Olim from North America arrive in Israel
Olim from North America arrive in IsraelNefesh B'Nefesh

The Nefesh B'Nefesh pro-aliyah organization today responded to figures published this morning on the numbers of Jews making Aliyah between 2012-2019, rejecting the allegation that the vast majority of new immigrants were not Jewish.

"What we know about North American Jews who make Aliyah is in complete contradiction with the false data presented by the stated report. Over the past decade alone, more than 36,000 Olim have moved from North America to Israel."

Nefesh B'Nefesh continued: "It is an affront to call to question the 'Jewishness' of these men, women, and children who have made the difficult decision to leave family, friends, jobs, and a certain lifestyle, to build their lives in the Jewish homeland.

"Additionally, our data, which we have verified through our partnership with the Jewish Agency, unequivocally contradicts the figures in the article. Less than 3% of the Olim who have made Aliyah in the last eight years from North America have done so exclusively using section 4A of the Law of Return. Anyone who is at all familiar with Aliyah and Olim from North America knows that it is unfathomable that 70% of them are not considered Jewish according to halakha. We therefore look forward to the revised data being published promptly."