Flying In for Good: 245 Olim on Nefesh B’Nefesh Flight

Israel National News:  Two hundred and forty five new olim – Jewish immigrants – from the United States and Canada will land an Israel Tuesday on this summer’s first flight organized by Nefesh b’Nefesh with the Jewish Agency.
Hundreds of invitees and guests are expected to attend the welcoming ceremony for the olim at Terminal 1 in Ben Gurion Airport, among them the Minister for Aliyah Absorption, Sofa Landver, and Jewish Agency chief Natan Sharansky.

This is the tenth summer since Nefesh B’Nefesh was founded. Approximately 2,500 people from the United States, Canada and Britain are expected to make aliyah with the organization's assistance this summer, half of the estimated 5,000 people that are expected to make aliyah with the group in 2011.

The group expects to reach its 30,000th oleh this year.

“It is a huge feeling of satisfaction for us to see that more and more Jews from North America see aliyah as a preferred option and choose to live in the State of Israel, says Tony Gelbart, founder-chairman of Nefesh B’Nefesh. “Every one of them makes a great contribution to the State of Israel and makes his mark in his own way.”