A planeload of 215 immigrants from the U.S. and Canada landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on Wednesday, sparking emotional family reunions and even dancing in one of the terminals.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my whole life than I am today. It’s been a big dream that I’ve had for many years,” said Carol Ginzburg, 77. “I have a bunch of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who are living in Israel. So I want to be here.
But not all the immigrants were greeted by relatives. Nefesh B’Nefesh said that about a quarter of Wednesday’s immigrants will be drafted into the Israeli Defense Forces as “lone soldiers,” or soldiers who have no family in Israel to support them. Instead, they will be supported by Garin Tzabar, a program that helps lone soldiers before and throughout military service.
One soon-to-be lone soldier, Ariel Hassan from New Jersey, said he was looking forward to joining the army, and that he hopes to serve in the IDF’s elite Egoz commando unit.
“It’s a very famous unit,” Hassan explained. “But we’ll see. The army will decide, and wherever they send me, I’ll do the best that I can do.”
Under Garin Tzabar, which is affiliated with the Hebrew Scouts Movement in Israel, the lone soldiers are “adopted” either by a kibbutz or the immigrant absorption center in the city of Ra’anana.
The flight from New York’s JFK Airport bore 22 families with 75 children among them, 15 single men and women, and 17 retirees. Among the 215 on board were seven doctors and 15 health professionals who will be integrating into the Israeli health care system.
“It was my absolute joy to welcome these new [immigrants] upon their arrival in Israel. It is especially exciting to see families with kids and young adults embrace the Zionist dream of making aliyah,” said Immigration and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer.
Other dignitaries on hand to welcome Israel’s newest citizens were Interior and Health Minister Moshe Arbel and Nefesh B’Nefesh co-founder and executive director Rabbi Yehoshua Fass.
“Each and every [immigrant] carries with them a unique story, yet what bonds them together is a unified love for our homeland, shared goals and collective action,” said Fass. “It teaches us that diversity exists within unity—that shared values and commitment can bind different individuals and groups together.”
Nefesh B’Nefesh, a nonprofit organization that facilitates the immigration of Jews to Israel from North America and which chartered the plane, said Ginzburg was the oldest immigrant arriving on the flight.
The airport’s arrival hall was full of family reunions, and in some cases, people joyously dancing in circles as the newcomers tightly hugged their Israeli relatives.
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