THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, October 11, 1985 19
WHAT HAPPENED TO
NICARAGUA'S JEWS?
Redemption was at hand and
that the diaspora life of suffer-
ing and hardship was finally
over.
"The Imam of Yemen, possibly
interpreting Israel's military
victories in 1948 as a sign from
God, gave the Jews permission
to emigrate. In 1949-1950 Is-
rael's Operation Magic Carpet
flew almost all of the Jews of
Yemen to Israel. Many, leaving
for the pickup point in Aden in
great haste, were forced to sell
their belongings at far less than
their full value — but to them
the important thing was simply
to return to Zion. In spite of the
fact that the road to Aden was
long and often dangerous, with
some even dying along the way,
nearly all of Yemen's 50,000
Jews were successfully airlifted
to Israel."
One of the most distinguished
authorities on the Jews in Arab
countries, the late Prof. S.D.
Goitein, made his comment on
the book prior to its publica-
tion:"
"Jewish blacksmiths in
Yemen were highly respected
because they manufactured and
repaired practically all metallic
implements needed by the Mus-
lim peasants. Learned Jewish
blacksmiths are known from lit-
erature and from my own field
work. I am not surprised to find
the son of a blacksmith choosing
photojournalism as his career."
Yemenite Jews is, therefore, a
very important essay and a val-
uable chapter in Jewish history.
The author-photographer's por-
trayals include very impressive
illustrations of the life of the
Yemenite Jews. Ozeri's book is a
valuable addition to Jewish lit-
erature and Jewish history.
,
In 1978 there was a Jewish community
in Nicaragua. Twelve months later, that
Jewish community had been driven out by
Nicaragua's new Sandinista government.
Today, that government is threatening
Jews throughout Central America.
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Sandinista State-sponsored
Anti-Semitism
* The synagogue in Managua, Nicaragua was
firebombed, taken over by Sandinistas and
adorned with pro-PLO•posters.
* 70 year'old Abraham Gorn, president of the
Managua Jewish community, had his factory
and bank accounts seized, was evicted from his
home, jailed and forced to sweep the streets
* The Sandinista newspaper, Nuevo Diario, pub-
lishes vicious attacks on Jews referring to
Jewish places of worship as "synagogues of
Satan."
Yassir Arafat of the PLO being given a hero's welcome to
Nicaragua by Sandinista leaders Thomas Borge (I.) and
Daniel Ortega (r.)
"There Is a common line between Nicaragua, Iran
and Palestine. A common front against a common
enemy. .."
—The PLO Information Bulletin.
"We sayto our brother, Arafat, that Nicaragua is his land
and the PLO cause is the cause of the Sandinistas."
—Thomas Borge, Nicaragua Interior Minister.
The PLO/Sandinista Threat to Central America
* In the 1960s and 1970s, the PLO trained Sandinista terrorists in Lebanon. Today, the PLO trains
Sandinista security forces in Nicaragua
* The Sandinista "martyr", Frederico Ryan, was among the terrorists who participated in the
notorious 1972 massacre at Lod Airport near Tel Aviv.
* The Sandinistas allow the PLO to maintain an "embassy" in Managua and to carry Nicaraguan
passports to facilitate terrorist activities.
The Sandinista Threat to Central America
* The Nicaraguan Army has grown from less than 10,000 men before the revolution to more than
125,000 men today—larger than all of the other Central American armed forces combined.
* In April 1985, Costa Rican police uncovered a Sandinista-trained terrorist network that had
planned to kidnap leading members of the Costa Rican Jewish community.
THE NATIONAL JEWISH COALITION IS SPEAKING OUT!
Shamir Seeks
Bulgaria Ties
New York (JTA) — Foreign
Minister Yitzhak Shamir met for
more than an hour at the United
Nations last Wednesday with the
Foreign Minister of Bulgaria,
Peter Mladenov, and suggested
that Bulgaria consider resuming
commercial and cultural ties
with the Jewish State as a first
stage for restoring full diploma-
tic relations. Bulgaria suspended
diplomatic ties with Israel in
1967.
An aide to Shamir said that
the Bulgarian Minister ex-
pressed willingness to consider
Shamir's requests. According to
the aide, Mladenov said that his
country will resume diplomatic
ties with Israel when the reasons
that caused Bulgaria to cut its
ties with Israel disappear.
Mladenov suggested in that
connection the holding of an in-
ternational peace conference to
solve the Mideast conflict and es-
tablish peace between the Arabs
and Israel. Shamir reportedly
reiterated the Israeli position
against an international confer-
ence.
The NJC has:
* participated in radio talk shows, and published articles, reaching millions nationwide;
* brought victims of Sandinista anti-Semitism to Washington to testify on the horrors
that led to their exodus.
The National Jewish Coalition urgently needs your help to tell of
the dangers facing Central America's Jews and to fight for policies
that will keep Israel and America secure.
The National Jewish Coalition is
not afraid to confront anti-Semitism
and Soviet expansionism. The NJC
believes that for Israel to be strong,
America must be strong and willing
to defend freedom,
Clip and Send to: National Jewish Coalition
415 Second Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20002
❑ YES, I want to help the NJC spread the word about Soviet-sponsored Sandinista/PLO
tyranny.
❑ YES, I want additional information about the National Jewish Coalition.
❑ YES, I want additional information about the problems in Central America.
U.S. SENATOR CHIC HECHT, A
LEADER IN THE JEMISH COMMU-
NITY, HAS CALLED THE NATIONAL
JEWISH COALITION "THE MOST
IMPORTANT ORGANIZATION TO
EMERGE IN THE PAST DECADE"
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