This afternoon, December 30, as the 41st and final Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN) Aliyah group flight of 2020 landed at Ben Gurion Airport, 48 new Olim joined the 3,168 individuals who moved to the Jewish Homeland from North America over the last year alone – 2,625 since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.The organization succeeded in assisting nearly 90% of the total number of Olim that arrived in 2019. Founded in 2002, Nefesh B’Nefesh, in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah & Integration, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and Jewish National Fund-USA, has assisted in easing the Aliyah process for over 65,000 Olim since its inception.Since January of 2020, Nefesh B’Nefesh Olim have most often hailed from New York, New Jersey, California, Florida, Ontario, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Texas. Altogether in the past year, 811 families chose to move their lives to Israel, along with 1032 singles and 332 retirees. There were 61 physicians and altogether 198 medical professionals who arrived in Israel in the last year, most of whom joined the frontlines in Israel’s fight against the coronavirus, and 390 young men and women who stepped off the plane with the desire to serve Israel as lone soldiers. In addition to the Olim who arrived throughout 2020, Nefesh B’Nefesh received 6704 Aliyah applications (in contrast to 3035 in 2019) marking a 126% increase in interest in Aliyah.
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“From the earliest days of the Jewish State, no matter how trying or difficult the circumstances, Aliyah has always continued in order to preserve what was once a distant dream for our parents and grandparents,” said Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Nefesh B’Nefesh. “As we look back at the challenges everyone faced in 2020, we are extremely proud of what we have accomplished together. We look forward to watching each Oleh grow and build their new lives in Israel, and eagerly look ahead to 2021, a year with the potential to exceed all expectations in Aliyah.”"I welcome the dozens of new Olim who chose to leave everything, especially during the time of a global epidemic and fulfill their dreams of building new homes for themselves in Israel,” said Minister of Aliyah and Integration, MK Pnina Tamano-Shata. “Many will surely remember 2020 as a challenging and complex year, but the Olim who arrived today from across the US, and are part of the last group of Olim this year, are enabling it to be shaded in more encouraging and optimistic colors. Despite COVID-19, the Jewish nation is thriving and Aliyah is continuing. In the past year, more than 20,000 Olim from 80 countries around the world made Aliyah. It is a great privilege to head an office that continues to work day and night to allow Diaspora Jews to come to Israel even in times of crisis and ensure their optimal and full integration here in Israel." Read more at Arutz-7
