JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Some 76 new immigrants from North America arrived in Israel on the eve of Chanukah.

The new immigrants arrived Tuesday morning on a Nefesh B’Nefesh group aliyah flight organized in conjunction with the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption and
the Jewish Agency. They will kindle the first Chanukah light in Israel.

Andrew Marx, 41, of Little Rock, Ark., brought two menorahs with him, explaining that they “have been in my family for generations and I inherited them from my parents when they passed away. Each one of these menorahs, in a way, represents the light they still shine on me from above.

"Tonight," he said, "I will have the privilege of lighting my first Chanukah candle as an Israeli citizen.”