NBN records increase in North American aliyah

Group says 3,762 immigrants arrived from the US and Canada in 2014, up from 3,504 the previous year.

By SAM SOKOL
A new immigrant at Ben-Gurion airport kisses the tarmac as he makes aliya (photo credit: REUTERS)
A new immigrant at Ben-Gurion airport kisses the tarmac as he makes aliya
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Aliya from North America increased by 7 percent over 2013, Nefesh B’Nefesh, the private organization to which Israel has outsourced its aliya operations in the US and Canada, announced on Wednesday.
A total of 3,762 immigrants arrived from the US and Canada in 2014, up from 3,504 the previous year, the group said.
Last December, the Jewish Agency and the Immigration and Absorption Ministry reported an 11% drop in aliya from North America, with some 3,000 immigrants coming in 2013, down from 3,389 in 2012.
“As of last week, Nefesh B’Nefesh has brought 3,400 olim from North America to Israel in 2013,” an NBN representative told The Jerusalem Post last year in response to the government figures. “This number has pretty much remained the same as the previous year of 2012.”
The year 2014 saw a 10% increase in the arrival of lone soldiers, volunteers who serve in the army without a support network of close family, and an increased effort to facilitate the immigration of medical professionals.
“Over the course of 2014, Nefesh B’Nefesh facilitated 17 Aliya flights from North America, bringing 296 families with 813 children under the age of 18 and 1,703 singles,” NBN said.