Nearly 25 years ago, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass and businessman Tony Gelbart, bound by friendship and a shared love for Israel, set out to change the course of modern Zionism.
Their premise was simple yet ambitious: If Jews dreamed of building their lives in Israel, nothing should stand in their way.
Together, they founded Nefesh B’Nefesh with a vision to remove the barriers to aliyah and ensure that every oleh would have the tools not only to build a successful life in Israel, but to play a meaningful role in strengthening the country.
Today, that vision has become a defining force in contemporary aliyah. Nefesh B’Nefesh has facilitated the move of over 100,000 new immigrants from North America, transforming what began as a grassroots initiative addressing bureaucratic and logistical hurdles into a wide-reaching organization advancing practical Zionism and helping shape Israel’s future.
Under the leadership of Gelbart and Fass, Nefesh B’Nefesh has continued to evolve in response to Israel’s changing needs. Today, its work is driven by four strategic pillars: aliyah and integration, national service, national development, and Zionist education.
Together, these areas reflect an approach that sees aliyah not simply as immigration, but as a vital tool for strengthening Israeli society.
Nefesh B'Nefesh has developed initiatives encouraging Olim to build lives in North and South
That philosophy has led the organization to develop initiatives that encourage olim to build their futures in the North and South, address critical shortages in the country’s healthcare system by helping medical professionals navigate their path to Israel, strengthen the education system by bringing hundreds of new English teachers into classrooms, create new Zionist education curricula and innovative programming, and provide holistic support to lone soldiers and National Service volunteers from around the world.
At the same time, Nefesh B’Nefesh continues to guide olim through every stage of the process, from their earliest considerations of aliyah through their long-term integration into Israeli life.
At the heart of this impact remains the partnership between Fass and Gelbart. Built on mutual respect, complementary strengths, and an unwavering commitment to the State of Israel and the Jewish people, their partnership has grown alongside the organization they created.
More than 100,000 olim later, their original conviction remains unchanged: aliyah is both a deeply personal journey and a national opportunity. By turning individual dreams into collective strength, Tony Gelbart and Rabbi Fass continue to carry the flag of modern Zionism, soul to soul.