(TPS) Talia Friedman, the daughter of American Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, was one of 233 American Jews who immigrated to Israel Tuesday.

The immigrants, who arrived on a charter flight sponsored by the Jewish Agency and the Nefesh B’Nefesh organization, arrived at Ben Gurion Airport shortly after 8 a.m. and disembarked to the cheers of hundreds of flag-waving family members, IDF soldiers and Israeli officials, including Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau and Yesh Atid Party Chairman Yair Lapid.

During a welcome ceremony on the tarmac, Lapid spoke about his father, who arrived in Israel as a young Holocaust survivor and joined the army soon after. Lapid said the new immigrants represent a deep expression of the nation’s soul. “Your decision to move to Israel means that Israel is not just a place. It is an idea, it is a choice… You are part of this enormous, fantastic idea, that could not happen without you. The Zionist idea, the idea of free people coming from a free country, has been nourished by people like you from its very first day. People that got up one day in a faraway land and said, ‘I’m connected to something. I don’t want that connection to be administered by remote-control,’” Lapid said.

Chief Rabbi Lau said that in contrast to immigration to other countries, moving to Israel is called “making aliyah,” Hebrew for “going up.”

“We owe you, new olim, our thanks for reminding us folks that were lucky enough to have been born in the Land of Israel, of the dream and magic of ‘going up’ to this land. You remind us that we are all one nation,” said Lau.