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Subcollection: Aden

Extent: 251 files

This subcollection takes its name from the British Protectorate of Aden to which Yemenite Jews fled in hopes of emigrating to Palestine, later Israel. While Yemenite Jews had been traveling to Aden as early as 1944, political instability and the founding of the State of Israel prompted additional waves of Yemenite Jewish refugees making perilous journeys from elsewhere in Yemen to Aden. The November 1947 United Nations vote in favor of partitioning Palestine at the end of the British Mandate sparked riots in Aden that killed 82 Jews. Subsequently, over 900 Jews already residing in Aden joined the existing refugees to await flights to Palestine, later Israel, further straining already inadequate, unhygienic, and precarious conditions. In response to these acute humanitarian needs, JDC repurposed transit camps that already existed in Aden to support thousands of refugees—numbers which far surpassed the capacity of these existing camps—while they awaited transportation.

JDC planned, coordinated, implemented, and financed Operation Magic Carpet, a rescue operation deemed “the largest human airlift in history.” In a series of airlifts chartered on Alaska Airlines, Operation Magic Carpet brought nearly 50,000 Jews from Yemen, Aden, Djibouti, and Asmara, Eritrea to Israel between December 1948 and September 1950.

The airlifts can be divided into three phases:
The first phase: This began on December 14, 1948 and was restricted to orphans. This stage was short-lived, as the British refused to allow the planes to land to refuel.
The second phase: In response to the 1949 Armistice Agreements affirmed between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria to formally end the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, British forces’ attitudes changed, and they started permitting men of military age, many of whom paid for their own passage on a sliding scale, to immigrate to Israel.
The third phase: After the British closed the original refugee camp, JDC built a new camp in a different location in June 1949. The third and final phase of airlifts, during which the vast majority of Yemenites emigrated, started in July 1949.

In addition to overseeing the airlifts and administering the refugee camps, JDC staff also assisted with reconstruction efforts in Aden, managed supply shipments, and oversaw the establishment of memorials for casualties of the Aden pogroms and of those who perished en route to Aden.

Many of the refugee camp directors hailed from medical backgrounds. In 1946, Dr. Gertz Beigel headed the operation; he was succeeded by Dr. Daniel Elkana. In December 1946, Dr. Olga Feinberg visited the Aden refugee camp while traveling back to Palestine from India. Appalled by the conditions she observed, she wrote in February 1947 offering to take over the refugees’ medical care. She eventually became camp director and served in that capacity until February 1949. Her assistant Joseph Simon assumed the role, and was replaced by Max Lapides in December 1949.

The vast majority of these records cover the years 1946-1952. However, some files includes some material from 1945 (a few documents from as early as 1933) through the mid-1960s. The later material pertains to subsequent migrations from Yemen and investigations into missing Yemenite children.

Arrangement
The Aden subcollection is arranged into three record groups: Administration, Aliya, and Camps. Within these record group, files are thematically arranged into series. Please see each record group’s scope and content for further arrangement information.

Record Group: Administration

Extent: 174 files

The Administration record group contains correspondence, cables, reports, receipts, and other financial material, documenting JDC operations in the transit camps and in the town of Aden itself.

This record group is arranged into three series. Files not associated with a series are listed after these series.

Series: Finance

Extent: 8 files

The Finance series containts receipts, bills, expenditure lists, reports, correspondence, cables, forms, cashbooks, balance sheets, lists of aid recipients, budgets, audits, cashbooks concerning JDC operations in Camp Hashed and Camp Geula, and for the Jewish community in the town of Aden. Topics covered in the files include funding received from the Jewish Agency, Central British Fund, and Yemenite organizations in Israel; maintenance of the local hospital and transit camps; loans or gifts made to individuals; education expenditures; and expenses incurred by employees and visitors such as Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, later the second President of Israel.

File JER.1: Aden Financial January- July 1946

Extent: 1 inch

Old Folder Number: 5

Receipts, bills, expenditure lists, report, documenting purchase of supplies; postal expenses; education; transportation of Jews to Aden; orphanage expenses; utilities for camp; photographs taken in Hashed and Geula camps.

Aden Financial January- July 1946

File JER.2: Aden Financial August 1946 - January 1947

Old Folder Number: 4

Receipts, expenditure lists, for supplies, transportation, utilities, for the Geula Camp.

Aden Financial August 1946 – January 1947

File JER.3: Aden Financial January-May 1948

Old Folder Number: none

Financial reports, receipts, for good and services supplied to Geula Camp. Includes reporting on progress in building of camp, such as hospital, kitchen for orphans, population movement statistics.

Aden Financial January-May 1948

File JER.4: Aden Financial June - July 1948

Old Folder Number: 7

Cashbooks, balance sheets, receipts, lists of aid recipients, detailing expenses such as supplies for Hashed Camp in Aden.

Aden Financial June – July 1948

File JER.5: Aden Financial 1948-1949

Old Folder Number: 9

Correspondence, reports, cables regarding monthly financial reports, budgets, for Hashed Camp and Jewish community in Aden. Includes negotiations with Jewish Agency for Israel with regard to shared costs.

Aden Financial 1948-1949

File JER.6: Aden Financial 1948-1950

Old Folder Number: 15

Correspondence, monthly cash books, and receipts regarding expenditures, deposits and loans involving individuals as well as transportation expenses. These include payments to cover trucks and drivers as well as tolls, camel, donkey hire.

Aden Financial 1948-1950

File JER.7: Aden Financial and Receipts 1948-1949

Old Folder Number: 51/8

Cables, correspondence, monthly financial reports, receipts, audits, lists of expenditures, regarding financing of operations for Yemenites and relief to Aden community. Topics include funding from Central British Fund, Jewish Agency for Israel and Yemenite Organization in Israel; hospital maintenance; reimbursements and expenses for personnel and visitors, including Yitzhak Ben-Zvi.

Aden Financial and Receipts 1948-1949

File JER.8: Payments to Yemenites 1949-1950

Old Folder Number: 4

Receipts, correspondence, lists, empty form regarding expenditures paid out by JDC and Jewish Agency for Israel employee to be repaid in Israel; loans or gifts paid to individual emigrants. Also included is a list of personnel in Aden from January 1951.

Payments to Yemenites 1949-1950

Series: General

Extent: 9 files

The General series consists of correspondence, memoranda, cables, and reports, detailing a range of events in the region, such as: reactions to the riots in Aden following the United Nations partition vote in November 1947 (including a map of damage incurred); staff member Harry Viteles’ three trips to Aden; thank you cables received from assistees of Operation Magic Carpet; allocations of personnel, supplies and arrangements for Passover celebrations in the refugee camps in Aden, including responsa from Israel’s Ashkenazi and Sephardi chief rabbis; plans for vocational schools and other reconstruction in Aden; Central British Fund aid for medical facilities for the refugees; discussions about sending refugee ships up the Suez Canal; and publicity strategies for Operation Magic Carpet.

File JER.9: Aden Community, Camp 1948

Old Folder Number: 51/5

Booklet, cables, correspondence, newspaper clipping, regarding riots in Aden; calls for help to Yemenites in Israel; negotiations with Israeli government regarding aliya operations, running of refugee camps; potential of sending ships up Suez Canal; arrest of leaders of camp disturbances.

Aden Community, Camp 1948

File JER.10: Aden Community, Camp, Viteles Trip 1948

Old Folder Number: 11

Correspondence, cables, newsletter, press release draft, newspaper clipping about the Aden trips of Harry Viteles, a member of JDC’s Middle East and Balkans Advisory Committee; personnel, supplies, conditions set by the Jewish Agency for Israel, for the first phase of Operation Magic Carpet.

Aden Community, Camp, Viteles Trip 1948

File JER.11: Correspondence with London and Paris Regarding Aden 1948-1949

Old Folder Number: 52/10

Cables, correspondence, memoranda, reports, regarding financial issues such as travel expenses; personnel; emigration of those from Aden and also Yemenites; sponsorship of medical program by Central British Fund; publicity on emigration. Includes the English translation of a telegram expressing the feelings and thanks of those being airlifted from the camp.

Correspondence with London and Paris Regarding Aden 1948-1949

File JER.12: Correspondence with London and Paris Regarding Aden 1949

Old Folder Number: 10

Cables, correspondence, draft invoice, receipt, regarding second phase of Operation Magic Carpet, airlifting Aden Jews. Topics include publicity, especially delivery of film and photographs; negotiations with the Jewish Agency for Israel regarding coverage of transport costs; transportation arrangements; census of Yemenite Jews in Aden.

Correspondence with London and Paris Regarding Aden 1949

File JER.13: Correspondence with Paris Regarding Aden 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/10a

Cables, correspondence, regarding hospital expenses in Aden; finances for transportation; contributions from Central British Fund and possibly the Centre of the Yemenite Organization in Israel; requests to restart Adenite Jews’ emigration–in addition to Yemenites’.

Correspondence with Paris Regarding Aden 1949

File JER.14: Correspondence with Paris Regarding Aden 1949-1950

Old Folder Number: 52/10b

Cables, correspondence, memoranda, press release, news clippings, regarding the second stage of Operation Magic Carpet. Topics include arrangements and payments for publicity; statistics, possible emigration from Asmara, Djibouti, Bahrein; rebuilding of the Boys School in Aden; negotiations with Aden government regarding numbers of Yemenite ‘infiltrators’ allowed in camp.

Correspondence with Paris Regarding Aden 1949-1950

File JER.15: Correspondence with Paris and Aden 1950

Old Folder Number: none

Correspondence, cables, account statements, and directions regarding Operation Magic Carpet. Topics include publicity, personnel, insurance, supplies, arrangements for Passover such as shipments of matza; Judaica shipped from Yemen.

Correspondence with Paris and Aden 1950

File JER.16: Harry Viteles Individual File Aden 1948-1949

Old Folder Number: 51/5.1

Correspondence, cables, supplement to legal gazette, meeting minutes regarding budget proposal regarding vocational schools; reconstruction; personnel; political situation in Aden.

Harry Viteles Individual File Aden 1948-1949

File JER.17: Harry Viteles Reports on Visits to Aden 1948-1949

Old Folder Number: 51/5

Three reports, map, covering the periods January 1948; October 8-22, 1948, and March 6-10, 1949. Includes transcriptions of letters and telegrams, statistics, accounts of pogroms. Includes map of Jewish quarter with pogroms damages detailed.

Harry Viteles Reports on Visits to Aden 1948-1949

Series: Personnel

Extent: 157 files

This series contains 15 files of general correspondence on personnel needs, policies, and job applicants, as well as 142 files of personnel who worked in the Aden refugee camp, as escorts on planes used on Operation Magic Carpet, and in the JDC-run hospital in Aden. Positions mentioned include camp directors, medical directors, nurses, medics, security, supplies, chef, caregivers, and visiting medical researchers. Some personnel were JDC staff, while others were born in Yemen or Aden and returned from Israel to work there. A number of the nurses were on loan from Hadassah, or came through the Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO) training center in Tel Aviv.

Files in this series are restricted; please see JDC’s Access & Restrictions Policy

Record Group: Aliya

Extent: 66 files

The Aliya record group contains extensive documentation testifying to the difficult conditions for refugees within Yemen traveling to Aden, as well as for those on the Yemeni border and in the refugee camps. This series also describes conditions on the Operation Magic Carpet airlifts; transport of Judaica objects from Yemen; logistics regarding visitors to the refugee camps; and responsa from Israel’s Ashkenazi and Sephardi chief rabbis regarding rescue flights on the Sabbath and holidays.

One of the most notable elements in this record group are the 28 folders of detailed English-language passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet, located in the Lists series. The Emigration series also contains daily statistics of the camp population from September 1949-September 1950.

Some records in this series fall outside the date range of this subcollection, from 1953-1967.

This record group is arranged into three series.

Series: Emigration

Extent: 34 files

The Emigration series contains correspondence reflecting negotiations with airlines and the Jewish Agency for Israel once the rescue airlifts were underway; reports of the dangerous conditions refugees encountered en route to Aden, including kidnappings and harsh conditions at the border, and severe overcrowding in the refugee camps; visits by the press and prominent individuals to the camps; the establishment of memorials, such as the March 1949 erection of a tombstone on the joint graves of 14 men killed in Sheikh Othman in the pogroms of December 1947 and the arrangements for the construction of a monument in May 1950 in memory of those who perished en route to Aden; and records by Aden transit camp director Max Lapides regarding a May 1950 “Operation Colour Blind” enterprise to transport religious books on the SS Luce up the Suez canal.

This series also contains daily statistics of the camp population for the period from September 1949-September 1950.

File JER.175: Aliya from Yemen May 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/14.12

Correspondence, cables, regarding reopening of refugee camps in Hashed, negotations with governments and Jewish Agency for Israel.

Aliya from Yemen May 1949

File JER.176: Aliya from Yemen June 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/14.12.1

Cables, correspondence, memoranda, agreement regarding division of responsibilities between JDC and Jewish Agency for Israel representatives in Aden; news of groups of Yemenite Jews en route to Aden; negotiations with Alaska Airlines; successful negotiation with Aden government to allow refugees to stay in Aden for a short time; clothing supplied from South Africa; reconstruction of Hashed camp.

Aliya from Yemen May 1949

File JER.177: Aliya from Yemen July 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/14.13

Correspondence, cables, regarding personnel for Aden camp; conditions of Yemenites on their arrival; decision regarding typhus injections; report on conditions for medical examinations; scheduling of planes.

Aliya from Yemen July 1949

File JER.178: Aliya from Yemen July-August 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/14.14

Cables, correspondence regarding scheduling of planes, including the issue of Shabbat flights; medical arrangements; delays due to engine failure resulting in overcrowding in camp; conditions on flights, statistics.

Aliya from Yemen July-August 1949

File JER.179: Aliya from Yemen August 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/14.15

Cables, correspondence, report, booklet, regarding overcrowding in camp; damage suffered in 1947 riot; transportation for journalists and staff photographer; terrible overcrowding in Hashed camp and bad conditions there; requests for clothing and medical supplies; request for permission from Chief Rabbi Herzog for Shabbat flights.

Aliya from Yemen August 1949

File JER.180: Aliya from Yemen September 1949 1 of 3

Old Folder Number: 52/14

Correspondence, cables, telephone summary, regarding individual cases, publicity, need for more staff and possible candidates, supplies sent, attempts to get more planes; need to provide water on flights; descriptions of conditions on board flights.

Aliya from Yemen September 1949 1 of 3

File JER.181: Aliya from Yemen September 1949 2 of 3

Old Folder Number: 52/14.1

Correspondence, cables, regarding requests from Histadrut to send a delegation from the Israeli Yemenite community, as well as a photographer, workers; entrance of individuals to Aden; queries regarding treatment of Torah scrolls and other holy books taken from Yemenites on arrival in Aden; plans to settle Yemenites once in Israel, including estimated budget.

Aliya from Yemen September 1949 2 of 3

File JER.182: Aliya from Yemen September 1949 3 of 3

Old Folder Number: 52/14.16

Correspondence, cables, lists regarding Operation Magic Carpet. Topics include timing of flights in accordance with requirements in Aden and Israel; supplies; statistics; personnel including nurses, clerks, cook, to be sent to camp; oral permission from Chief Rabbi to travel on Rosh Hashana; conditions of refugees at Yemeni border.

Aliya from Yemen September 1949 3 of 3

File JER.183: Aliya from Yemen October 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/14.1.1

Correspondence, cables, newspaper clipping, on Operation Magic Carpet. Topics include: work with refugees on Yemen’s border; inability to utilize and house shlichim sent to Aden; financial arrangements; supplies; possibility of publicizing story after it was leaked to the New York Times; unarrived luggage; stopping Shabat flights in accordance with Chief Rabbi’s wishes, Jewish Agency for Israel request to limit rate of aliya; descriptions of sick and dying at border and steps taken to improve situation, as well as regular updates on the population statistics of the camp.

Aliya from Yemen October 1949

File JER.184: Aliya from Yemen October-November 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/14.17

Cables, correspondence, medical report, poster, memoranda, relating to Operation Magic Carpet. Topics include: release of information to the press; arrangements for visit of Yemenite delegation from Israel; sending supplies especially medicines and blankets; anti-malaria treatment; report by Yosef Zadok on conditions at border with Yemen.

Aliya from Yemen October-November 1949

File JER.185: Aliya from Yemen October-December 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/14.2

Correspondence, cables, magazines, newspaper clippings, press releases, medical report, regarding publicity, including requests for articles and transportation to cover Operation Magic Carpet. In addition, financial arrangements, discussions regarding monthly aliya quotas; search for missing boy in Yemen; improvements in Hashed camp.

Aliya from Yemen October-December 1949

File JER.186: Aliya from Yemen November 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/14.3

Newspaper clippings, correspondence, cables, memoranda, charts, regarding publicity and requests in this regard; ages of immigrants; personnel in Hashed camp; supplies, luggage.

Aliya from Yemen November 1949

File JER.187: Aliya from Yemen December 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/14.4

Newspaper clipping, radio transcript, correspondence, memoranda, cables, list regarding Operation Magic Carpet. Topics include burial of dead in Jewish cemetery; families awaiting immigration; visits to camp of Teddy Kollek, Norman Bentwich; requests to cover the operation in the press; luggage allowance; emigres’ money left in Yemen; financial arrangements.

Aliya from Yemen December 1949

File JER.188: Aliya from Yemen December 1949-February 1950

Old Folder Number: 52/14.5

Cables, correspondence, reports, lists, regarding the conditions in the refugee camps and other aspects of Operation Magic Carpet. Topics include the medical conditions in the camp; immigrants’ luggage; statistics regarding immigrants’ places of origin; overpriced goods in camp store; closing Crater hospital and transfer of patients to Israel. Includes letters from immigrants themselves.

Aliya from Yemen December 1949-February 1950

File JER.189: Aliya from Yemen February-March 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/14.6

Newspaper clippings, press release, correspondence, receipts, lists, reports on medical conditions in Hashed camp; statistics of immigrants arriving at Hashed camp from various points of origin; clothing and food distribution to immigrants; insurance for flights and shipments; memorial for Yemenites who died en route; visitors to camp including Hadassah Samuel; flights from Asmara; inquiry regarding individual kidnapped en route to Aden; shipping luggage and Torah scrolls through the Suez Canal.

Aliya from Yemen February-March 1949

File JER.190: Aliya from Yemen March-June 1950

Old Folder Number: 52/14

Correspondence, cables, receipts, monthly reports, accounts, regarding aid to Jews from Sana to emigrate; transportation of luggage by ship, and insurance to cover this; visit of Moshe Sharett and family to camp; change in airline charges for various age groups. Includes letters written by Yemenites from various locations within Yemen.

Aliya from Yemen March-June 1950

File JER.191: Aliya from Yemen June-July 1950

Old Folder Number: 52/14.7

Cables, receipts, list and correspondence regarding transfer of flights from Near East Air Transport to El Al; distribution of Yemenite books and Torah scrolls in Israel; successful transfer of immigrants from Habban; log of “Operation Colorblind” boat journey from Asmara to Eilat; inquiries regarding relatives left in hospital when rest of family made aliya.

Aliya from Yemen June-July 1950

File JER.192: Aliya from Yemen July-August 1950

Old Folder Number: 52/14.8

Cables, press release, newspaper clipping, correspondence, regarding transfer of sick children to Israel; arrangements in light of reduction of flights to one per week; arrival of refugees from Habban, including medical report; action taken regarding polio epidemic in Israel; erection of monument in cemetery in memory of those who died en route; preparations for closing camp.

Aliya from Yemen July-August 1950

File JER.193: Aliya from Yemen August-October 1950

Old Folder Number: 52/14.18

Correspondence, ship inventory, cables, press release, reports, regarding preparation for closing of Camp Hashed; flight scheduling; New Year’s greetings; unveiling of monument in memory of 500 Yemenite Jews who died en route; disposal of camp equipment; commemorative envelopes marking last flight; transportation of equipment and belongings of emigres. Includes statistics of total Yemenites transported.

Aliya from Yemen August-October 1950

File JER.194: Aliya from Yemen 1950-1951, 1962, 1964, 1967
File JER.195: Aliya from Yemen 1951-1955

Old Folder Number: 52/14.10

Cables, correspondence, bills, legal documents, shipping advisement, regarding winding down of operations for Hashed Camp and Jewish community in Aden. Topics include shipping supplies, immigrants’ goods; request for financial support to write book on Operation Magic Carpet; holdings of Jewish community in Aden.

Aliya from Yemen 1951-1955

File JER.196: Aliya from Yemen 1959-1962

Old Folder Number: 52/14.10.1

Aliya from Yemen 1959-1962

File JER.197: Correspondence with Aden December 1948-January 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/9

Cables, correspondence, statement of landing and housing fees, regarding plane departures and statistics of those on board; requirement of Israeli government to provide documents with photographs of each passenger; temporary flight halt due to difficulties refueling and fighting over the Negev;

Correspondence with Aden December 1948-January 1949

File JER.198: Correspondence with Aden January-March 1949 1 of 2

Old Folder Number: 51/5

Lists, correspondence, radio transcript, chart, meeting minutes, hospital reports, supplements to legal gazette, regarding loans made to Yemenite Jews; statistics on refugees; first phase of Yemenites in Camp Hashed and in Crater leaving for Israel.

Correspondence with Aden January-March 1949 1 of 2

File JER.199: Correspondence with Aden January-March 1949 2 of 2

Old Folder Number: 52/9.2

Cables, correspondence, inventory regarding supplies, trip of journalists to Aden to cover second phase of Operation Magic Carpet, during which men of military age, as well as some residents of the city of Aden, were permitted to emigrate. Includes excerpts of speeches delivered at UJA delegation luncheon in Israel.

Correspondence with Aden January-March 1949 2 of 2

File JER.200: Correspondence with Aden March-April 1949 1 of 2

Old Folder Number: 51/5

Correspondence, cables, lists, balance sheet, map, relating to Operation Magic Carpet. Topics include arrangements for publicity; lists of individuals from Aden who have registered for the airlift, some self-sponsored, others subsidized to varying degrees by JDC; loans and repayments; personnel.

Correspondence with Aden March-April 1949 1 of 2

File JER.201: Correspondence with Aden March-April 1949 2 of 2

Old Folder Number: 52/9.1

Report, cables, correspondence, press release, draft invoice regarding Aliya of Adenites and Yemenites, closure of camp, publicity. Includes thank you note from Jewish Agency for Israel worker in camp to JDC, as well as evidence of a new attitude to evacuation of military aged men in light of armistice signing in Israel on the part of the Aden government.

Correspondence with Aden March-April 1949 2 of 2

File JER.202: Correspondence with Aden April-May 1949

Old Folder Number: 51/5

Cables, correspondence, report, lists relating to running of Operation Magic Carpet, including the emergency hospital. Topics include worsening conditions for Yemenite Jews with pleas to act for Aliya; running of emergency hospital; supplies; exploration of airlift from Asmara, Eritrea. In addition, a thank you note for the building of a neighborhood for Yemenites in Ramat Hasharon.

Correspondence with Aden April-May 1949

File JER.203: Correspondence with Aden March-June 1950

Correspondence, cables, reports, airway bill, table, list, insurance forms, relating to Operation Magic Carpet. Topics include conditions in Camp Hashed, such as the need for additional medical personnel; transportation aboard ship of property and Torah scrolls; discussion regarding Operation Colour Blind, a plan to transport refugees from Aden to Israel; transfer of contract from Alaska Airlines to El Al; arrangements for erection of monument in memory of those who died en route; attempts to arrange emigration from Habban, Yemen; inquiries regarding missing relatives and a successful rescue of a kidnapped son.

Correspondence with Aden March-June 1950

File JER.204: First Phase Operation Magic Carpet 1948-1949

Correspondence, cables, “Yediot HaJoint”, regarding preparations for and implementation of the first phase of airlift of Yemenite Jews from the Hashed Camp in Aden. Topics include finance and other negotiations with the Israeli government and other bodies; personnel for operation and camp; supplies for hospital; policy regarding who receives priority among the refugees.

First Phase Operation Magic Carpet 1948-1949

File JER.205: Population Movement Yemen September-November 1949

Old Folder Number: 52/15

Daily Return of Camp Population forms, daily lists of deaths, cables, charts, correspondence containing statistics sent to Israel and then to Paris.

Population Movement Yemen September-November 1949

File JER.206: Population Movement Yemen December 1949-April 1950

Old Folder Number: 52/15.1

Daily Return of Camp Population forms, daily report of deaths forms, report of census taken in camp, cables, charts, correspondence containing statistics sent to Israel and Paris.

Population Movement Yemen December 1949-April 1950

File JER.207: Population Movement Yemen May-August 1950

Old Folder Number: 52/15.2

Daily Return of Camp Population forms, daily report of deaths forms, report of census taken in camp, cables, daily statistics charts, correspondence containing statistics sent to Israel and then to Paris.

Population Movement Yemen May-August 1950

File JER.208: Population Movement Yemen September 1950

Old Folder Number: 52/15.2.1

Daily Return of Camp Population forms, daily report of deaths forms, daily statistics charts, containing statistics sent to Israel and then to Paris.

Population Movement Yemen September 1950

Series: Lists

Extent: 28 files

The Lists series contains 28 folders of detailed English-language flight passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet. These extraordinary primary sources reveal the different characteristics of the three phases of Operation Magic Carpet (please see the Aden subcollection-level description for further details on these phases).

File JER.209: Lists of Olim from Asmara and Djibouti 1949

Old Folder Number: 14

Passenger lists of one flight each from Asmara and Djibouti.

Lists of Olim from Asmara and Djibouti 1949

File JER.210: Lists of Olim from Yemen Nos. 1-18, 1949

Old Folder Number: 8

Passenger lists for aliya flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status including if the individual is an orphan, has any family in Israel, and the closest relative in Yemen. These lists are from the first phase of Operation Magic Carpet., where the passengers consisted primarily of orphans, women, and the elderly.

Lists of Olim from Yemen Nos. 1-18, 1949

File JER.211: Lists of Olim from Yemen Nos. 19-56, 1949

Old Folder Number: 8.1

Passenger lists for aliya flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status including if the individual is an orphan, has any family in Israel, and the closest relative in Yemen. These are lists are from the first phase of the operation which began in December 1948. It consisted largely of orphans, women, and the elderly, and many of the lists are undated.

Lists of Olim from Yemen Nos. 19-56, 1949

File JER.212: Lists of Olim from Yemen March-April 1949

Old Folder Number: 3

Passenger lists for aliya flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, any family in Israel, and closest relative in Yemen. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen March-April 1949

File JER.213: Lists of Olim from Yemen A18-A28 1949

Old Folder Number: 3.1

Passenger lists for aliya flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, any family in Israel, and closest relative in Yemen. Almost all lists are undated. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen A18-A28 1949

File JER.214: Lists of Olim from Yemen July 1949

Old Folder Number: 2a

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen July 1949

File JER.215: Lists of Olim from Yemen August 1949

Old Folder Number: 2a.1

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen August 1949

File JER.216: Lists of Olim from Yemen September 1949 1 of 4

Old Folder Number: 2b

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen September 1949 1 of 4

File JER.217: Lists of Olim from Yemen September 1949 2 of 4

Passenger lists and cargo manifest for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, any family in Israel, and closest relatives in Yemen. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen September 1949 2 of 4

File JER.218: Lists of Olim from Yemen September 1949 3 of 4

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, any family in Israel, and closest relatives in Yemen. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen September 1949 3 of 4

File JER.219: Lists of Olim from Yemen September 1949 4 of 4

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, any family in Israel, and closest relatives in Yemen. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen September 1949 4 of 4

File JER.220: Lists of Olim from Yemen October 1949 1 of 4

Old Folder Number: 11a

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes, as well as Cargo Manifests listing total number of pounds the passengers weigh.

Lists of Olim from Yemen October 1949 1 of 4

File JER.221: Lists of Olim from Yemen October 1949 2 of 4

Old Folder Number: 11b

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen October 1949 2 of 4

File JER.222: Lists of Olim from Yemen October 1949 3 of 4

Old Folder Number: 13

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen October 1949 3 of 4

File JER.223: Lists of Olim from Yemen October 1949 4 of 4

Old Folder Number: 13.1

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen October 1949 4 of 4

File JER.224: Lists of Olim from Yemen November 1949 1 of 3

Old Folder Number: 11/2

Passenger lists containing name, sex, age, weight, family status, any family in Israel.

Lists of Olim from Yemen November 1949 1 of 3

File JER.225: Lists of Olim from Yemen November 1949 2 of 3

Old Folder Number: 11

Passenger lists containing name, sex, age, weight, family status, any family in Israel.

Lists of Olim from Yemen November 1949 2 of 3

File JER.226: Lists of Olim from Yemen November 1949 3 of 3

Old Folder Number: 11.1

Passenger lists containing name, sex, age, weight, family status, any family in Israel.

Lists of Olim from Yemen November 1949 3 of 3

File JER.227: Lists of Olim from Yemen December 1949 1 of 2

Old Folder Number: 12

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen December 1949 1 of 2

File JER.228: Lists of Olim from Yemen December 1949 2 of 2

Old Folder Number: 12.1

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen December 1949 2 of 2

File JER.229: Lists of Olim from Yemen January 1950

Old Folder Number: VII

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, any family in Israel, and closest relatives in Yemen. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen January 1950

File JER.230: Lists of Olim from Yemen January-February 1950

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, any family in Israel, and closest relatives in Yemen. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen January-February 1950

File JER.231: Lists of Olim from Yemen February 1950

Old Folder Number: 7

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen February 1950

File JER.232: Lists of Olim from Yemen March 1950

Old Folder Number: 7.1

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen March 1950

File JER.233: Lists of Olim from Yemen April 1950

Old Folder Number: 8

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of statstics of ages for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen April 1950

File JER.234: Lists of Olim from Yemen May 1950 1 of 2

Old Folder Number: 8.1

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of statistics of ages for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen May 1950 1 of 2

File JER.235: Lists of Olim from Yemen May 1950 2 of 2

Old Folder Number: 12

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen May 1950 2 of 2

File JER.236: Lists of Olim from Yemen June-July 1950

Old Folder Number: 12.1

Passenger lists for Operation Magic Carpet flights including names, sex, age, weight, family status, and any family in Israel. In addition, handwritten notes of numbers of infants and children for billing purposes.

Lists of Olim from Yemen June-July 1950

Series: Supplies

Extent: 4 files

The Supplies series describes shipments of relief supplies, such as medicine, blankets, clothing, and religious items, to the transit camps in Aden, as well as office supplies for administering the camps.

File JER.237: Shipping Aden 1949 1 of 3

Old Folder Number: 55/7

Correspondence, cables, lists, receipts, export license, shipping advisements regarding shipment of clothing, food, medicine, shoes to Aden. Supplies were sent from Israel and South Africa, some originated in Europe.

Shipping Aden 1949 1 of 3

File JER.238: Shipping Aden 1949 2 of 3

Old Folder Number: 55/7

Cables, bills, correspondence, shipping advisements, receipts, forms, regarding shipments of medicine, clothing, blankets, to be used in the refugees camps in Aden.

Shipping Aden 1949 2 of 3

File JER.239: Shipping Aden 1949 3 of 3

Old Folder Number: 55/7

Cables, correspondence, shipping advisements, receipts, bills, forms, lists regarding clothing, blankets, medicine shipped to Aden for use in refugee camp.

Shipping Aden 1949 3 of 3

File JER.240: Shipping Aden 1950-1951

Old Folder Number: 55/7

Cables, correspondence, inventories, brochure, shipping advisements regarding supplies and personnel for refugee camps in Aden. Supplies include matzah and wine for Passover, as well as medicine, clothing, office requirements. In addition, information regarding journalists and filmmakers flown to Aden.

Shipping Aden 1950-1951

Record Group: Camps

Extent: 11 files

The Camps record group documents the operation of the transit camps at Aden before the Operation Magic Carpet rescue airlifts began in December 1948. These camps, officially known as “Hashed” in Arabic–and also called “Geula” (“redemption” in Hebrew) by Dr. Gertz Beigel, the first camp director–were closed, disassembled, and rebuilt in various locations from 1946-1949.

The record group is arranged in two series: Finance and General.

Series: Administration: Finance

Extent: 3 files

This series contains receipts, financial reports, cables, and correspondence that detail personnel, utilities, and supplies expenditures, and medical and educational resources, involved in administering the transit camps in Aden.

File JER.241: Aden Financial 1947

Old Folder Number: 9

Receipts and other documentation of expenditures for medical, educational programs, in addition to water, supplies, salaries, car maintenance.

Aden Financial 1947

File JER.242: Aden Financial June-December 1947

Extent: 1 inch

Receipts, financial reports, lists showing goods and services supplied to Camp Geula.

Aden Financial June-December 1947

File JER.243: Aden Financial 1948

Old Folder Number: 51/8

Cables, correspondence, exchange voucher, receipt, reports, regarding expenses for Aden personnel; increasing food budget; policy decisions; conditions and atmosphere in refugee camp. Includes report from Leon Betensky on the difficulties of reaching Aden, having left Palestine on the day of the British pull out.

Aden Financial 1948

Series: Administration: General

Extent: 8 files

The General series contains correspondence; cables; bills of lading; statistics; reports regarding riots in Aden in 1948; the opening of a hospital in Crater, elsewhere in Aden, administered by British government services for the benefit of the post-pogrom Aden Jewish population; negotiations for visas; and deportations and voluntary returns of Jews from Aden to Yemen. One folder includes testimony transcripts from the Investigative Commission on Yemenite Children.

File JER.244: Correspondence with Aden 1946

Old Folder Number: 5

Reports, correspondence, cables, budget, regarding Yemenite Jewish refugees in Aden, their medical care and social work, as well as the building of the Geula Camp. In addition, discussion of cost-sharing with the Jewish Agency for Israel; many returning to Yemen in view of difficult conditions and little likelihood of Aliya.

Correspondence with Aden 1946

File JER.245: Correspondence with Aden 1947

Old Folder Number: 5.1

Cables, correspondence, reports, expenditure budget, application for export license, application for currency transfer; memoranda, regarding replacement of Dr. Beigel and Nurse Rahel Mashat by Dr. Elkana and Dr. Olga Feinberg; deportations of refugees back to Yemen; statistics, food provided; proposal for mother of pearl button factory; description of educational program.

Correspondence with Aden 1947

File JER.246: Correspondence with Aden 1948 1 of 2

Extent: .5 inch

Correspondence, cables, packing lists, regarding supplies to Aden; Viteles’ recommendations for improving conditions in Aden; personnel.

Correspondence with Aden 1948 1 of 2

File JER.247: Correspondence with Aden 1948 2 of 2

Extent: .6 inch

Budgets, correspondence, cables, bill of lading, lists, export license application, regarding supplies, personnel; riots in Aden; opening of hospital in Crater by Nurse Ethel Slonim for the benefit of the post-pogrom Aden Jewish population, which received funding from JDC; follow-up to Harry Viteles’ report on his visit to Aden; request to British High Commissioner for Palestine to allow emigration of 953 orphans from Aden.

Correspondence with Aden 1948 2 of 2

File JER.248: Correspondence with Aden April-June 1948

Old Folder Number: 1

Cables, correspondence, memoranda, reports, audits regarding potential transportation to and from Aden; conditions in the refugee camp and in Aden; reconstruction loans to community; education; transportation of personnel to Aden; uses for grant from Central British Fund. Includes report by Norman Bentwich on the situation of the Aden Jewish community after 1947 riots there.

Correspondence with Aden April-June 1948

File JER.249: Correspondence with Aden 1948-1949

Old Folder Number: none

Cables, correspondence, expenditure lists, press release, balance sheet, bill, regarding financial issues, individuals jailed for damage done during general strike; negotiations for visas with Aden’s governor; Harry Viteles’ trip to Aden.

Correspondence with Aden 1948-1949

File JER.250: Investigative Commission on Yemenite Children 1949-1950, 1967

Old Folder Number: 52/14.11

Correspondence, cables, medical charts, testimony transcripts, list of deceased, architectural plans regarding monument to those who died en route in Aden cemetery; inquiry regarding wife and son admitted to hospital, not heard of since by family; running of camp, medical facilities, and disposal of medical records and lists of immigrants. Includes Hebrew report by Yitzhak Ben-Zvi on his December 1949 visit.

Investigative Commission on Yemenite Children 1949-1950, 1967

File JER.251: Jews in Moslem Countries: Yemen 1949

Old Folder Number: 2

Reports on conditions among Yemenite Jews and motivations and possibilities for emigration.

Jews in Moslem Countries: Yemen 1949

The cataloging, microfilming, and digitization of this collection was made possible with support from the Colman Family Foundation, Memorial de la Shoah (Paris), and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Archives of The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc.

Email: [email protected]