Emigres joining the military take off for Israel
Published August 13, 2012
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- The record number of 127 soon-to-be Israeli soldiers at Kennedy Airport in New York before boarding the Nefesh B�Nefesh charter flight to Israel, Aug. 13, 2012. (Shahar Azran)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A charter aliyah flight carrying 127 young men and women who will be joining the Israel Defense Forces left New York.
The special Nefesh B’Nefesh-Friends of the Israel Defense Forces flight, carrying a total of 350 new emigres to Israel, left John F. Kennedy Airport on Monday morning and will arrive early Tuesday morning in Israel.
Hundreds of families and friends as well as Israeli dignitaries will gather at Ben Gurion Airport for an arrival ceremony featuring an address by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The flight, was organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth Le’Israel and Tzofim Garin Tzabar.
The Friends of the IDF and Nefesh B’Nefesh are working to expand their existing partnership, which provides comprehensive support for Lone Soldiers, who serve in Israel though their families live in the Diaspora. The program offers assistance before and during army service, as well as with post-army acclimation into Israeli life.
More than 2,700 Lone Soldiers from around the world are now serving in the IDF, including more than 900 from North America, 625 from Russia, 390 from Ukraine and 250 from France.
More than 4,800 American, Canadian and British Jews have or will be making aliyah this year, which marks Nefesh B’Nefesh’s 10th anniversary.
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