Nefesh B’Nefesh is marking the arrival of its 100,000th new immigrant from North America since its founding in 2002.
The milestone was reached today with the arrival of Jeffrey and Atara Douglas from New York, who moved to Jerusalem with their three children, Nathaniel (10), Hallie (9), and Emilia (6).
In honor of the occasion, President Isaac Herzog met with the family at the President’s Residence alongside Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer and Nefesh B’Nefesh co-founders Rabbi Yehoshua Fass and Tony Gelbart.
Nefesh B’Nefesh is widely credited with radically improving the immigration experience for North American Jews by streamlining bureaucracy, providing comprehensive guidance before and after arrival, and helping immigrants integrate into Israeli society.
“This milestone isn’t simply about welcoming our 100,000th Oleh [immigrant to Israel], it’s about the generations that have followed,” said Fass. “It’s about the sabra children born because their parents chose to build their future in Israel, and the grandchildren who know no other home.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, August 9, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
