There are an estimated 50 Jews remaining in Yemen—all at risk of an ethnic cleansing campaign spearheaded by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Yemen’s information minister told Israel Radio on Sunday.

The Houthi’s slogan is: “Death to America. Death to Israel. Curse upon the Jews. Victory to Islam. Allahu Akbar.” Minister Moammer al-Iryani said they are acting accordingly, targeting the country’s tiny remaining Jewish population, most of whom are living in a compound adjacent to the American embassy in the Houthi-controlled capital city of Sana’a, the Times of Israel reported.

Iryani said that the loss of the country’s Jewish population was a blow to Yemen’s heritage and culture, and that the Yemeni government hopes to reestablish a relationship with Jewish communities of Yemeni ancestry.

Nineteen Yemeni Jews arrived in Israel after a secret rescue mission in March of last year. The mission was coordinated by the U.S. State Department and the Jewish Agency for Israel, a surprise move given that Israel has no diplomatic relations with Yemen and the U.S. closed its embassy in the country when the civil war began in 2015. Approximately 200 Yemenite Jews have been brought to Israel by the Jewish Agency in recent years.

Some 50,000 Yemeni Jews were shuttled to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet in 1949-50. They and their descendants have played prominent roles in Israeli society, including singer Ofra Haza, Olympic medalist Shahar Tzuberi, and former Knesset Speaker Yisrael Yeshayahu.

[Photo: Rod Waddington/Wikimedia]