MP asks Britain to take in 70 Yemenite Jews

Yemeni Jews at prayer in Sana'a (Photo: Rachael Strecher)

The British government has been asked to look at what steps can be taken to help Yemeni Jews escape the Middle East and settle in Britain, The Jewish Chronicle reports.

Mike Freer, MP for Finchley and Golders Green, raised the plight of around 70 Jews in the Arabian peninsula during Home Office questions in the Commons.

They have links to families already living in Britain, and are among around 200 Jewish families (individuals? - ed) left in Yemen.

The MP asked what could be done to facilitate visa applications for those living in the town of Raydah, around 50 miles north of the capital, Sana'a.

He said political unrest, and the growing threat of Islamist extremists, meant many Jewish families feared for their lives and had been waiting "months" for visas. A number have had to go to the British embassy in Cairo (Sa'ana? -ed) to have their applications processed.

Immigration Minister Damian Green said he was aware of the issue.

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