Nefesh B’Nefesh, in partnership with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth Le’Israel and JNF-USA, has signed a contract with EL AL Airlines for 14 group Aliyah flights to take place over the next three months. Throughout July, August and September, there will be designated blocks of seats on EL AL flights from JFK to Tel Aviv, reserved for Nefesh B’Nefesh Olim.
The announcement comes in the wake of an unprecedented increase in Aliyah interest from North American Jews, with Nefesh B’Nefesh reporting its highest number of calls and applications this past May since the organization was founded in 2002. In the first half of June, there have already been over 900 applications for Aliyah submitted to Nefesh B’Nefesh, while in the entirety of June 2019, there were 399 submitted applications.
With this new flight contract, Nefesh B’Nefesh is fully confident that, together with its partners, the organization will continue to do everything possible to assist in the continuation of Aliyah. It will also be working to ensure the safety of these flights by developing even more stringent health protocols and ensuring that all the rules are being enforced as strictly as possible.
“We deeply appreciate the patience and understanding of our Olim as we navigate Aliyah together during this unprecedented time,” said Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Nefesh B’Nefesh. “It is incredible to witness and take part in this moment, where there is an unparalleled increase in Aliyah interest. With hundreds of seats now available for Olim, we look forward to taking a large step forward to ensuring that we can assist in the fruition of these Aliyah dreams.”
The schedule for the 2020 Summer group flights is as follows:
July: Tuesday, July 7; Monday, July 20; Wednesday, July 22; Monday, July 27
August: Monday, August 3; Wednesday, August 5; Monday, August 10; Wednesday, August 12; Monday, August 17; Wednesday, August 19; Monday, August 24; Wednesday, August 26; Monday, August 31
September: Wednesday, September 9
Additionally, there will be two group Aliyah flights originating from the West Coast on Sunday, July 26 and Sunday, August 16.
