Approximately 215 new immigrants from the United States and Canada landed in Israel this morning (Wednesday), a quarter of whom are young men and women expected to enlist in the IDF as lone soldiers. Minister of Aliyah and Integration, Ofir Sofer, said, "I wish the many immigrants great success and a smooth and optimal absorption in the country."
It should be noted that this is the 64th flight organized by immigration agencies, during which over 75,000 new immigrants have been brought to the country over the years. The passengers of this morning's flight are joining around 1,300 additional Jews from North America who have immigrated to Israel since the beginning of the year from various states in the USA and provinces in Canada - including New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, Ontario, Minnesota, Illinois, and more.
Good news for immigrants: the admission procedure will be carried out on the plane
According to the data, it is found that the central cities where the new immigrants chose to settle are Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Ra'anana, Beit Shemesh, Haifa, Afula, Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, and others. Additionally, the leading employment professions among the fresh immigrants are medicine, education, engineering, accounting management, social work, occupational therapy, and more.
For the first time, the new immigrants underwent the absorption process during the flight itself. Various immigration bodies explain that "following a successful pilot last summer, this year it was decided to carry out the full absorption process for all immigrants on the flight. Within this process, the immigrants completed all relevant forms, and their immigrant certificates were already given to them on the plane, which will save them a considerable amount of time otherwise spent on scheduling specific appointments and physically collecting the documents in the days after their arrival to the country."
Minister Ofir Sofer: We will continue to work for the benefit of Aliyah
Minister of Immigration and Absorption Ofir Sofer blessed the new immigrants: "I was happy to meet the new olim upon their arrival in Israel. It's always moving to see families with children, young adults, and seniors, who choose to realize Zionism and immigrate to the State of Israel. I am committed since the day I entered the office to bring more and more new immigrants from the United States and with the help of the adapted programs that we will launch soon and together with the dear partners from Nefesh B’Nefesh, I believe that we will live up to the task. I wish the many olim great success and easy and optimal absorption in Israel. Welcome back home."
"The immigrants will contribute to strengthening the infrastructure in Israel"
Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, Co-Founder and CEO of Nefesh B'Nefesh, stated: "With excitement, we mark another year of significant achievement and the ongoing fulfillment of the Zionist dream. We anticipate that the immigrants on this flight will seamlessly integrate into the remarkable mosaic of the State of Israel."
The rabbi added further, "The current flight is particularly touching with dozens of young individuals who chose to leave their familiar lives behind to come to Israel and enlist in the IDF, alongside experienced medical professionals who will strengthen the healthcare services infrastructure in the country, educators, individuals from the industry and hi-tech, and more. We will continue to support them and the thousands of new immigrants who will still arrive, throughout their absorption process as citizens of the State of Israel."