
 
 
A jumbo El Al  airliner touched down at Ben Gurion International airport early Wednesday  morning with 366 Jews aboard who all packed their belongings, kissed North  America goodbye, and now continue their lives as residents of the Jewish  State.
The planeload of North Americans was preceded by 23,000  others in the past seven years who made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) through  the Nefesh B'Nefesh (NBN) organization, a group dedicated to revitalizing Jewish  immigration to Israel en masse from North America and the UK. 
Olim step off the transport bus and review the  thousand strong welcome party waiting for them
Israel news photo:  Baruch Gordon
A Torah scroll makes aliyah
Israel news  photo: Baruch Gordon
 The charter flight follows a group aliyah  flght (a block of reserved seats in a regular commercial El Al flight) that  departed from Canada Monday carrying 48 olim (new immigrants) to Israel. Another  group flight will depart later Wednesday from Newark airport, capping off  forty-eight hours in which 455 Western new immigrants will be making aliyah  through Nefesh B'Nefesh.
The newcomers are among more than 3,000 Western  immigrants moving to Israel on 16 flights this summer as part of an ongoing  "aliyah revolution" launched by the NBN organization in 2002.  
World renowned Torah Scholar Rabbi Ephraim Greenblatt  and his son Yitzchak make aliyah
Israel news photo: Baruch  Gordon
All OK for a new Israeli family
Israel  news photo: Baruch Gordon
Forty-six people from Wednesday's flight will  be moving to Israel's northern region as part of NBN's "Go North" program, a  historic initiative which encourages Western olim to settle in northern Israel,  by providing enhanced financial, employment and social support. "Go North" aims  to bring over 1,000 immigrants to Israel's morth over the next few years and  will have assisted 32 families by the end of this summer.
Minister of  Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edestein told the olim at the welcome reception that he  toured towns in the north on Tuesday and heard from local residents of the dire  need to bring more Jews to populate the region, which has a large Arab presence.  Edelstein opened his remarks saying that it is a sad day for him as Minister of  Diaspora Affairs as he now has 366 less people for whom he is responsible in his  government portfolio. "But as a Jew and a Zionist, it is a very happy day," he  said.
A Mexican? American? Now Israeli!
Israel  news photo: Baruch Gordon