Nefesh B'Nefesh
nonprofit organization assisting Aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom
Nefesh B'Nefesh (Hebrew: נפש בנפש, lit. 'Soul to soul'), or Jewish Souls United, is a nonprofit organization that promotes, encourages, and facilitates aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) from the United States and Canada.
The organization aims to remove or minimize the financial, professional, logistical, and social obstacles that potential olim (Jewish immigrants) face. Nefesh B'Nefesh works in close cooperation with the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Government of Israel and major Jewish organizations across various denominations, and assists people of all ages in the pre- and post-aliyah process, offering resources such as employment guidance and networking, assistance navigating the Israeli system, social guidance and counseling.
Since 2002, Nefesh B'Nefesh has brought over 80,000 olim to Israel. In 2011 Nefesh B'Nefesh co-founder Rabbi Yehoshua Fass received the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism on behalf of the organization.
History
Nefesh B'Nefesh was originally conceived by Rabbi Yehoshua Fass after a family member was killed in a terrorist attack in Israel on 28 March 2001. Realizing that there were many people who wanted to immigrate to Israel but were concerned about certain obstacles, Rabbi Fass and Florida businessman and philanthropist Tony Gelbart decided to create an organization which would try to make it easier for American Jews to make aliyah.
In the summer of 2002, Nefesh B'Nefesh organized its first chartered aliyah flight. In November 2005, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon authorized government funding for Nefesh B'Nefesh on a trial basis. In May 2006, in response to numerous requests from British Jews interested in aliyah, services were expanded to also include the UK. In December 2006, Nefesh B'Nefesh brought its 10,000th oleh.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Nefesh B'Nefesh” as nonprofit organization assisting Aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the history & society register because the source frames it as nonprofit organization assisting Aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q286673. VIAF identifies the subject as 315204822. Authority coordinates are 31.783, 35.204. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2002, 2011, 2001 and 2005.
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This entry incorporates text from “Nefesh B'Nefesh” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.