The remains of Yemenite Jewish children from 17 families will be exhumed to ascertain possible genetic familial ties with their living relatives, the State Attorney's Office (SAO) has approved Tuesday morning to the Petah Tikva Family Court.

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Responding to an appeal by the same 17 families, the SAO said its decision was made while "paying attention to the public importance of learning the truth regarding the deaths and burials of minors from Yemen, the east and the Balkans, whose families were notified of their deaths after Israel was founded."

File photo of demonstration calling for Israel to recognize kidnapped Yemenite children affair (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

The move received prior approval from the Committee on Deceased Persons' Dignity, part of the Council of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, subject to conditions being in place allowing halachically to exhume the graves and carry out genetic tests on the remains.

Considering the circumstances, the SAO has consented to issuing an order to open the graves and take DNA samples from remains entered therein to check for familial ties with the 17 petitioning families.

Dvora Sliman of Tel Mond, whose family only recently discovered her sister Rina—who disappeared when she was one year old—was buried in a Petah Tikva cemetery, said, "We welcome the State Attorney's decision to open the graves.

"Perhaps the findings will solve the mystery and bring some calm to my mother, who is still searching for Rina and cannot believe she's buried in that grave," she added.

Archival photo of Yemenite children (Photo: David Eldan/GPO)

The Achim Vekayamim (Kidnapped Children's Families Forum) non-profit organization said, "The organization welcomes the State Attorney's decision to open the graves and carry out genetic tests, and hopes this entire process will be carried out transparently and in full cooperation with the families.

"We do, however, wish to make clear this is but a partial, limited move, and one that is not sufficient. We demand the Israeli government accept responsibility, on behalf of the State of Israel, for the kidnapping of children, and commit to tangible measures to uncover the truth of this horrid affair. Only accepting responsibility and uncovering the truth in full will provide succor to the families, and Israeli society entire."

The disappearance of Jewish Yemenite children returned to headlines in 2016 after several NGOs demanded the state uncover archival materials related to the affair. The government authorized the release of such materials, which were originally meant to remain classified until 2070.





(Photo: Efer Meir, Avi Hai, Nitzan Dror)

As a result of the government's decision, protocols of the various commissions of inquiry dealing with the subject were declassified and published

A lobby was simultaneously created in the Knesset to bring closure to the affair, headed by MK Nurit Koren (Likud). The Knesset also decided to create a committee to collect testimony and draft a bill dealing with exhuming graves for genetic testing.

Thousands participated in a Jerusalem demonstration demanding Israel recognize the children's disappearance in June of last year.