Sana’a, July 18: A Yemeni Jewish woman wed an Israeli citizen the same day her older sister embraced Islam and married a Muslim without the consent of her parents, sources close to the family said.
Saeed Bin Saeed Al Naeti married off his 18-year old daughter Barakha to Mousa Shaghdari, a Yemeni Jew who left Yemen for Israel in 1994.
The father’s condition was that Shaghdari should leave Yemen with his bride as soon as possible, the sources said.
The couple is expected to leave Yemen for Israel this week, the sources said.
The older daughter of Saeed, Leyah, 20, was wed on the same day, Thursday, to her Muslim bridegroom, Abdul Rahman Al Huthaifi in Kharef, Amran province.
On June 29, Leyah was wed to her Jewish bridegroom Haron Salem, one of about 66 Jews who have been living in a luxurious compound in Sana’a since they were expelled from Sa’ada by Al Houthi rebels in 2005.
About five days after the wedding, she escaped from her bridegroom’s house in the compound to a chief of the tribesmen of Arhab in the northern outskirts of Sana’a. She was in love with her Muslim neighbour, but her parents did not want him to marry their daughter, a relative said.
On Wednesday, the Jewish bride announced she had embraced Islam in the Arhab district in front of a number of tribal shaikhs who took “the required” procedures for the new marriage and “cancellation” of the first marriage.
The first marriage was nullified by a court verdict after she embraced Islam.
“The new wedding was distinguished in terms of the number of cars accompanying the bride and the number of bullets that were fired in the air,” said Abdullah Nasser who attended the wedding.
Rabbi Yahya Mousa, who arranged the first marriage to one of his relatives, said the new marriage violated the rules of all religions.
Commenting on Leyah embracing Islam the rabbi said: “We are wronged, we are underdogs. But we hope President Ali Abdullah Saleh will stand with us and do justice by us,” he told.
-Agencies