On the Wings of Eagles by Tami Lehman-Wilzig with illustrations by Alisha Monnin; Milburn, New Jersey: Apples & Honey Press, an imprint of Behrman House Publishers; © 2025; ISBN 9781681-156354; 32 pages including appendix; $19.95
SAN DIEGO – Operation Magic Carpet in 1949 airlifted 49,000 Jews from Yemen to Israel on more than 430 flights. Some Yemeni Jews, quite familiar with the Torah, had memorized Exodus 19:4, which states, “You saw what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings to bring you to Me.”
Taking the metaphor literally, they expected giant eagles to carry them to Israel, not airplanes, with which they were wholly unfamiliar. In this charming book of historical fiction, written for children ages 5 through 8, author Lehman-Wilzig and illustrator Monnin tell the story of a little girl and her family who trekked on bare feet for days through hot desert sands to reach the airport of Aden, which today is part of Yemen but then was a British protectorate.
There, planes flown by Alaska Airlines, offering unscheduled cargo service, awaited the refugees, who at least in one instance balked at becoming passengers inside the plane and instead insisted that they would wait for an eagle. In this story, Warren, an Alaska Airlines pilot modeled on real life Warren Metzger, and his crew painted their plane to look like an eagle which the little girl, Haila, and her family felt it was proper to board.
The plane made it through anti-aircraft fire, aimed at it by hostile Arabs upset that the Jews had a land of their own. The airplane touched down in newly independent Israel three hours after takeoff. Haila’s grandmother, Jada, kissed the ground, and made the pronouncement “We have returned home on the wings of an eagle.” Yemen was a temporary home for the Jews; Israel was their “forever home.”
Haila’s immigration story was based on the life of Leah Ma’Udah, who still is alive today. In a footnote, she wrote to the young readers: “Shalom dear children. This is my story. I hope you enjoy it.”
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.