ABSTRACT
While Lapides and his Committee thought that they were beginning to see the light at what they perceived to be the end of the tunnel, a new development brought their operation to a halt. For some time, the Imam of Yemen was seeking to establish diplomatic relations with both the Soviet Union and China, as well as to obtain arms from the Communist bloc. In January 1957, a Soviet legation was opened in Taʿiz, followed by a Chinese one. The Soviet Union also responded positively to the Imam’s request for arms, and the first shipment arrived at Salif in November 1956, accompanied by Soviet technicians. While the first shipment consisted mainly of small arms, the subsequent ones included, among other things, tanks, armored carriers, and heavy artillery. To secure trucks for the transportation of the Soviet military equipment to diverse parts of Yemen, the Yemeni government appropriated all trucks in the country. 1 As a result, all regular business consisting primarily of transport of goods between Aden and the Yemen had come to an almost complete standstill. Since Rubeidl’s trucks were among those appropriated by the Imam, the plans for the transport of Jews to Aden had to be postponed, until the trucks were released. 2
