"Our 2024 Goal: A Record Year for North American Aliyah"

For the past 20 years, tens of thousands of Jews have immigrated to Israel from the USA and Canada, with thousands more planning to follow them. Nefesh B'Nefesh has been there for them all along the way: providing professional advice, supporting their integration into Israeli society, offering accessible information and guidance throughout the logistic and bureaucratic processes. Today, the organization is also in contact with both the new immigrants as well as their families overseas in order to cope with the impact of Hamas's war on Israel.

"We've been encouraging, guiding and accompanying North American immigrants to Israel for many years, along with our amazing partners — Israel's Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and JNF-USA," says Nefesh B'Nefesh Executive VP Zev Gershinsky. "We've developed effective actions, important information and tools to assist our newcomers. At the center of what we do is our strong belief that immigrants who succeed in Israel and are content living here are the best incentive for those seeking to follow in their footsteps."

With this guiding principle, Nefesh B'Nefesh aims to make every absorption experience the best possible. "We remain at the newcomers' sides, helping them find jobs and navigate bureaucracy," says Gershinsky. "Immigration tends to be a complex process. We're there to smooth the path and tackle the hurdles. Our model is holistic: we believe in continuity of care, accompanying new immigrants prior to their move, during the process and throughout their integration into Israel. We help Jews achieve their Zionist dreams, by showing them how they can relocate to Israel in the best possible way."

Those who have moved to Israel with the help of Nefesh B'Nefesh from North America are both interesting and impressive. Their average age is 34, most have a master's degree or higher, and about 80 percent find employment in their profession within six months of immigrating to Israel. "North American immigrants tend to be educated and principled, therefore making valuable contributions to resolving national challenges," says Gershinsky. "We've launched several programs to involve the newcomers in issues that face Israeli society — among them, growing the country's periphery, facilitating the immigration of doctors and their absorption into the local health system, and supporting lone soldier immigrants."

An auxiliary force for Israel's healthcare system

Nefesh B'Nefesh is adapting its current projects to Israel's new reality. One direction, explains Gershinsky, is its outreach to North Americans who have lived in Israel within the last five years, helping them deal with the mental anguish wrought by the ongoing war. Another is by helping small business owners and self-employed newcomers who are facing economic hardship as a result of the war.

For the past eight years, the organization has worked with Israel's Health Ministry to bring North American doctors to Israel and integrate them into the country's health system. "Following the outbreak of the Hamas war, we joined forces with Israel's Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and the Jewish Agency in order to reach Jewish physicians, mainly in the USA and Canada, to volunteer in Israel's healthcare system," says Gershinsky. "We compiled a database of close to 1,000 doctors, 132 of whom are already in Israel, volunteering with approval from the Health Ministry. We finance their round-trip tickets and their accommodations in Israel, and we

help direct them to where they are most needed, based on their specialties and the healthcare system's needs."

Outreach to lone soldiers

The organization is also coordinating flights for parents of lone soldiers currently in combat. "We've been working with lone soldiers for some 12 years, through our joint initiative with the Friends of the IDF (FIDF), the FIDF – Nefesh B'Nefesh Lone Soldier Program," says Gershinsky. "Our multilingual team maintains contact with parents of lone soldiers abroad. With help from the IDF spokesperson, we're in direct and regular contact with these parents, via Zoom, updating them about the welfare of their sons and daughters and about the dynamic security situation in Israel. We're also bringing parents of serving lone soldiers to Israel — about 500 parents to date — and, in coordination with the IDF, have managed to reunite them with their children."

The war against Hamas has wrought changes for many Jews in the USA and Canada, and a growing number are now considering moving to Israel. "Many North American Jews are experiencing increased solidarity with Israel," says Gershinsky. "They're becoming more active in Israel advocacy, fundraising and volunteering. We believe that this intensified Zionism and identification with Israel will spur a new wave of Aliyah in the near future. Together with Israel's Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, we are preparing for 2024, which we expect will be a record year for North American Aliyah!"

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Partnered with Nefesh B'Nefesh