The first Nefesh B’Nefesh chartered aliyah flight of the summer season, an El Al Boeing 777, arrived on Tuesday in Ben-Gurion International Airport near Terminal 3 carrying 232 olim chadashim, new immigrants from N. America. The name of the plane carrying the first summer arrivals was Sderot and the flight was named the Russell Berrie Aliyah flight (LY 3022).

The youngest oleh on board was 7 weeks old and the oldest 83. There were 42 families on the flight and 22 youths who in the coming weeks will be enlisting in the IDF. The flight arrived at 7:30am.

Some 3,000 olim are expected to come home this summer due to the ongoing efforts of NBN, bringing Jews from North America and the UK. The new arrivals will be living in many areas of the country including Chispin, Maale Adumim, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Yad Binyamin, kibbutzim, Ra’anana and Beersheva.

Among the notables who met the new arrivals on Tuesday morning were Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz and Minister of Absorption Sofa Landver. About 700 people registered in advance to greet the new arrivals as they step off the plane. NBN also carried the event live, beginning its webcast at 7:30am, permitting families and friends of the new arrivals to share the moment. NBN reports about 1,800 people viewed the arrival ceremony on the webcast worldwide.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)