Some 105 Russian-speaking Jews who recently graduated from high school made Aliyah to Israel through the SELA program of the Jewish Agency, in collaboration with the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ).
In celebration of Aliyah Week, even more young Jews will make Aliyah as the last flight from Russian-speaking countries is scheduled to arrive this week.
The ICEJ, established in 1980, is a Jerusalem-based evangelical Christian Zionist organization that aided the agency with the preparations for the young Jews' Aliyah.
The agency's SELA program prioritizes the Aliyah of young Jews over their parents' with an eye towards the future, with special programs put in place to help them learn Hebrew, settle in Israel and study in Israeli universities.
The ICEJ also aided the Jewish Agency in bringing 230 of India's Bnei Menashe Jews to Israel as part of this year's Aliyah Week. Since the start of 2021, ICEJ has helped 1,468 Diaspora Jews from 10 nations make Aliyah to the Jewish state.
Aliyah to Israel has bounced back strongly in 2021 so far with some 20,360 arriving in Israel to date, compared to 15,598 during the corresponding period in 2020, an increase of 31%.