Samuel Yavne’eli (Jawnieli; 1884–1961) was born in Kazanka, Ukraine, in 1884. His original surname was Warshavsky, but he changed it after emigrating to Palestine in 1905. Yavne’eli was a major figure in the Zionist labor movement and one of the early members of the Second Aliya (1904–1914).

In 1911 Yavne’eli went to Yemen to organize the emigration of Yemenite Jews to Palestine. He was apparently selected to undertake this mission because of an article he had written in Hapoel Hatzair in 1910, discussing ways to encourage Zionism among the Jews of Yemen. However, there w…