Aliyah interest surges 50% amid coronavirus pandemic

Eighteen new Olim will arrive at Ben Gurion airport this evening as part of a Nefesh B’Nefesh group Aliyah flight, in cooperation with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, The Jewish Agency, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and Jewish National Fund-USA. These Olim arrived amidst a wave of increased Aliyah interest among North American Jews.

Throughout April 2020, 455 new Aliyah applications were submitted to Nefesh B’Nefesh (in comparison to 302 in April 2019) and 642 individuals downloaded and began working on their Aliyah applications (in comparison to 417 downloaded applications in April 2019).

Today’s new Olim will move directly into a designated quarantine hotel for fourteen days as mandated by the Israeli government for all new arrivals into the country.

Olim on this flight will range in ages from a three-year-old to a 66-year-old. The Olim hail from New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Florida and Illinois, and will be living in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Beit Shemesh, Ramat Gan and Yafo. This group flight follows twenty Olim making Aliyah last Thursday through Guided Aliyah, a process in which individuals already living in Israel officially change their status to Israeli citizens.