Yihya and Sarah Okabi

My parents immigrated to Israel from Yemen on this date shown on their immigrant's certificate No. 55407, and were housed in a camp in Rosh Ha’ayin on November 4, 1949 with my two sisters and two brothers. Yosef was the youngest, about a year and a half old. One night, On February 23. 1950, my mother’s sister (her name was Benaya, of blessed memory) heard a noise outside. She went outside and saw that the babies from the nursery were loaded into a vehicle and asked, "What's going on?" And she was told the children were ill. She hid and then when the nurses went in to bring more babies, she went over to the vehicle, took out her daughter (about a year old), and ran to call her two sisters to come and take the babies. But when they came the vehicle was no longer there. In the morning my parents went to ask what was happening with the children. They were told that Yosef got sick and died.

On June 12, 1966, I was present at a meeting of the investigation committee concerning the disappearance of the Yemenite children. At that time the committee was examining case number 184/96 that said my brother died of children polio on February 23, 1950 at Pardes Katz hospital, medical record number 325, death certificate 538/50, dated March 10, 1950 and was buried in the cemetery in Petah Tikva, Block B row XIV No. 12 on February 26, 1950. In the death certificate I obtained from the Ministry of the Interior on June 25, 1966 it is written that "Yosef Okabi ID number 4158186-9 died on 0000/00.” I also went to the Sgula cemetery in Petah Tikva and according to the letter which I sent to you there is no baby of that name buried.

I remember as a child around the age of 12 when the military police came to us and asked why Yosef did not come to his recruitment date and told us that he is considered deserter.