Most of Yemenite Jews had never seen an aircraft before, but they believed in the Biblical prophecy: according to the Book of Isaiah (40:31), God promised to return the Children of Israel to Zion "with wings".

Operation Magic Carpet was an operation between June 1949 and September 1950 that brought 45,000 Yemenite Jews to the new state of Israel. British and American transport planes made some 380 flights from Aden, in a secret operation that was not made public until several months after it was over. In 1948, after the declaration of the state of Israel, Muslim rioters engaged in clashes in Aden that killed 82 people and destroyed a number of Jewish homes. Aden's Jewish community was economically paralyzed, as most of the Jewish stores and businesses were destroyed. Early in 1948, the false accusation of the ritual murder of two Yemeni girls led to looting. In the course of the operation Magic Carpet (1949-1950), the entire community of Yemenite Jews (called Teimanim, about 49,000) immigrated to Israel. ... In the course of the operation Magic Carpet (1949-1950), the entire community of Yemenite Jews (called Teimanim, about 49,000) immigrated to Israel. ... Yemenite Jews (תֵּימָנִי, Standard Hebrew Temani, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānî; plural תֵּימָנִים, Standard Hebrew Temanim, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānîm) are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen (תֵּימָן far south, Standard Hebrew Teman, Tiberian Hebrew Têmān), on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. ... The Book of Isaiah (Hebrew: Sefer Yshayah ספר ישעיה) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, believed to be written by Isaiah[1]. // The 66 chapters of Isaiah consist primarily of prophecies of the judgments awaiting nations that are persecuting Judah. ... At the bottom of the hands, the two letters on each hand combine to form יהוה (YHVH), the name of God. ... The Children of Israel, or Bnei Yisrael (בני ישראל) in Hebrew (also Bnai Yisrael, Bnei Yisroel or Bene Israel) is a Biblical term for the Israelites. ... Dormition Church, situated on the modern Mount Zion Zion (Hebrew: צִיּוֹן, tziyyon; Tiberian vocalization: tsiyyôn; transliterated Zion or Sion) is a term that most often designates the land of Israel and its capital Jerusalem. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Yemenite Jews (תֵּימָנִי, Standard Hebrew Temani, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānî; plural תֵּימָנִים, Standard Hebrew Temanim, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānîm) are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen (תֵּימָן far south, Standard Hebrew Teman, Tiberian Hebrew Têmān), on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. ... Port of Aden (around 1910). ...

In response to this increasingly perilous situation, most of the Yemenite Jewish community secretly emigrated to Israel between June 1949 and September 1950 in Operation "Magic Carpet". A smaller, continuous migration was allowed to continue into 1962, when a civil war put an abrupt halt to any further Jewish exodus. Some wealthy Jewish families, not deceived by the promises of a better future, decided not to leave their properties.

In the course of Operation "Magic Carpet" (1949–1950), the majority of Yemenite Jews (about 49,000) immigrated to Israel. Most of them had never seen an aircraft before. They were uprooted from their ways of life as farmers and had to adapt to a totally new way of life in a new world.