settle in Israel later next month, according to reports monitored by BosNewsLife, Thursday June 6. The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) said "about 400 North Americans Jews" will board a chartered plane in July at an undisclosed location, as part of a historic operation financed by Christians and Jews.
"It will be the first time in at least 25 years that such a large number of North American immigrants (will arrive) at one time," the ICEJ news service quoted the Jewish Agency, an immigration and relief organization, as saying.
FELLOWSHIP
A $2 million grant from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews will cover the journey to Israel, the ICEJ news service reported.
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the President of the Jewish Agency, reportedly said this is "the first time" that American Christians are funding Jewish immigration to Israel.
Eckstein added that the contribution was made possible thanks to the fellowship’s 250,000 predominantly Christian donors, who he said give millions of dollars every year to fund a variety of projects to help Israel.
DREAM
"In recent years, we have made it possible for hundreds of thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, and most recently, Argentina, to realize their dream of coming home to Israel. Now, we have the privilege of enabling this new wave of aliyah to come from North America," Eckstein explained.
Last year, 1,378 North American Jews immigrated to Israel, according to Jewish Agency figures released by the ICEJ news service. North American Jews have never made up a large portion of immigrants, reportedly accounting for 111,096 out of 2.8 million immigrants since 1948.
The banner year was 1971 when 8,122 came, the ICEJ news service said.
