On December 23, Olim stared at the sky as planes whizzed through the air, leaving bright white tracks behind them. Helicopters hovered in the wind as pilots ascended on ropes. Young pilots, who had trained for three years, received their wings to raucous cheering.

For the sixth year in a row, Nefesh B’Nefesh brought 180 Olim to Israel’s Air Force Graduation and Air Show, thanks to Oleh Danny Grossman, a former US Air Force and Israel Air Force veteran.

A fighter plane fires evasive flares

On Tuesday afternoon, buses from all over Israel brought the Olim to a base outside of Be’er Sheva to see an exhibit about the Iron Dome, meet the new pilots, hear speeches about their accomplishments, and watch the pilots put their expertise to work during the air show.

“What Oleh wouldn’t want to go to the Israel Air Force Air Show?” said Benji Davis, a program coordinator in NBN’s Post-Aliyah Department. “It really makes you feel like you’re a part of Israel.”

Israeli planes refuel in mid-air

For Hedva Rosen, an Olah who made Aliyah from Manchester, England in 2013, the seventh day of Chanukah was the perfect time to attend the air show. Because her nine-year-old daughter had no school that day, Hedva was thrilled that the two of them could take part in the celebration together.

“Before the event, my daughter really wanted to be a paratrooper,” said Hedva. “Now, she wants to be in the Air Force.”