 위해 총 1억6200만 셰켈 규모의 보상안을 승인했다. 아동의 사망 사실이나 매장지가 당시 제대로 통보되지 않은 가족에는 15만 셰켈, 행방 자체가 확인되지 않은 경우에는 20만 셰켈을 지급하도록 했다. 당시 베냐민 네타냐후 총리는 이 사건을 이스라엘 역사에서 가장 고통스러운 사건 가운데 하나라고 표현했다.

그러나 이것은 조직적 납치가 있었다는 국가의 공식 인정은 아니었다. 실제로 일부 가족과 활동가들은 돈보다 진상규명과 공식적인 국가 책임 인정이 필요하다며 보상안을 거부하거나 비판했다.

다큐멘터리 마지막 부분의 메시지도 여기에 있다. 가족들이 요구하는 것은 주로 금전적 보상이 아니라 “내 아이에게 무슨 일이 일어났는가?”라는 질문에 대한 답이라는 것이다.

평론 ― 이 작품의 가장 중요한 성취

이 다큐멘터리의 가장 큰 장점은 <납치가 있었는가, 없었는가>라는 이분법을 넘어선다는 데 있다.

가령 중앙정부가 “예멘계 아이들을 납치하라”는 정책을 만들었다는 증거가 발견되지 않았다고 하더라도, 부모와 아이를 쉽게 분리할 수 있었던 의료제도, 부모에게 설명할 의무를 가볍게 여긴 행정문화, 예멘계 부모보다 유럽계 사회복지사가 아이의 미래를 더 잘 판단한다고 믿었던 문화적 우월감은 별도의 역사적 문제이다.

이 관점에서 보면 이 사건은 단순히 ‘2,000명의 아이들이 실제로 어디로 갔는가’라는 미스터리가 아니다. 신생국가가 급격한 인구이동 과정에서 소수집단을 어떻게 다루었는가에 대한 문제이다.

특히 흥미로운 것은 가해자와 피해자의 단순한 민족 구도가 성립하지 않는다는 점이다. 예멘 유대인들도 시온주의 이주를 통해 이스라엘에 온 유대인이지만, 새 국가 안에서는 유럽계 유대인에 비해 주변화될 수 있었다. 따라서 이 사건은 이스라엘-팔레스타인 관계와는 또 다른 차원의, 이스라엘 유대인 사회 내부의 권력과 차별을 드러낸다.

그러나 다큐멘터리의 한계도 있다

동시에 이 작품의 주장 전체를 그대로 확정된 역사적 사실로 받아들이는 것은 조심해야 한다.

다큐멘터리는 수많은 증언과 수상한 기록, 입양 사례를 제시하지만, 그것이 곧 “2,000명 이상의 아이가 국가기관에 의해 조직적으로 납치되어 입양되었다”는 사실을 완전히 입증하는 것은 아니다. 세 차례의 공식조사는 조직적인 국가 납치 계획을 확인하지 못했고, 상당수 아동에 대해서는 사망 기록을 확인했다고 결론 내렸다.

반대로 그 공식 결론만으로 가족들의 의문이 해소된 것도 아니다. 정부 스스로 2021년에 부모에게 사망 사실이나 매장지가 제대로 알려지지 않았던 가족들의 고통을 인정하고 보상에 나섰다는 사실이 그것을 보여준다.

따라서 역사적으로 가장 신중한 결론은 두 극단 사이에 있다.

<모든 실종 아동이 조직적으로 납치되었다>는 주장은 현재 공개된 자료만으로 확정하기 어렵다. 그러나 <대부분 죽었으므로 사건 자체가 허구였다>는 결론 역시 당시의 심각한 행정 실패, 부모 동의 없는 분리 가능성, 일부 입양 사례, 그리고 사회적·인종적 위계를 충분히 설명하지 못한다.

종합 평가

이 다큐멘터리가 던지는 가장 깊은 질문은 “2,000명의 아이가 어디로 갔는가?”보다 오히려 “왜 수천 명의 가난한 이민자 부모들의 말은 수십 년 동안 믿어지지 않았는가?”라고 할 수 있다.

그 점에서 <예멘계 아동 사건>은 단순한 실종사건이 아니라 기억과 국가권력의 문제이다. 공식 문서가 존재한다는 사실과 피해자의 기억이 존재한다는 사실 가운데 어느 한쪽만으로 역사를 완성할 수 없다. 문서를 만든 사람 역시 권력을 가진 기관이었고, 반대로 70년이 지난 가족의 기억도 그 자체만으로 모든 사건의 구체적 경위를 증명하지는 못한다.

그래서 이 작품의 가장 설득력 있는 부분은 ‘거대한 비밀 음모’를 입증하려 할 때보다, 건국 초기 이스라엘에서 미즈라히 이민자들을 향한 문화적 우월주의와 제도적 무책임이 어떻게 가족의 아이를 잃어버리는 비극으로까지 이어질 수 있었는지를 보여줄 때이다.

결국 이 사건은 <납치냐 사망이냐>라는 하나의 질문으로는 해결되지 않는다. 일부는 실제로 질병으로 사망했을 가능성이 높고, 일부는 기록과 가족 간의 연결이 끊어졌으며, 일부에서는 불규칙하거나 부적절한 입양이 있었을 가능성이 있고, 여전히 행방을 확인하지 못한 사례도 남아 있다. 바로 이 복합성 때문에 사건은 70여 년이 지난 지금까지 끝나지 않은 이스라엘 현대사의 상처로 남아 있다.

그리고 알자지라의 이 다큐멘터리는 최종 판결을 내리는 작품이라기보다, 국가가 이미 사건을 ‘조사 완료’라고 선언한 이후에도 가족들이 왜 여전히 “우리는 진실을 모른다”고 말하는지를 이해하게 만드는 작품으로 보는 것이 가장 적절하다.

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Transcript

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0:055 seconds[Music]

0:055 seconds[Laughter]

0:088 secondsthis is an unusual story about The Disappearance of children and babies investigated by Galan Miki of Al's

0:1616 secondsArabic channel it dates back to the early years of Israel and is about discrimination Division and

0:2424 secondsdeception babies and young Jewish children from Yemen and a smaller number from other Arab countries and the Balkans disappeared under the eyes of

0:3333 secondsthe Israeli authorities over a 6-year period they appear to have been taken from their families and given up for

0:4242 secondsadoption the babies were taken in the middle of the night without parents' consent when parents were not there and

0:5050 secondsit's strongly suspected that in many cases the children that ultimately disappeared were in fact given up for adoption in this

0:5858 secondsway this was wasn't an accident these weren't mistakes this was a

1:031 minute, 3 seconds[Music]

1:061 minute, 6 secondssystem babies are a product so it was a systemic

1:141 minute, 14 secondsbusiness you thought that they are saving uh yemeni Jews from themselves

1:341 minute, 34 secondswhen Israel was founded in 1948 it encourage Jews to immigrate there from around the world including Yemen

1:421 minute, 42 secondsoperation Magic Carpet relocated nearly 50,000 Jews from Yemen to the new state of Israel in just over a year this

1:511 minute, 51 secondsfollowed the expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced in the nacba in 1948

2:002 minutesbut operation Magic Carpet held a dark secret that has still only partially been revealed involving at least 2,000

2:082 minutes, 8 secondschildren what are called yemenite babies yemenite refers to Jews of yemeni Heritage and all these children

2:162 minutes, 16 secondsdisappeared after their arrival in Israel from Yemen what happened to these children was this state sanctioned child

2:242 minutes, 24 secondstrafficking and where are these grown men and women now

2:372 minutes, 37 secondsgal Al Muki from Al jazer arabic's program the investigator is from Yemen he and his team traveled extensively to

2:452 minutes, 45 secondsseek answers to these questions to the Middle East Europe and North America in Boston Massachusetts he met a

2:532 minutes, 53 secondsJewish author and academic of yemeni descent who's researched what's known as the yemenite children

3:013 minutes, 1 secondAffair s how are you good good welcome thank you thank you so much thank you so

3:083 minutes, 8 secondsto speak about story that was for me very personal but I also wanted to research it and treat it uh as an

3:163 minutes, 16 secondsacademic matter um so um for me this this start with um hearing about stories

3:253 minutes, 25 secondsof two aunts of mineti Hama s uh they were both my father's sisters and um for

3:343 minutes, 34 secondsboth of them their babies were taken away from them H back in 1949 and especially one of them had a very

3:423 minutes, 42 secondsshocking story where her child was taking away from her arms Gamal asked about the relocation of Jews from Yemen

3:503 minutes, 50 secondsto Israel after the state The Establishment in 1948 and from the end of 48 to 49 the

3:583 minutes, 58 secondsstate Airlift 50,000 yemeni Jews from Yemen and they were situated when they got to Israel in different absorption

4:074 minutes, 7 secondscamps it's called maot in Hebrew um so different places around the country where they were um brought to and

4:164 minutes, 16 secondsbecause they told the the people that arrived that because they were housed in tin houses

4:244 minutes, 24 secondsand tents that they it would the babies would be better off if they went to the baby house which was built out of stone

4:324 minutes, 32 secondsthat it would be safer for them and that they the parents can come and nurse their babies three times a

4:414 minutes, 41 secondsday Dr Tom pessa is an Israeli sociologist and activist he too has campaigned on behalf of the yemenite

4:494 minutes, 49 secondschildren who went missing in the late 1940s and

4:584 minutes, 58 seconds50s

5:285 minutes, 28 secondsfor

5:405 minutes, 40 secondsfor in most common scenarios the babies were taken in the middle of the night

5:475 minutes, 47 secondswithout parents consent when parents were not there and the next day they were told that they got sick and they

5:545 minutes, 54 secondswere taken to a hospital and then from there essentially they were never brought back so they would be told that they died and then most cases the

6:046 minutes, 4 secondsparents didn't see a death certificate or a grave didn't get to mourn their babies

6:146 minutes, 14 seconds[Music]

6:326 minutes, 32 seconds[Music]

6:456 minutes, 45 secondsinterest in the yemenite children Affair stretches well beyond the Middle East in London the empty cradles exhibition

6:536 minutes, 53 secondshighlighted the plight of these children it was staged at London's School of Oriental and African studies

7:007 minutesknown as soas in December

7:117 minutes, 11 seconds[Music]

7:137 minutes, 13 seconds2022 the London exhibition used photographic archive and graphic reconstructions to tell the stories of

7:207 minutes, 20 secondsthe Jewish babies who went missing the result is a piece by piece timeline of events

7:327 minutes, 32 seconds[Music]

7:347 minutes, 34 secondsthis reflects the multi-stage process by which children were removed from their parents and ultimately perhaps given

7:417 minutes, 41 secondsaway it begins um in the immigration camps or sh and Sh ATL others um where

7:507 minutes, 50 secondsthe children were systematically removed from their parents and placed in baby homes in the camps or in children's hospitals in the camps they stayed

7:587 minutes, 58 secondstherefore normally a short while and then they will be moved often together often at night often without telling the parents that this was happening to

8:078 minutes, 7 secondshospitals in major towns and cities parents struggled to try and find them in hospitals but they were not given the information or the means to travel there

8:168 minutes, 16 secondsand even if they did they were met with hostility and it's strongly suspected that in many cases the children that ultimately disappeared were in fact

8:248 minutes, 24 secondsgiven up for adoption in this way I'll just wanted to speak to people directly affected the families of

8:338 minutes, 33 secondsyemenite Jewish children taken from their parents and raised by Israeli families they tracked down some of them

8:408 minutes, 40 secondsbut then one by one they each declined to be

8:458 minutes, 45 seconds[Music]

8:588 minutes, 58 secondsinterviewed

9:139 minutes, 13 seconds[Music]

9:229 minutes, 22 secondsfor Surah

9:279 minutes, 27 seconds[Music]

9:359 minutes, 35 secondsthe same happened in the following days families and victims in Israel agreed to speak but then changed their minds

9:449 minutes, 44 secondsfinally one woman did agree to appear on camera she hadn't seen her sister ra since she was a tiny baby barely a month

9:539 minutes, 53 seconds[Music]

9:589 minutes, 58 secondsold for

10:4710 minutes, 47 secondsamance

11:0411 minutes, 4 secondsit's not clear what happened to Baby raak there are some documents relating to her Yemen family in Israeli

11:1211 minutes, 12 secondsarchives one is an ID card from 1949 issued to people coming to Israel from Yemen and

11:2111 minutes, 21 secondselsewhere it shows bam and rael's parents with their arrival date as the 23rd of November 1949

11:3011 minutes, 30 secondsthen there's a neatly typewritten document detailing the transfer of the baby from her temporary home to a

11:3711 minutes, 37 secondshospital a final document from February 1950 is the child's death certificate with the cause of death shown as

11:4711 minutes, 47 secondspneumonia there's a separate case of another baby from Yemen who's also called Rael it's a common Jewish name

11:5511 minutes, 55 secondsher parents were also told she died but they never saw her body body decades later this rael's brother is still

12:0312 minutes, 3 secondslooking for

12:0412 minutes, 4 seconds[Music]

12:2012 minutes, 20 seconds[Music]

12:2812 minutes, 28 secondsanswers foree

13:2013 minutes, 20 secondsspee

13:4313 minutes, 43 seconds[Music]

13:4513 minutes, 45 secondsa this image was taken on the inside of a plane carrying Jews from Aiden the

13:5313 minutes, 53 secondssouthern tip of Yemen to the new state of Israel they were flown in a mass airlift in a matter of months some 50,000 Jews and what you can clearly see

14:0214 minutes, 2 secondsin this image is that the intervention and control over children began before they had even arrived in the state if

14:0914 minutes, 9 secondsyou read the documents of the organizations who were involved in moving Jews from Yemen to Israel it's clear that they viewed the children as

14:1814 minutes, 18 secondsthe most precious cargo to bring to the new state and this principle you find carried through to the institutions that

14:2614 minutes, 26 secondswere created in Israel the transit camps uh the hospitals the baby homes uh it's the same logic at every step of the way

14:3514 minutes, 35 secondsmost of the facts surrounding this affair are not in dispute almost 50,000 yemeni Jews were flown to Israel over a

14:4314 minutes, 43 seconds15-month period many were babies and young children some died but the vast

14:5014 minutes, 50 secondsmajority survived however at least 2,000 simply disappeared at this point questions

14:5814 minutes, 58 secondsoutnumber answers where did these missing children go is it possible that doctors and nurses removed yeminite

15:0615 minutes, 6 secondsbabies and put them in the hands of Israeli and American families if so why

15:3615 minutes, 36 secondsbu

16:0516 minutes, 5 secondsyou see yemenite babies being held by nurses dressed all in white and uh

16:1316 minutes, 13 secondsAmerican visitors women coming from the United States to visit inside this hospital this is a very clear statement

16:2116 minutes, 21 secondsthat tourists from America had better access to the children than their own mothers looking in from outside the

16:2916 minutes, 29 secondsbuilding testimonies from nurses who were in The camps who saw women arriving

16:3616 minutes, 36 secondsin foreign clothing fancy cars who went away with children but it's clear that these women had the opportunity to

16:4416 minutes, 44 secondsaccess these children much more than uh the mothers themselves did you can't explain the story without considering

16:5216 minutes, 52 secondsthe role of race and racism we're dealing with people mostly from Europe who are deciding the fates of the

17:0117 minutes, 1 secondchildren from families from the Middle East from North Africa um and from the Balkans there is an unquestionable

17:0917 minutes, 9 secondsracial component to judgments they're making every time they're deciding whether or not it's better for them to go back to their families or on to

17:1617 minutes, 16 secondssomewhere else to shed light on what James Eastwood calls the racial component gal aliki met an anthropology

17:2417 minutes, 24 secondsprofessor in California who specializes in misrahi studies the misraim were Jews who lived mainly

17:3317 minutes, 33 secondsin the Arab world misaki means easterner in 16 and this is my granny about 40

17:4017 minutes, 40 secondsyears ago in the Passover ceremony uh in the CET in international

17:4917 minutes, 49 secondswomen's uh maybe I should start with the framework for the issue and the framework starts with the

17:5717 minutes, 57 secondsfact that Zionism gave Jews a homeland in Palestine uh it was European Jews who

18:0618 minutes, 6 secondshad an idea of having a state which is Jewish and Democratic and it is contradictory to

18:1418 minutes, 14 secondshave a Jewish democracy because it assumes Jewish Supremacy and within Jewish Supremacy you have uh a race

18:2318 minutes, 23 secondsrelation between Jews from Yiddish speaking countries or the ashkenazim and Jews who came mainly from the Muslim and

18:3118 minutes, 31 secondsArab world so in order to be a citizen in Israel um the citizenship is based on

18:3918 minutes, 39 secondsbiologism and religion in that sense if you're a childless ashkanazi you'd better adopt a bab a Jew

18:4818 minutes, 48 secondsbaby that his Judaism has no doubt or as the Hebrew SS

18:5618 minutes, 56 secondsgoes there is doubtless Juda mrai Jews particularly yemeni Jews didn't

19:0419 minutes, 4 secondsintermar so one is very sure that their babies are pure Jews so they can fit into the

19:1219 minutes, 12 secondscitizenship model of Israel shushana madman Gerber is of

19:1919 minutes, 19 secondsyemenite descent and Echoes this view of a class hierarchy within Israeli Society

19:2919 minutes, 29 secondsjust mostly people European people that that were arriving and were instating these policies and they were looking

19:3719 minutes, 37 secondsdown at all the people that came to Israel from the Arab world I asked one of the nurses I said how could you sleep

19:4519 minutes, 45 secondsat night and she said to me maybe we did them a favor we did this because there's

19:5219 minutes, 52 secondsfamilies without children that wanted children and even another mother that we interviewed she said oh the doctor told

19:5919 minutes, 59 secondsus These are nice children but they the families can't help can't help them can't take care of them they don't have

20:0720 minutes, 7 secondsenough money to take care of them so they were thinking you know again this is a very orientalist way of thinking a

20:1420 minutes, 14 secondsvery racist way of thinking about who can be a parent and who cannot be a

20:2220 minutes, 22 secondsparent so actually to have Jewish babies who are misi

20:2920 minutes, 29 secondsbeing trafficked or sold is a good business because if you're an ashkanazi childless jewish family and you do not

20:3720 minutes, 37 secondswant to have problems of citizenship you'd rather get a Jewish

20:4320 minutes, 43 secondsbaby and the other ideology is that um Arabs or Muslims are primitive they

20:5120 minutes, 51 secondsdon't use contraceptives they have large families so they can do away with like one two three children as as long as

20:5920 minutes, 59 secondstheir skin color is is light so this was a logic of having pure Jews Jewish

21:0621 minutes, 6 secondsbabies being traded or sold uh as pure citizens of the state

21:2621 minutes, 26 seconds[Music]

21:3121 minutes, 31 secondsif the scope of intra Jewish racism is known to the world Israel is not going to have so much sympathy particularly

21:3821 minutes, 38 secondsnot from the Western Jewish community so the acts of kidnapping babies and

21:4521 minutes, 45 secondsselling them for adoption in a sense if the scope of all of this is known to the

21:5221 minutes, 52 secondsMRA republics they are going to doubt the righteousness

21:5921 minutes, 59 secondsof Israel is a Jewish homeland when Israel was founded in 1948

22:0622 minutes, 6 secondsit called on Jews to move there from Europe and America but also from Arab countries including

22:1322 minutes, 13 secondsYemen Jews of yemeni Heritage are known as yemenite and this story is about the strange disappearance of many yemenite

22:2222 minutes, 22 secondschildren and babies in the late 1940s and 50s families and campaigners believe they were stolen and given to ashkanazi

22:3122 minutes, 31 secondsthat is mainly European Jewish families for adoption decades later many yemenite families of children thought to be dead

22:4022 minutes, 40 secondsreceived a call up for Israeli military service

23:1023 minutes, 10 secondsso they they were thinking the fact that they were not erased right from from the listings that gave them hope that they

23:1723 minutes, 17 secondswere still alive that they were not recorded as dead because they were thinking if they actually died then how

23:2423 minutes, 24 secondsare they still in all these lists right why they're names are still there as if they were alive the military police came

23:3323 minutes, 33 secondsto their their houses to ask where is this child so it signaled to the parents that we're talking about much larger uh

23:4323 minutes, 43 secondsphenomenon and then the yemeni community started to organize gal Al Miki from Al jaz's

23:5123 minutes, 51 secondsArabic channel spent months researching this disturbing story about what seems to be a form of child trafficking

23:5923 minutes, 59 secondshe examined the work of three Israeli commissions of inquiry spanning 35 years from 1967 during that time the missing

24:0924 minutes, 9 secondschildren cases became headline news in the Israeli media the inquiries concluded that most of the missing

24:1624 minutes, 16 secondsbabies had simply died that some may have been adopted and that there was no evidence of any abducted

24:2724 minutes, 27 secondsbabies many Yemen Jews living in Israel have strongly contended that the commissions of inquiry failed to do their

24:3524 minutes, 35 seconds[Music]

24:4324 minutes, 43 seconds[Music]

24:4924 minutes, 49 secondsjob the families and campaigners found a champion in Uzi mulam an outspoken yemenite Rabbi he led protests from his

24:5824 minutes, 58 secondshome in 1994 along with supporters who barricaded his property Rabbi mulam

25:0425 minutes, 4 secondsclaimed that over 4,500 yemenite Jewish babies were stolen from their families and given to wealthy Israeli Jewish

25:1225 minutes, 12 secondscouples police arrested mulam on conspiracy and other charges and he served 5 years in jail one Israeli born

25:2125 minutes, 21 secondsformer human rights lawyer remembers mulam as a charismatic unconventional figure was it

25:2825 minutes, 28 secondswas a rabbi uh and he organized a bit of an organization around him of activists uh who were campaigning uh for

25:3825 minutes, 38 secondsdiscovering the truth about the disappearing children of Yemen he started being active in the 1970s uh but uh his main fame or

25:4725 minutes, 47 secondsnotoriety arrived in the '90s uh when his people were out in the streets demonstrating clashing with the police

25:5425 minutes, 54 secondsthere were quite a few incidents of clashes between the uh the Believers and

26:0026 minutesdisciples uh of uzam and uh the uh police gal asked Dam about meeting Rabbi

26:0826 minutes, 8 secondsmulam and what they talked about I really believed that yemenite children were kidnapped when the lawyer

26:1726 minutes, 17 secondsI was working for LL who normally represented Palestinians in military courts and so on suddenly decided to represent

26:2426 minutes, 24 secondsMulan I was I didn't like it I thought I don't know this guy is a little bit crazy there is a Vibe around him that

26:3226 minutes, 32 secondsdoesn't sound very credible I don't know if we should do that but I was the junior uh you know um interor uh you

26:4226 minutes, 42 secondsknow um internship girl in the office so I went with it I was curious also because it was a big famous story and I

26:5126 minutes, 51 secondswent with her to visit him in prison it was not a long time before he died uh and he was uh sitting there and we were talking to him

26:5826 minutes, 58 secondsand I must say that over the period when we were representing him and I was reading a lot of testimonies and was talking to a lot of the people who were

27:0627 minutes, 6 secondsactive around him I got more and more convinced that him and his people have a

27:1327 minutes, 13 secondspoint Rabbi mum's high-profile campaign came after two of the official Israeli inquiries into the affair the Israeli

27:2227 minutes, 22 secondsgovernment then launched a third inquiry the coeny commission began work in 1995

27:2827 minutes, 28 secondsand continued for 6 years while it went further than the previous two inquiries it still maintained that the missing

27:3627 minutes, 36 secondschildren had died in medical care many of the yemenite families and

27:4227 minutes, 42 secondscampaigners simply didn't accept this

28:0228 minutes, 2 seconds[Music]

28:1828 minutes, 18 secondsdocuments that we've seen they are useful you can learn things from them but there are also many questions about those for example many of the archives

28:2728 minutes, 27 secondsthat um would have been most important for the uh the commission when missing or were destroyed after these events

28:3528 minutes, 35 secondstook place in other cases um we have the copies of the archival documents but the

28:4228 minutes, 42 secondsnames of the children are removed or redacted and this makes it very hard to use them to reach the conclusions that

28:5028 minutes, 50 secondsum we we would like so I think it seems clear to me that there was a desire on

28:5828 minutes, 58 secondsthe part of those who wrote the commission report to give an answer which was that there's nothing to worry about you were

29:0629 minutes, 6 secondstold the truth it may have been delivered to you in the wrong way but we can now confirm to you that the story

29:1329 minutes, 13 secondsyou were told 70 years ago is accurate and your children sadly died

29:3729 minutes, 37 seconds[Music]

29:3829 minutes, 38 secondsBacha itaki was invited to appear before the 1995 Cohen kadmi

29:5729 minutes, 57 secondsCommission foreign spee

30:4430 minutes, 44 secondsso what of the different commission's findings that all these babies simply died from a range of illnesses Galan

30:5230 minutes, 52 secondsMiki asked about the role of the health institutions at that time in the hospital there were widespread reports of

31:0031 minutesovercrowding too many children coming to the hospitals not enough beds and many of the children they report are well rather than sending the children back to

31:0831 minutes, 8 secondsthe camps instead the hospitals seek other Solutions because they do not trust the parents to look after the children now they're recovered and so

31:1631 minutes, 16 secondsthey reach out to the welfare Ministry and to women's organizations especially Vito the women's International Zionist

31:2431 minutes, 24 secondsorganization and they send many many of the children to baby homes uh in major cities in Tel Aviv in safed in in

31:3431 minutes, 34 secondsJerusalem and we know at the time that these were really important institutions for the arrangement of adoptions and it's strongly suspected that in many

31:4231 minutes, 42 secondscases the children that ultimately disappeared were in fact given up for adoption in this way Al jazer contacted

31:5031 minutes, 50 secondsVito the woman's International Zionist organization we asked them to respond to allegations from the late 1940s and

31:5731 minutes, 57 secondsearly 50s that Vito may have been involved in The Irregular adoption of yeminite babies without their parents'

32:0432 minutes, 4 secondsconsent Vito did not

32:2632 minutes, 26 secondsreply for

32:5832 minutes, 58 secondsit's over 70 years since these yeminite Jewish children disappeared after their arrival in Israel one senior Israeli

33:0633 minutes, 6 secondsformer Health official says that what happened needs to be seen in the context of conditions at the

33:1333 minutes, 13 seconds[Music]

33:2633 minutes, 26 secondstime

33:4633 minutes, 46 seconds[Music]

33:5633 minutes, 56 secondsfor

34:1334 minutes, 13 secondsfor it's hard to explain today the scale and importance of what happened and how anyone could justify the removal of

34:2134 minutes, 21 secondsbabies from one particular ethnic group with the blessing of the authorities and that they were given up for adoption

34:2934 minutes, 29 secondswithout their parents' consent this is clearly was a systematic occurrence because it cannot

34:3834 minutes, 38 secondsbe anything else something that happens over several years so that cannot be a mistake again a mistake is something

34:4534 minutes, 45 secondsthat happens once not when it occurs over and over

34:5234 minutes, 52 secondsagain uh basically it was a very well organized Network

34:5834 minutes, 58 secondsum so it was a systemic uh business the Committees cover it up because they have

35:0835 minutes, 8 secondsparents or uh who might have gotten adopted kids they have aunties or

35:1435 minutes, 14 secondssisters who were social workers who gave a a rubber stamp for the adoption so it

35:2335 minutes, 23 secondswas the whole institution basically dealt with this trafficking of children

35:4635 minutes, 46 secondsfor

36:0236 minutes, 2 secondsif you remove a child from their parents without that parents's consent and do not return it to them and do not explain to that parent what happened and give

36:1036 minutes, 10 secondsthem a full account of what happened to that child you have kidnapped that child and I think if you look at the system

36:1736 minutes, 17 secondsyou can see that there was a clear pattern a set of attitudes a clear connection between different institutions a clear set of priorities

36:2536 minutes, 25 secondsto move children away from their parents and towards institutions that were putting children up for adoption that speaks to a pattern of institutionalized

36:3436 minutes, 34 secondskidnapping this wasn't an accident these weren't mistakes this was a system and the system should be held to account

36:4736 minutes, 47 seconds[Music]

36:5436 minutes, 54 seconds[Music]

37:0137 minutes, 1 secondthere was no cows in the refugee camps or in the uh Transit camps of the yemenis the Moroccans it was so

37:1037 minutes, 10 secondsorganized that if people when they checked out of the camp if they lost a teaspoon they were charged for

37:1837 minutes, 18 secondsit years passed and the yemenite families still had no closure as a sign that the affair was starting to be taken

37:2637 minutes, 26 secondsmore seriously however it was debated in the Israeli Parliament the knesset in 2023 MPS on all sides called for

37:3537 minutes, 35 secondsMeaningful answers to the questions it

37:5037 minutes, 50 seconds[Music]

37:5637 minutes, 56 secondsraised

38:0038 minutes[Music]

38:2638 minutes, 26 secondsfor for

39:1439 minutes, 14 secondsgal Miki asked what needed to be done in order for the whole Affair to reach a conclusion I don't think I'm I tend to

39:2339 minutes, 23 secondsbe on the pessimistic side I don't think there is going to be a solution there the history is being transmitted

39:3039 minutes, 30 secondsfrom generation to generation of the tragedy but unfortunately I do not see it bringing uh about a structural change

39:4039 minutes, 40 secondsin the racial formation and the racial hierarchies of

39:5639 minutes, 56 secondsIsrael

40:2640 minutes, 26 secondsfor fore

40:3140 minutes, 31 seconds[Music]

41:0941 minutes, 9 secondsand that's where this story now stands allegations evidence and suffering but

41:1641 minutes, 16 secondsno accountability or closure in 2021 the Israeli government

41:2341 minutes, 23 secondsexpressed regret to the families from Yemen other Arab countries and the Balkans prime minister Benjamin

41:3041 minutes, 30 secondsNetanyahu recognized what he called quote the terrible suffering the families went through but he fell short

41:3741 minutes, 37 secondsof a formal apology the government announced a compensation scheme for the families but a condition of the $45 million us offer

41:4741 minutes, 47 secondsis that the families must drop all legal claims against the state my reaction is

41:5341 minutes, 53 secondsthat it's another way to try to put an artif official closure so instead of actually telling the truth instead of

42:0142 minutes, 1 secondactually apologizing instead of uh asking for forgiveness in public they're trying to do it one family at a time

42:1042 minutes, 10 secondslike that like here a little money

42:4142 minutes, 41 secondsalzer contacted the Israeli Health Ministry we asked about allegations of involvement in irregular adoptions and

42:4942 minutes, 49 secondspossible State sanctioned child trafficking about whether the different commissions of inquiry may have covered up the irregular adop ions and why

42:5842 minutes, 58 secondsdocuments that might clarify events remain classified the Ministry of Health didn't reply okay

43:2743 minutes, 27 seconds[Music]

43:3043 minutes, 30 secondshard facts and accurate information are at the heart of this affair the third Commission of inquiry in 2001 classified

43:3943 minutes, 39 secondshundreds of thousands of documents some were Declassified in 2016 but others will remain secret until

43:5643 minutes, 56 seconds2071

44:2644 minutes, 26 secondsfor

44:5544 minutes, 55 secondsfor they must

45:1445 minutes, 14 seconds[Music]

45:2245 minutes, 22 secondsGamal Al Miki and his team's study of the yemenite children affair ended with a gathering of victims and their families an occasion to support each

45:3245 minutes, 32 secondsother and to share their stories the victims say they seek only the truth yet after over seven decades

45:4045 minutes, 40 secondsit's the truth about one of the most controversial and sensitive issues in Israeli society that remains elusive

====

1,467 Comments

====

@j.b-j1e

1 year ago

That why Dna test is prohibited in israel

@Rareearthstar

1 year ago

What a sick society from the very beginning

@ladyfluffsy1700

1 year ago

Well done for bringing the darkness to light!

179

1 reply

@bannersxyz

1 year ago

THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING

WE WILL NOT BE SILENT

WE WILL NEVER STOP TALKING.

THE STATES ARE OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE

@Majd_Shoots

1 year ago

This is bone chillingly twisted......

@hasmatarakoly

1 year ago

Thank you Aljazeera, very informative report

143

@TheCure1.

1 year ago

That could be one of the reasons for the restriction on DNA tests in Israel.

701

28 replies

@NatashaLawes-xg3uk

1 year ago

Monstrous Behaviour

@Saidshuaili

1 year ago

This is what they did to own people. Imagine what they have done to Palestinian people, reflective of the mass killing and destruction the world witnessed by the world.

316

5 replies

@janetyrrell7535

1 year ago

Israel must be internationally condemned for this atrocity

256

7 replies

@MarionThi

1 year ago

Now I understand the Yemenis better... 💔⚖️🕊

@sacredcrystal

1 year ago

What did they do!????!??? Sick sick sick this world is sick

@r-Justice1421

1 year ago (edited)

Where is Duha?

Could you do the same investigative work to look for the 20,000 palestinian children who have disappeared from Gaza. The 10 year old Duha was photographed talking to an idf soldier after an air strike that displaced her from her family. When the idf soldier was asked about Duha, he refused to talk and no one can force him talk. No one cares about palestinians anyway.

Where is Duha? And the 20,000 palestinian children who have just disappeared in Gaza?.

138

2 replies

@Yomojojo

1 year ago

I'm digging it. I'll show my kids and they will show their kids. Thank u

@NotInMYName_AntiZionistJew

1 year ago

What Israel has done to both Yemeni and Ethiopian Jews is reprehensible.

@flower-s2h2d

1 year ago

Thank you aljazeera always standing up for humanity

449

6 replies

@HannaH-pk1ry

1 year ago

What a evil regime

@mjunikiobya

1 year ago

Just imagine the type of people Palestinians were facing in 1948. If these heartless people could do such terrorism to babies what could they do to Palestinians?

1 reply

@blacksnow129

1 year ago

This may explained why no-one in Is real can have a DNA test without a court order.

1 reply

@ArtistHusna_Tee

1 year ago

Yemen holds a very strong roots to many Arabs. Many Arabs their roots come from Yemen.! ❤️🇾🇪

@farahnaaz1509

1 year ago

Respect for true journalism

231

@RozzieWilliams

1 year ago

The bbc article - "Missing babies: Israel's Yemenite children affair"

20 june 2017

@christinetaia8735

1 year ago

Thank you Aljazeera

New Zealand 🇳🇿🕊️🇵🇸

106

2 replies

@Brenzarlo

1 year ago

A very sick society

@cmas014

1 year ago

I continue to learn so much from Aljazeera - thank you for your shedding light on so many important issues and history

161

@janetyrrell7535

1 year ago

The names & addresses of the adoptees parents must be released to the families of the kidnapped children.

@reemsaif3105

1 year ago (edited)

Please al jazeerah show the british operation the Flying Carpet when they took the yemenis to isreal. The jounrey was horrible and they killed the old and ill in Aden. There is a famous graveyard there called 7ASHED.

@harperyaffe7350

1 year ago (edited)

The fact that these families were also Jewish just proves that this is not about protecting Jews. To Israel, we are just a scapegoat.

@Beatriz-pz1lt

1 year ago

Babys are big business in this world, i find out why and it makes me wanna run away from this evil world for ever.

@pamelazuill8438

1 year ago

NO WONDER YEMEN TODAY IS FIGHTING LIKE THEY DO AND HAVE THE SENTIMENT THAT THEY DO AS NOTHING WAS DONE ABOUT THIS HEINOUS CRIME!

@roni_aust1594

1 year ago

We know that when Israelis formed Israel they were minority. So in an effort to become majority in Palestine they went to every Arab country, where Jews lived happily and brought them to Israel. They did this under false pretends, lies and force (if they didn't want to come) some of their children are still living in Israel. One wrote a book about his life of moving to Israel with his family at the age of 12. His book tells of how they were treated ruthlessly and even told to stop speaking Arabic and learn Hebrew.

@reegakhojazada

1 year ago

This is worse than horror stories man

@misafir38272

1 year ago

Bunların sürekli bir şeyleri çalma huyu var buna insanda dahil 😬

3 replies

@davidmarston207

1 year ago

Thank you Al Jazeera for Sharing this

@MafiaFreeZone

1 year ago

Adoption? Is that what human trafficking is being called these days?

3 replies

@onasayify

1 year ago

I'm glad you finally released the english version 👏 I had wanted to share the report with my english speaking friends but it was in Arabic

1 reply

@joltjolt5060

1 year ago

Taking babies away from mothers is something we can all say is an atrocity.

@iqbalmd-y8v

1 year ago

Informative documentary

@yasminkirmani9795

1 year ago

What a curse it is on earth and for its own people.

@मौहम्मदफैज़

1 year ago (edited)

Respect for Truth

@maryamsukaynah559

1 year ago

Yes, it is a wound that it keeps on bleeding for the victims.

@alexisfrancis8562

1 year ago

Sacrificed to Moloch

@Leira6267

1 year ago

The people I want people to think what they have done to Palestine in the last year. Its horrific.

@steveanajafi734

1 year ago

These people are despicable. What low do they not know?

@jamilbrugsen1362

1 year ago

please tell about Uighur organ harvesting and forced sterilization in China

@michaelbagain8564

1 year ago

is there no chapter of Israels history in relation to the Arab world that isnt absolutely vile?

1 reply

@Jazzfestn

1 year ago

"The desire of the WICKED shall PERISH" - Psalm 112:10

@Mr.litters

1 year ago

This needs to be in main stream media

@terricassin9919

1 year ago

If it was a "mistake" to take the children, the "atrocity" is not using the information that they have at hand to reunite loved ones again. As a "crime against humanity" they should be taken to the ICJ and forced to reunite families again......as well as pay compensation.

@FAK179

1 year ago

The atrocities this group commits, seem straight out of an evil horror film!!

@MomoBar91

1 year ago (edited)

To me it all sounds very similar to what they did in Canada, the US and Australia with children of indigenous people and this up until the 70´s or even 80´s. Took the children away without the parents consent to give them a "better" life- and that is the so called western values or the civilized world. It´s just inhumane, cruel and absolutly traumatizing. And quite francly it´s racist.

2 replies

@FahadAbdulMajidAnsari

1 year ago

A great investigation in depth by Al-Jazeera blessed

@chrisvilavelha

1 year ago

... Sold for adoption !!!

@samiryahiaoui

1 year ago

And they call themselves civilized.

@queensusana24

1 year ago

These children have the true DNA of beni Israel. ITS ALL ABOUT DNA

@HuteDe68

1 year ago (edited)

I sobbed, watching this. The world does not know the extent of the crimes, cruelty and so much that they did. Stealing children, so they could have legitimacy among other things. Rips me apart again and again. Again, my lying eyes and ears. Ty for this report, it was overdue. I already knew and have dug for more information. Spread the truth, cry, come to terms with you are more than what they said and not tied to them in supporting and continuing the lies.

1 reply

@afiasheikh416

1 year ago

This shld be viral

@ANIKA4275

1 year ago

than you so much Al Jazeera for always staying true and resilient. I"ve learned so much from your journals and investigations. just a heart filled thanks to you.

@Lylakhann

1 year ago

Al Jazeera is outstanding channel exposing everyone in a very good way keep it up

248

8 replies

@SindyLowery

1 year ago

Oh, and let's not forget the nuns and the Canadian babies that disappeared I mean this was happening around the world why?

@rabiasaeed2206

1 year ago

Money can buy anything anywhere.🌍💯🎪

@Angela-gn1xq

1 year ago

They took the kids for the same reason Native American children were taken. There was a belief that Arab Jews were less human than European Jews and therefore their kids needed to be “civilized”.

@rondecambio7375

1 year ago

When I lived on a Kibbutz in Galilee between 1985/1986.I remember a story of a Rabbi who would not preform any religious rituals on Ethiopian Jews,mostly because they were black.

1 reply

@ramho786

1 year ago

Thank you AJ ! We are watching history has been hidden away from our schools. The people need to know of these monsters!

@silviagiulietti4925

1 year ago (edited)

here we go again, sounds familiar: "children without a family for families without children from families worthless of children" ...like a land without a people for a people without a land. unbelievable but yet true! and horrific.

3 replies

@Pou1gie1

1 year ago

Native American children were also taken from their families and given to Jewish families (probably also mostly Ashkenazi). The reason why is similar, the Yts who were non-Jewish didn't want Yt children going to Jewish families and Jewish ppl didn't want to adopt dark skinned or Black children. This led to Native Americans being adopted out to Jewish families. PBS made a drama called Little Bird about this, but didn't explain that this was a typical practice and not a fluke.

1 reply

@sambaxrock

1 year ago

CRAZY, but real, story!

@Iwarsa

1 year ago

Thanks again Al-Jazeera for showing this.

@tbowen577

1 year ago

Did I hear that the U.S. "offered" $45 million compensation?

@NeonPitch_RL

1 year ago

"Where are they now?" Most likely in the iof.

@xhorxheetxeberria-td1hu

1 year ago

The children who are adults should be told who they really are and what was done to them and their families. They should all be compensated also. It only hurts the evildoers when it hurts their pockets.

@meriembenamor

1 year ago (edited)

Do a documentary about the Ethiopian women forced to take contraceptives in Israel.

1 reply

@chanz5499

1 year ago

This heartbreaking 😢 I hope these people find justice.

@agnikollias6678

1 year ago

I hope . . Somebody in Western countries are watching this !!!!!!!

8 replies

@pepe-awaken

1 year ago

Thank you for your work 🙏

@emmapintozzi2861

1 year ago

Thank you for discovering and talking about the truth

@mi-tsan-son

1 year ago

As a muslim yemeni i cannot but sympathize with these yemenis regardless of their religion. They are yemenis and part of yemen.

1 reply

@Anonymus-qp2mb

1 year ago

IMPUNITY CONTINUES.

@mayatubemaya

1 month ago

Thank u for sharing our story. Please keep spreading it

@innocentworld360

1 year ago

Al Jazeera the great news network

2 replies

@daveparkes2355

1 year ago

"Devoid of conscience." Nothing's changed.

@resurrectedone7463

1 year ago

Ringworm Affair

The ringworm affair is viewed by some as a symbol of injustices faced by Mizrahi (Jewish immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa) children in Israel during the 1950s. A documentary, “The Ringworm Children” (Hebrew: ילדי הגזזת; Yaldei Hagazezet), was released in 2003, highlighting the controversy.

@Kuttanaadan

1 year ago

Tell about the three million killed in last five years in Yemen

1 reply

@alessandroricci7294

1 year ago

I keep saying that the middle ages never really ended, we still are in a feudal society where the local lords predate the poor masses of whatever they might have: including and especially healthy babies. It does appear that already a that time a trend was clear: the riches lifestyles of excesses was equal to poor health, up to infertility.

@lisha2122

1 year ago

Do you think this has anything to do with the prohibition of the sale of ancestry DNA kits in Israel? It is too bad that someone in the US couldn't send the swab part of the test to Israel, and then the person could return it to the sender to get the results. These people would probably be able to locate relatives and maybe even their sibling. I personally think that the tests are banned in Israel because they would prove that most of the Israelis are just European freeloaders without an ounce of "semite" blood (arab or jewish) that ties them to Palestine or anywhere else in the middle east. Zionism is not a racial group (Judaism), and Israel hates that!

2 replies

@Martyr-hero-Yahya-Sinwar-RIP

1 year ago

Imagine those children living in lies and they parents are suffering. Those children are committing genocide in gaza today.

@arsgroup8541

1 year ago

❤❤❤❤❤❤ Al-Jazeera ❤❤❤❤❤

@janetyrrell7535

1 year ago

No one has the right to take away another persons child!

3 replies

@user-wq9eg3nm4c

1 year ago

The babies at that time, would be today 70 or 80 years old (if they are alive). So how would they recognise each other- even if they would meet.

2 replies

@MirSan1_786_4

1 year ago

Please make this go viral, my fellow brothers and sisters in humanity. May the Great Allah swt reward you.

@damadafknrio

1 year ago

And so it goes.

@aymanabas8416

5 months ago (edited)

Shocking

Child trafficking

@roaringking1468

1 year ago

Al Jazeera is most authentic source of news,

Thank you Al Jazeera.

3 replies

@jillgoldman447

1 year ago

Unfortunately, there is a lot to hate about Israel. This report a small drop on the pile of Israeli atrocities.

838

36 replies

@Guerrero-f4b

1 year ago

We also should know the atrocities they did in Germany, not just believe in the Victim card they play.

2 replies

@tehmoorkhan4510

1 year ago

Evil state....robbed more than land

@ericmaniraho2260

1 year ago (edited)

This happened in austraria and canada also

1 reply

@Timewaste9457

1 year ago

18:55 I understood it as soon as the video begin

@queensusana24

1 year ago

Palestinians are also the closest to the true hebrews

@TJMotionPictures

1 year ago

So sad

@192ali1

1 year ago

Is it forbidden for Jews to have their own state (country)?

yes they are forbidden according to Torah, Talmud, their own highly rated scholars and the bible. The Lord of Abrahm has prohibited for the children of Israel to have their own independent state or country but to live within other nations. This is known to all rabbis and Jewish historians and scholars. The problem is Israel has degenerated to a secular liberal state who do not follow their own religion anymore and the arguments for it are from the perspective of secular liberalism not religion.

1 reply

@NadiaAmra-w4m

1 year ago

Thank you AlJazeera for exposing this disgusting practice it’s bad enough they’re doing genocide in Gaza

@hajrafiq804

1 year ago

Now the war is between good and evil. Not between religion as portrayed to ensure separation between good souls. Whatever the religion, country, groups, good souls should fight against evil and should suppress how much we can in all possible ways. 😊

@Ugaas3

1 year ago

You shouldn’t say Israeli families they were put into Ashkenazi families European families.

@faizahzuberi5838

1 year ago

That may be one of the reasons why genetic testing to see heritage is not allowed in Israel. But I wonder if any abducted people are in US and have done genetic testing

@faba7381

1 year ago

Horrible 😯😯

@NomesMiniChannel

1 year ago

I could think of nothing more painful than a child taken, the pain on both sides

@Gdoesfitness

1 year ago

Heartbreaking but very informative. Trying to make sense of all the evil in this world

@leesadenton6177

1 year ago

😢😢😢😢😢

@rb4peace

1 year ago (edited)

The crimes of this state, US, Europe appear endless

@DjMobile-w3b

1 year ago

This chanel is showing truth...

3 replies

@berylthompson5281

1 year ago

Extraordinary story!

@NedLed-n9y

1 year ago

I’m from a Jewish village in Yemen

Many people know about this

This is why many people will never trust the terror entity of is it real

How dare they do this to children, to mothers, to fathers?

These people, who are they?

@SuadAbdullahi-v3j

1 year ago

So heartbreaking 💔 😢😢

@Aaa20231

1 year ago

💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

@munirasaeed1186

1 year ago

I salute my jew cousins in Yemen who stayed in their homeland and God blessed them by saving them from suffering of this criminal organizations

2 replies

@Alisha_Jasmeen

1 year ago

Well well well this is not surprising at all

@milakowalski4539

1 year ago

Always Israel

@dankadesign7462

1 year ago

Thats terrible.Who knows how and where they finish!!

@alicewanderer5096

1 year ago

This was done with First Nations children in Australia up until the 1970s. The mindset was not restricted to Israel. But that it did happen elsewhere adds to the likelihood that it happened there.

2 replies

@hadast3806

6 months ago (edited)

4,500! So not 2,000?

Then probably even more

@bigthangz5489

1 year ago

"disappeared" ? you dont have any further documents after the travel records for the flights there? for 2000 kids! Just flown to Isra€l & then disappeared? a whole 2000 kids !? 👀

@clinkedylinkedy1

1 year ago

OMFG!!!!!!!

@fuckbankers

1 year ago

Shameful

@jirehmi9183

1 year ago

Genetics.

Demographics.

@lukedailey9069

1 year ago

This sound similiar to what took place in Australia when the Aboriginal children were kidnapped__ the Lost Generations.....

@einavassido875

1 year ago

Where is the documentary about the murder of the Kurds and Armenians in Turkey?

@joannelockwood9716

1 year ago

Brilliant article but very upsetting. What of the many children going missing today. Where are they?

이스라엘, 팔레스타인, 이란, 터키, 인도, 월남, 쿠바, 아프리카

Tuesday, September 22, 2026