Introduction

Operation Magic Carpet (also called Operation On Eagles’ Wings) came to an end on September 24, 1950. It involved nearly 450 flights, carrying a total of about 50,000 Yemeni Jews to Israel in just two years (1949-1950). In the preceding thirty-eight, only 18,000 had emigrated to Israel. The last two planes of Operation Magic Carpet landed at Lyda airport, bringing 177 Yemeni Jews from Aden. ¹ This dramatic air-rescue operation, which was sponsored by the American Joint Distribution Committee (henceforth: AJDC) and paid for by American Jews through the United Jewish Appeal, consisted of three phases. The first phase began on December 17, 1948, when a twin-engine transport took off from Aden to Israel, carrying 54 passengers of non-military age, mostly orphan children, on a flight of about 1,600 miles. ² This was followed by four planes (DC-4S), each carrying 120 Yemeni passengers. 5,207 Jewish men, women and children had been flown to Israel in this initial phase, a total of 67 flights. By the middle of the month, there were no Yemeni Jews left in the Hashed Camp which was situated in the British Colony of Aden, resulting in its closing.