
 
 
For the first  time, a special direct El Al flight from São Paulo, Brazil brought 150 new  immigrants to the Jewish State on Wednesday.
The flight was made possible  as a result of the opening of direct El Al flights from Brazil to Israel last  month. Most other airlines fly the route with a stopover on the way, for a trip  that can last up to 15 hours or more.
Bringing the new "Latin  American-Israelis" home was Javier Ruben, who himself had served as a Jewish  Agency emissary to Latin America from 1999 to 2002. Little did Ruben realize, as  he encouraged Jews on the South American continent to make Aliyah, that in less  than a decade he would personally be flying them home.
The number of  Latin American immigrants to Israel is growing, according to the Jewish Agency,  which said in a statement that it expects the numbers to rise by some 15 percent  -- compared to the 2008 statistics -- by summer's end.
The group includes  a particularly distinguished personality: among the new immigrants is the former  Chief Rabbi of Uruguay, Rabbi Moti Ma'aravi.
Also on the flight were  dozens of young people headed for Ulpan Etzion in Jerusalem, a special program  for college graduates, and a group of young immigrants planning to attend the  Jewish Agency's kibbutz ulpan program at Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael. Others will be  absorbed in various locations around the country.
The flight, organized  by the Jewish Agency for Israel, arrived just three days before the anniversary  of the July 18,1994 terrorist attack on the Jewish community headquarters in  Argentina.
All of the new immigrants will be welcomed by the Rabbi of the  Western Wall and Holy Places, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, at a special ceremony on  Thursday afternoon.