There are no diplomatic relations that exist between Israel and Yemen and relations between the two countries are very tense. Yemen refuses the admission of people with an Israeli passport or any passport with an Israeli stamp, and the country is defined as an "enemy state" by Israeli law.
History
Yemen occupies a strategic position at the entrance to the Red Sea and its control of the Bab-el-Mandeb, Israel's outlet to the Indian Ocean and the Far East, which increased its importance in the eyes of Israeli strategists. Yemenite Jews once formed a sizable Jewish minority in Yemen, with a distinct culture from the world’s other Jewish communities. Most emigrated to Israel in the mid-20th century.
In February 1948, Imam Yahya was assassinated and his successor, Imam Ahmad bin Yahya, came to power. The new Imam called upon all Arabs to unite against the Zionist State. He made promises to provide Egypt assistance in the war against Israel, but his contributions were minor. After learning of the Arab defeat, and establishment of the State of Israel, the new Imam feared that Israel might demand reparations for property left by Jews who had immigrated to Israel. Thinking this, he swiftly set into motion a plan for Jewish emigration en masse; referred to as "Operation Magic Carpet", the effort would see nearly 50,000 Jews flying safely out of Yemen.
When the country was divided after Britain's withdrawal in 1967, both North and South Yemen adopted a policy that was in line with their superpower orientation. Thus, Marxist South Yemen began to regard the Arab–Israeli conflict through Soviet eyes, depicting Israel as a tool manipulated by United States capitalism, while the Yemen Arab Republic in the north tended to side with the moderate Arab countries whose hostility towards Israel was milder in comparison. This pragmatic approach became even more pronounced following the merger of the two countries on May 22, 1990. Yemen's attitude during the Gulf War was clearly a byproduct of pragmatic thought. While the newly united Yemeni State did not join the Western coalition, it refrained from sending forces to Saddam Hussein's aid, and at the same time portrayed itself as a mediator and an honest broker in the conflict. San'a's attitude toward Israel showed similar tendencies. The end of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union led to reassessment in San'a, which resulted in improved relations with the US and reduced hostility towards Israel.
Civil war years
In the spring of 1958, barely a month after forming a union with Syria, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser established a new union between the United Arab Republic and Yemen. As a gesture of goodwill and solidarity with the UAR, the Ba'ath Party was allowed to establish a branch in San'a. Both Egypt and Syria supported the republican forces in Yemen, and thereby encouraged Sallal's regime to take a similar regional stance regarding the occupation of Palestine. Sallal's visit to Damascus in early summer of 1963 was widely publicized in the Arab press as a sign of unity and a revival of all progressive, anti-imperialist forces. In 1964 Yemen joined twelve Arab states at a summit in Cairo, whose purpose was to plan reprisals against Israel for its diversion of the Jordan River. During the civil war between Royalists and Republicans in Yemen, Egypt supported the Republicans while Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia supported the Royalists with war material and training.
When an Egyptian pilot, Captain Abbas Hilmi defected to Israel in 1964, his interrogators learned that the Egyptians were using poison gas against the Yemeni Royalists. Israel persuaded Hilmi to condemn Sallal and the Egyptian involvement against the Royalists. However, Israel's efforts to find favor in the eyes of the Yemeni Royalists achieved limited results. In an effort to relieve itself from the Egyptian military force, the Royalist government appealed to the UAR to send its forces to fight against Israel instead, pledging that it would not attack the Republicans when they had gone.
In an attempt to explore the underlying reasons for the Six-Day War, observers concluded that both the U.S. and Great Britain sought the withdrawal of Egyptian forces from Yemen and that the war's objective was to restore the Royalist regime. Many Yemenis were convinced that Israel was behind this maneuver. Rumors spread in South Yemen that shortly before their withdrawal from there, the British collaborated with Israel in an attempt to crush the tribes of Southern Arabia in order to prolong their colonial rule.