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TORONTO - Two hundred Jewish Canadians will board an El-Al Airlines jet tomorrow and set foot in Tel Aviv 12 hours later as Israelis, making the flight the first dedicated entirely to Canadians carrying out aliyah -- the return to the Jewish homeland.

Within the confines of the jet, taking off from Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Israeli officials in makeshift cubicles will fill out the reams of paperwork required for each passenger's "ascent," the literal meaning of aliyah, to Israeli citizenship.

They will be welcomed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Minister of Finance, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

For Mr. Sharon, it is the prospect of Jewish immigrants from North America, well-educated and affluent, that warrants the fanfare.

The Canadian Jews, meanwhile, mainly from Toronto and Montreal, arrive because the Holy Land, they say, is part of their identity, because that land and its modern cities promise opportunities, and because of what they see as the growth of anti-Semitism in this country.

At just 19 years old, Toronto-born Esther Mendelsohn has made the decision to leave Canada, a country she loves, to fulfill her lifelong dream of settling in Israel.

"I am obviously a very proud Canadian," said Ms. Mendelsohn, who nevertheless lamented signs of a retrenched anti-Semitism in Canada and noted recently desecrated cemeteries and the criticisms of Israel she condemned as veiled hatred.

"I'm a Jew. Israel is a huge, huge part of my Jewish identity and who I am as a person," she added.

Ms. Mendelsohn, the child of Mexican immigrants to Canada, has yearned for Israel "probably from when I was a really, really little kid -- but it almost seemed out of reach and only recently did I realize that I could actually make it happen. It's doable."

What put the move within her grasp was Nefesh B'Nefesh, an Israeli organization dedicated to helping Jewish North Americans, most of them Orthodox, make aliyah.

Nefesh B'Nefesh arranges for paperwork, provides loans and helps place newcomers in jobs and schools.

"Everybody who's going to be on this plane is exceptionally motivated," said Charley Levine, the spokesman for Nefesh B'Nefesh.

"We're talking here not about travel for the sake of travel, we're not talking about tourism, we're talking about people who are driven by values and inspiration -- and they're making the move of a lifetime."

The popularity of the Nefesh B'Nefesh-organized flights has only increased. It began three years ago, with 500 emigres, a number that has doubled each year since. This year, organizers anticipate delivering more than 3,000, including 200 more Canadians, to Ben Gurion Airport.

The waves of people seeking a life in Israel over the past decades have emanated from around the world, from Russia, Ethiopia, Argentina. "The spotlight is just now beginning to focus on North America," said Mr. Levine.

The help doled out by Nefesh B'Nefesh, which relies on donations from philanthropists and receives grants from the Jewish Agency for Israel, a quasi-governmental body, isn't all charity, suggested Martin Rudner, an expert in the region at Carleton University in Ottawa.