The daily kidnapping of Arab children that we are witnessing since the exaltation of the Palestinian genocide on the 7th of October is not a novel expedient by the state of Israel. In fact, this means of terror dates back to the establishment of the colonial entity in 1948, particularly with its targeting of Yemeni Jews. These unreserved kidnappings of both Jewish and gentile children underline the white supremacist nature of the Zionist state.

In order to discuss the kidnapping of Yemeni Jews, we must first understand the geographical and cultural differences between Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews: while the Ashkenazi Jews originated in central and eastern Europe, the Mizrahi Jews descend from middle eastern ancestry and live primarily in Iran, Iraq, and Arab mediterranean countries. Contrary to the Ashkenazi Jews, the Mizrahi Jews historically never faced antisemitism, as they lived in harmony with all other religions, sharing in the culture of their country all while freely exercising their religious rituals. This is one of the reasons Ashkenazi Jews weaponize to justify elaborating Zionism - simplified as the idea of the circumscription of a Jewish nation - which happened at the expense of the Palestinian lands. This catastrophe, or “Nakba”, was the result of “plan delta”, engineered by the primary founder of the Zionist entity and its first prime minister, Ben Gurion.

However, after coming to Palestine, Jewish Ashkenazi settlers realized that they were unfamiliar with the land and how to care for it. To solve this issue, they thought to find Jews familiar with the nature of the landscape and its agriculture. And so was launched “Operation Magic Carpet” between June 1949 and September 1950, bringing back 49,000 Mizrahi Yemeni Jews, or almost all of the Jewish community of Yemen. Roped by false pretenses, these Yemeni Jews thought that going to the occupied territories would let them escape the poverty that was targeting the whole population of Yemen. But for the Zionist entity, this operation meant gaining cheap labor to reverse the agricultural crisis.

Once they arrived in occupied Palestine, the Yemeni Jews were thrown into camps and stripped of their belongings, including their papers - requiring them to change their names to Hebrew names - and their culture, which they were forced to abandon. For the Ashkenazi Jews, the Mizrahi Jews were considered “unclean”, "primitive”, and a threat to the “civilized European” image that the Zionist entity wanted to instill about itself. Gurion even described Yemeni Jews as “barbarians”, stating, in a clear proclamation of white supremacy: “We don't want Israel to become Arabia; it is incumbent upon us to struggle against the spirit of the Levant, which corrupts individuals and societies.” The brutalization of the Yemeni Jews continued with the infantilization they faced in all their areas of life. For example, to secure their place in positions of power, the Ashkenazi Jews claimed that the Mizrahi Jews would never be modern enough to duly influence the decisions of the state.

The Yemeni children were not spared from this burden either but instead kidnapped the day they arrived at the camps, or later from baby houses and hospitals, being ripped away from their mothers the day they were born. Many Yemeni mothers believed that if their child was not dead, they were sold or put up for adoption by Ashkenazi families. Indeed, in the decades that followed, the government commissioned certificates to state that the kids had died, and, when questioned, it would deem the families illegitimate by accusing them of conspiracy. It wasn’t until 2016 that the issue resurfaced and was acknowledged at a state level, and many of those kids reunited with their biological parents. However, this inhumane cult persists more fervent than ever, with the testimonies of many Israeli nurses gathered by the NGO Amam highlighting typical dehumanizing and supremacist responses, such as: “You have lots of children; why not let us take one of them?”

The removal of kids and their reeducation is a common practice of colonizers all around the globe to push their white supremacist agenda. Zionism's core values are racist and violent, not only towards Palestinians but also towards Mizrahi Jews who, for the Ashkenazi Jews, are Arabs first and foremost, and therefore share more in common with the Palestinians than the Israelis. This attack on the Mizrahi Jews’ identity not only helps the Ashkenazi Jews justify their racist policies, but also builds a system where, in order to survive, the Mizrahi Jews must view the Palestinians as a threat, and not as a people close to them in culture.