The S.F.-based Jewish Community Fed-eration and Jewish Community Relations Council have stepped up the effort to establish nonstop flights between San Francisco and Israel.

Jim Offel, the federation’s interim CEO, and Rabbi Doug Kahn, JCRC’s executive director, sent out a jointly signed email April 25 imploring people to sign the petition at www.sfotlv.org.

“In the next 10 days, we want to go from 7,229 signatures to more than 15,000, which we will then take back to the airlines,” the email stated. “Two airlines have initial interest,” it added.

The petition, launched by a group of Israeli entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, was detailed earlier this year in a J. article (www.tinyurl.com/nonstop-SFO-Israel).

The email concluded: “It takes just a moment of your time [to fill out the petition] but could save eight hours of travel each way! This is a great way to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut this year and to support our Israeli friends who initiated the petition.”