Max Steinberg's funeral in Jerusalem. Photo: Tazpit.

JNS.org – The sister of 24-year-old American lone soldier Max Steinberg, who joined the Israel Defense Forces’ Golani brigade and was killed during Operation Protective Edge over the summer, has decided to make aliyah.

“I felt like I wanted to be here,” said 21-year-old Paige Steinberg, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

“When the fighting began, we knew that he was among the soldiers that were stationed in Gaza. When we received the painful message, we were at home in California. Early in the morning, the Israeli consul came and told us about the disaster. When we arrived in Israel for the funeral, it was my parents’ first time there. During the ceremony, we felt the support of the people, and it was amazing. We realized that it was one of the biggest funerals ever held in Israel,” Paige added.

Not long after the end of the Shiva mourning period for her brother, Paige decided to move to Israel, where she is now studying psychology at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya.

“Had the disaster not occurred, I would have never been living here; the tragedy triggered the change in my life. … I never planned on studying and living in Israel, but I wanted to be as close as possible to my brother. I feel happy here, like I’m following in his footsteps,” she said.