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Wednesday, August 17, 06:45 ISRAEL Time
Two hundred twenty-five new immigrants from North America will be landing at Ben Gurion Airport Wednesday morning on the 63rd Nefesh B’Nefesh chartered Aliyah flight with El Al Israel Airlines. The flight is coordinated in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah & Integration, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL), and Jewish National Fund-USA.
The new Olim come from a variety of backgrounds, culturally and demographically, including 19 US states and one Canadian province. The flight is also bringing a diverse group of professionals who will be contributing their unique talents to communities throughout Israel, including 27 medical professionals who will be improving Israel’s medical system and helping to solve the shortage of medical personnel in the country. Seventy-two Olim on the flight are part of the Nefesh B’Nefesh-KKL Go Beyond initiative, which is aimed at developing Israel’s peripheral regions and Jerusalem. 
In addition, the flight is bringing 40 future lone soldiers who, once they become Israeli citizens, will be required to enlist in the IDF, as are all Israeli citizens at the age of 18. The lone soldiers will be arriving as part of the FIDF-Nefesh B’Nefesh Lone Soldiers Program, some of whom will be drafting through Tzofim-Garin Tzabar, and they will be joining the 3,500 lone soldiers from around the world who are currently serving in the IDF.
Among those expected to greet the newcomers are Minister of Aliyah and Integration, Pnina Tamano-Shata, Chairman of the World Zionist Organization and Acting Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Yaakov Hagoel, CEO of JNF-USA, Russell Robinson, CFO of KKL-JNF, Yuval Yenni, along with Co-Founders of Nefesh B’Nefesh, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass and Tony Gelbart.