The daughter of U.S. Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman landed Tuesday at Ben Gurion International Airport as a new immigrant to Israel, an “olah chadashah.”
Talia Friedman was one of 232 Jews from North America who arrived on a special flight chartered by the Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah organization.
A nurse in her 20s, Friedman boarded the flight in New York City on Monday, landing early Tuesday in Tel Aviv with others to the cheers of family and friends who were waiting to greet loved ones.
The Ambassador was there on the tarmac to welcome his daughter to her new home as well.
Among the newcomers on the flight were 21 families, 75 children, six sets of twins and 26 medical professionals, as well as a number of incoming “lone soldiers” arriving to serve in the IDF.
Greeting the flight at Tuesday’s welcome ceremony were Israel Chief Rabbi David Lau, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky and various Knesset members, among others.
In addition to Talia Friedman, this month the triplet children of U.S. Special Representative to International Negotiations Jason D. Greenblatt are also expected to arrive for a gap year study program, according to the Times of Israel.
More than 50,000 new immigrants have arrived from North America and the UK with Nefesh B’Nefesh since its first aliyah flight in 2002.
