Against all odds and after weeks of planning, "Operation Zion" was launched this week as an El Al Boeing 787 Dreamliner chartered by Jewish National Fund-USA (JNF-USA) – dubbed "JNForce One" – took off from New York's JFK Airport with 241 exuberant teens from across the US on board bound for the organization's Alexander Muss High School in Israel (High School in Israel).
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Twelve months ago at the onset of the Pandemic, JNF-USA took on the unprecedented responsibility of airlifting hundreds of American teens from its High School in Israel, in addition to students from other organizations back to the US.
"There was so much fear of the unknown back then, yet over the past year, we not only adapted to a new reality – we embraced it and brought a new generation of Jewish teens into our JNF-USA family. Now we are thrilled to charter a flight back to Israel with the next generation of Jewish leaders on board," said JNF-USA President Dr. Sol Lizerbram.
"These students never gave up hope that JNF-USA would bring them to Israel for a transformative experience that comes from them taking their general academic studies in addition to the experiential journey that High School in Israel provides – and today, we fulfilled that promise. We were determined to make this happen because we know that our People's next David Ben Gurion, Theodore Herzl, and Golda Meir are on that flight."
JNF-USA worked closely with the relevant Israeli government ministries, health authorities, El Al, and Ben Gurion Airport to gain special permission for the students to enter Israel. It is believed that this is the first and only group of American teens to enter Israel since travel restrictions were imposed.
