26 new immigrants landed tonight (between Wednesday and Thursday) at Ben Gurion airport in a special flight for the Jewish Agency and the Immigration and Absorption Ministry. Upon landing, the immigrants were received by Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer and Jewish Agency Chairman Doron Almog.
Most of the immigrants on the flight are young people aged 18 to 35. The youngest new citizen is a year-old infant who is coming with her two-year-old sister and their two parents, while the oldest immigrant is an 80-year old man arriving with his 72-year old wife. Jerusalem tops the list of absorbing cities, which includes Haifa, Netanyah, Bat Yam, Bnei Brak, and Tel Aviv.
Receiving new immigrants at Ben Gurion Airport. (Video and editing: Akum Strategies)
Miriam, a university student making Aliyah to Jerusalem with her two friends, said: “despite the tension, we are happy to make Aliyah, become Israeli citizens, and start our life in Israel.”
Aliyah to Israel in Wartime: A Tailwind for the IDF and the State
Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer said that “it is a source of great pride to see the new immigrants from France whom we received at the airport. The immigrants prove the faith of the Jewish People in the justice of its cause, a faith that has accompanied the Jewish People for thousands of years, precisely during a difficult war. The immigrants’ making Aliyah during the war is a tailwind for the IDF and the state. We will continue to realize the vision of the Return to Zion at all times.”
“The choice to make Aliyah to Israel in these days is heartening and strengthens the unity and resilience of Israeli society,” said Jewish Agency Chairman Doron Almog. “The immigrants are an inseparable part of the building of the State of Israel and in times of emergency we see how significant their role is and how they are a source of hope. I embrace each and every one of them.”
