Ilan Gordon seemed calm, cool and collected the day before he changed his life. Or, at least, his location.

The 22-year-old, who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh this spring with a degree in exercise science, headed to Israel on the Nefesh B’Nefesh group aliyah charter flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport on Aug. 19, along with 225 other North Americans.

He is scheduled to be in Tel Aviv until Sept. 4, when he will officially join the Garin Tzabar preparation program for the Israel Defense Forces. Established in 1991, the program is for lone soldiers serving in the Israeli military—those whose immediate family members do not live in the Jewish state.

“It seems surreal,” said Gordon. “I’ve been looking forward to this moment most of my life. Now, I’m looking forw

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