By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency / Jewish News Agency
Jerusalem, Israel — February 4, 2024 … Since the Israel Hamas war started on Oct. 7, 2023, with the massacre of hundreds of Jewish civilians near the Gaza border, 720 newcomers have arrived in Israel. Over 200 of them making Israel home in the last week of 2023.
Nefesh B’Nefesh, working with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and JNF-USA, are doing their best to bring Jews home while many Israelis serve in the IDF. The economy has been in critical need of both farm and industrial workers.
In the last quarter of 2023, 4,175 requests were made for Aliyah and were submitted by individuals and families compared to 1,985 in 2022. Of the requests, 3,709 of the individual plans were from North America. The main reason for the increase was due to Zionism, while antisemitism only contributed to small amount of the motivation.
Nefesh B’Nefesh was founded in 2002. Their mission is to facilitate and celebrate Aliyah, advocate for Olim, and educate towards a stronger connection to Israel. Nefesh B’Nefesh was founded by Tony Gelbart and Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, with the mission to revitalize North American Aliyah.
NBN Aliyah Advisors help you identify community options, navigate the health care system, find appropriate education for your children, build a budget and much more.
“The significant number of new immigrants to Israel during the Iron Swords Israel Hamas War and the tremendous increase in requests to open Aliyah files are an important demonstration of Zionism and a beautiful expression of solidarity with the country, providing us with a much-needed boost to our morale,” said Minister of Aliyah and Integration, Ofir Sofer.
“Together with our partners at The Jewish Agency for Israel and Nefesh B’Nefesh, we are working to improve the absorption process by easing the bureaucracy as well as helping with Hebrew learning and job placements. We believe that full integration of the newcomers will contribute greatly to Israeli society and economic growth.”