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Numbers of the once prominent Jewish community in Yemen are dwindling fast. Especially since the revolution, many Jews fled from hostility in the northern province of Sa'ada and Amran. The exact number of Jews left in the country is unknown, but government sources estimate it around 450 people, while Jewish organizations in the United States estimate it at slightly over 100 people.
Of the ancient cultural legacy of Yemeni Jewry, one element has stood the test of time, migration and revolution: The craft of hand-made silver jewelry. Last year in December, Yemeni silversmith Kamal Rubaih and retired American diplomat Marjorie Ransom presented a selection of Yemeni jewelry at the Library of the Congress in Washington, focusing on Jewish designs.
Ransom and Rubaih have collaborated on the book "The Demise of an Ancient Craft", to be published this year by the American University in Cairo Press. The...