photo/drew himmelstein
San Francisco residents until last weekend, Steven Duke and his 13-year-old daughter, Yael, were among 221 people aboard a Nefesh B’Nefesh charter flight to Israel on July 13. Duke’s wife, Fiona, and Yael’s siblings, Aron, 15, and Noam, 9, also were on the plane. The group included 32 families (with 95 children) and 12 people who will be joining the Israel Defense Forces. Also of note: 46 of the new olim will be moving to Israel’s periphery as part of the Go North and Go South programs run by Nefesh B’Nefesh and Keren Kayemeth L’Israel. An estimated 4,000 people from North America are expected to make aliyah this year, according to Nefesh B’Nefesh, a nonprofit that promotes and facilitates moving to Israel.