North American aliya figures for 2005 should surpass the already high 2004 mark of roughly 3,000, according to
Nefesh B'Nefesh
.
Over the past few months, some 6,500 Jews across North America turned out to hear recent immigrants return to their home communities to promote aliya through Nefesh B'Nefesh-run 'ambassadors programs', which have spurred interest in aliya.
The three-year-old organization, which now works closely with the Jewish Agency, has helped reverse a long-time downtrend in North American aliya.
The organization has at least six aliya flights planned for this summer, with more possible later in the year. By comparison, Nefesh B'Nefesh brought three planeloads of new immigrants last summer and another in the winter.
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