Operation Magic Carpet, 1949-1950

Operation Magic Carpet is the widely known nickname for Operation On Wings of Eagles (Hebrew: כנפי נשרים Kanfe Nesharim), which was conducted by Israel between 16 December 1948 and 24 September 1950 to take in approximately 49,000 Yemenite Jews as part of the Jewish exodus from the Muslim world. The name derives from the biblical image of Israel being carried "on eagles' wings" (Exodus 19:4 and Isaiah 40:31). With support from the United Kingdom and the United States, the majority of Jews in Yemen—as well as 500 Jews in Djibouti and Eritrea and some 2,000 Jews in Saudi Arabia—were brought to Israel. British and American transport planes (with Alaska Airlines as a major participant) made hundreds of flights from Aden Colony to facilitate the airlift. At the time, the Kingdom of Yemen comprised what would, in the future, be known as North Yemen. The UK controlled the Crown Colony of Aden, which would later become known as South Yemen. In 1990, North and South Yemen united to create the country known today as Yemen. Thus, the "Yemen" of 1948 was only a portion of the country known today as Yemen.