The Chief Rabbi of Yemen, Yahia Youssef Moussa, has called on the country’s president to allow the Jewish community and other minority groups to be represented in the country’s parliament.

“I demand the government’s new attention to this, to work to allocate seats for members of the community in the Consultative Council and Parliament, in order to feel real citizenship, non-discrimination, a right guaranteed by our law and the Constitution,” Rabbi Moussa said. 

Moussa said that he emphasized to the president the importance of the Jewish community to the country and their desire to serve in the government in order to help the Jewish population as well as the people of Yemen.

“I wish to see members of the Jewish community sit in the Parliament and the Shurah Council without discrimination or resentment for our religious differences,” he told the Aden Times.

In an official statement, the rabbi urged all Yemenis to “stand united in the face of adversity.”