# Jews in Somalia and Somaliland: what the records say > Jews in the Somali lands from the records: Yemeni and Aden traders, the 1949 departure to Israel, the debate over the Yibir, and what is known today. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/history/jews-in-somalia/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## In short "Information received by the organization department of the World Jewish Congress" showed that "there are no Jews left in Italian and British Somaliland", the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported on 15 August 1949. Almost all of the Jews of [French Somaliland](/en/relations/france/) (Djibouti) had gone to Israel, and three remained in Djibouti to settle the community's affairs ([JTA, "Only Three Jews Remain in Somaliland", 15 August 1949](https://www.jta.org/archive/only-three-jews-remain-in-somaliland-all-other-members-of-community-went-to-israel)). For other faiths in Somalia, see [religion in Somalia in numbers](/en/society/religion-in-somalia-in-numbers/) and [Christians and missions](/en/society/christians-and-missions-in-somalia/). ## Traders on the coast Yemenite Jewish traders are reported in Somali coastal towns from the 1880s. Wikipedia's article names Berbera, Zeila and [Brava](/en/regions/barawa/), but its figures are marked as needing citations ([Wikipedia, "History of the Jews in Somalia"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Somalia)). See [British Somaliland](/en/history/british-somaliland-1884-1960/) and [Somali seamen and early migrants](/en/diaspora/somali-seamen-and-early-migrants/). ## 1949: leaving for Israel The 1949 JTA report said the remaining Jews of the region had left for Israel. One of the three still in Djibouti wrote to the World Jewish Congress asking for money to pay taxes, duties and debts so that they could join their families there ([JTA, 1949](https://www.jta.org/archive/only-three-jews-remain-in-somaliland-all-other-members-of-community-went-to-israel)). ## The Yibir question The Yibir (also Yibro) are a small Somali minority group, traditionally known as healers and counted among the Gabooye groups ([EUAA, *Country Focus: Somalia*, 2025](https://coi.euaa.europa.eu/administration/easo/PLib/2025_05_EUAA_COI_Report_Somalia_Country_Focus.pdf)). See [minority communities](/en/society/minority-communities/). - **A claimed Jewish origin.** Some accounts link the Yibir to Jewish roots; Wikipedia reports the claim but marks it as unsourced. - **The main study.** Christian Bader's study *Les Yibro: Mages somali. Les juifs oubliés de la corne de l'Afrique* (Paris, 2000) concluded that the Yibir are "improbables descendants de Juifs", improbable descendants of Jews (as cited by Wikipedia). - **Their own account.** In 2000 a Yibir leader, Ahmed Jama Hersi, told the *New York Times* of an oral history of arriving as Arabic-speaking teachers more than 1,000 years ago, without claiming Jewish descent ([Ian Fisher, "Djibouti Journal; Somalia's 'Hebrews' See a Better Day", *New York Times*, 15 August 2000](https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/15/world/djibouti-journal-somalia-s-hebrews-see-a-better-day.html)). ## Today The US State Department's religious freedom report for 2023 gives "unknown numbers of Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and people with no religion" in Somalia ([US State Department, *International Religious Freedom Report 2023*](https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2111587.html)). Israel recognised the State of Somaliland during its five days of independence in June 1960, and recognised Somaliland again on 26 December 2025. See [the State of Somaliland, 1960](/en/states/state-of-somaliland-1960/) and [Somalia and Somaliland, 1991 to 2026](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/). ## Who suffered? - **The Yibir,** who as a minority group have faced discrimination; see [minority communities](/en/society/minority-communities/). ## Sources differ - **The Yibir's origin.** Some writers claim a Jewish origin; Bader's study calls it improbable, and a Yibir leader gave a different oral history in 2000. - **How many Jews lived in the Somali lands.** No census figure is linked here. Wikipedia's estimates of 100–200 traders in the early 1900s are unsourced. ## Read the primary sources yourself - Jewish Telegraphic Agency, "Only Three Jews Remain in Somaliland; All Other Members of Community Went to Israel", 15 August 1949: [article](https://www.jta.org/archive/only-three-jews-remain-in-somaliland-all-other-members-of-community-went-to-israel). - US State Department, *International Religious Freedom Report 2023*: Somalia: [text](https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2111587.html). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.