Report Yemen Jews being moved to Israel

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SANAA, Yemen, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The Israeli government is preparing to transport an estimated 400 Jews remaining in Yemen to Israel, an Iranian report said Monday.

A group of Yemenite Jews recently arrived in Israel on a Qatari flight from Doha, the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars said, quoting a report in the Palestinian weekly al-Manar.

The Israeli government hopes to bring additional Jews to Israel in the coming months, the agency said.

The remaining Jews in Yemen have complained of growing discrimination and about 60 have left the country since 2010, The Yemen Post said earlier this month.

The non-governmental Yemenite Sawa'a Organization for Anti-Discrimination estimates about 400 Jews remain in the country -- 300 living in the Riada area and 100 in the capital of Sanaa. On its Facebook page, the organization called a recent decision by the Yemeni government to cut financial aid and other services for Jews in Sanaa "unfortunate and unacceptable." The organization said the Jews have lived in a guarded compound in the capital since they were driven out of their homes by al-Qaida forces in 2007.