19 of Yemen's last remaining Jews arrive in Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) - An Israeli nonprofit group says a clandestine operation has brought some of the last remaining Yemenite Jews to Israel.

The Jewish Agency said Monday that 19 Yemenite Jews arrived over the past few days. The agency works closely with the Israeli government and acts as a link to Jews around the world.

The group says the Yemenite Jews were flown in on a "complex covert operation." Israeli Channel 2 TV reported that the U.S. was involved in the mission. Yemen and Israel have no diplomatic ties.

The Jewish Agency says that a spate of anti-Semitic attacks and the civil war have endangered Jews in Yemen.

Some 50,000 Jews have arrived to Israel from Yemen since 1949. The Jewish Agency says the last remaining 50 Jews chose to stay in Yemen.