Amichai and Shani at the airport
Amichai and Shani at the airportNefesh B'Nefesh

There are many unique stories of romantic marriage proposals, but few can match that of 25-year-old Amichai, who set out on the path of marriage the very same day he began his path as an Israeli, returning to the homeland of the Jewish people.

Amichai made aliyah (immigration) to Israel from Arizona in the US on Thursday morning, making the trip on a group charter flight organized by the Nefesh B'Nefesh organization which aids English-speaking Jews seeking to make the move to Israel.

As soon as he touched down in Ben-Gurion International Airport, Amichai embarked on a new life voyage, proposing marriage to his Israeli girlfriend Shani.

Amichai visited Israel for the first time eight months ago in the midst of the war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, namely Operation Protective Edge, in a trip on the Birthright Israel-Taglit program which allows Jews to visit Israel on a free ten-day journey.

His original flight back from Israel was one of those cancelled due to the thousands of rockets targeting Israel, which Hamas began aiming at the airport in hopes of causing massive casualties, but the cancellation turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Amichai was delayed and forced to scramble to find an alternate flight, and just an hour before he needed to catch the train to the airport and return to the US, he met Shani while ordering coffee at the Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv.

That fateful cup of coffee was to change Amichai's life, as he spent his short remaining time in Shani's company - and realized he wanted to spend his life with her as well.

He decided to make aliyah to start a new life together with her, and made a pre-aliyah return trip to Israel last December where he saw her again, before taking the plunge on a new life as an Israeli and a married man.

Proposing at the airport
Proposing at the airportNefesh B'Nefesh