350 new immigrants arrive in Israel with Nefesh B’Nefesh

A special charter flight with 350 new immigrants from North America landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport on Tuesday morning. Among the arrivals were 127 young men and women who plan to enlist in the IDF.

A ceremony took place at the airport at 9:00 am local time, attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky. Maj.-Gen. Orna Barbivai, the head of manpower in the IDF, was also on hand to greet the incoming soldiers.

The group is part of the Nefesh B’Nefesh program, a non-profit organization that was founded in 2001 in order to help North American and British Jews make aliyah (immigrate to Israel).

The flight was organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemet Le’Israel and Tzofim Garin Tzabar.

More than 4,800 American, Canadian and British Jews have or will be making aliyah this year, which marks Nefesh B’Nefesh’s 10th anniversary.

JTA contributed to this report.