Find IDF Soldiers is a database that lists Canadians who have served in the Israeli military at any point in their lives. The database now contains the names and profiles of 206 Canadians, making it by far the most comprehensive public project of its sort in Canada.
After analyzing the most-recent data (added to the site on October 15), I discovered that at least 24 per cent (49) of the people in the database have been in the Israeli military since Oct. 7, 2023.
This is likely an undercount, however, because: 1) it’s possible some of those on the list have not made a potential return to the Israeli military public; 2) if they have made it public, they may have done so after I created a profile for them, meaning I would have missed it in my research; 3) if they have made it public, I may not have been able to find it in general. I also know that the database as a whole contains just a fraction of the actual number of Canadians who have served in the Israeli military.
Regardless, this article highlights those who have served in the Israeli military since Oct. 7, 2023, given the particularly intense scrutiny it has received during this period for its actions in Gaza. Not all of these soldiers may have served in Gaza. The Maple is not accusing any of them of having committed any sort of crime. It is legal for Canadian citizens to join the Israeli military.
Please note that these profiles were originally published between November 2024 and October 2025, and are republished here without updates. As such, some details (such as age and current job) may be outdated.
- Natanel Amos
- Sammy Balsam
- Benjamin Brown
- Isabelle (Isy) Burke
- Edan Cohen
- Gabriel Edery
- Nava Edery
- Dynai Eilig
- Eitan Ellis
- Coby Fein
- Maoz Fenigstein
- Ruby Gelfand
- Gabriel Gershkovich
- Atarah Gobrin
- Jake Goodman
- Ishai Gottlieb
- Ari Halevi-Wise
- Yitzchak Ickovich
- Nir Koren
- Jeffrey Kovac
- Matthew LeBreech
- Noy Leyb
- Shar Leyb
- Tav Leyb
- Nir Maman
- Adin Mauer
- Benjamin Philip
- Eden Philip
- Ido Rahamim
- Dima Ressin
- Lili Richards
- Sara Richards
- Boaz Rosenzweig
- Elian (Eli) Rubineau
- Liel Sandler
- Moshe Tzvi Shapiro
- Temima Silver
- Barr Solnik
- Menachem Shlomo Stack
- Michael Starr
- Naomi Stochinsky
- Jeremy Tal
- Emil Tesler
- Aviv Troy
- Yoni Troy
- Jeremy Urbach
- Aby Volcovich
- Michael Zenou
- Avraham Zvi (AZ) Thau
Natanel Amos
Natanel Amos is a Canadian from Montreal. On Aug. 4, 2025, Amos posted the following in a public Facebook group for Israelis in Jerusalem: “My name is Natanel, and I’m a Oleh Hadash/ Lone Soldier originally from Montreal, Canada 🇨🇦 I moved to Israel to serve our beautiful country in the IDF, and it’s been a very meaningful and thriving journey so far. After a year of not seeing my family I was finally granted permission to fly home to Canada to visit my family. But while I was there, October 7th happened. I knew I had to get back- both to serve and to continue building my life here…”
Amos’s LinkedIn profile states that he served in the Israeli military as a “Special Forces Combat Soldier” from March 2021 to November 2023. He describes his experience during this time as including the following: “• Team leader on 50+ assignments, providing guidance and direction to my team to ensure successful outcomes in all missions and tasks •Thrived in fast-paced and high-pressure environments •Continuously demonstrated the ability to work effectively as part of a team •Responsible for 60 soldiers by organizing food, equipment and tasks • Combat service as a lone soldier, riflemen, Class 07, honorable discharged as ranked sergeant.”
Amos is mentioned in an April 2023 article from the Jerusalem Post covering an event at Jerusalem’s “Museum of Tolerance” honouring Israeli soldiers that had been killed. The article notes that Amos was one of four lone soldiers featured at the event on stage, which included being interviewed by a Jerusalem Post editor.
Amos’s LinkedIn profile states that he remained in Israel following his service and now works as a “Growth Revenue Specialist” in Tel Aviv.
Sammy Balsam
Sammy Balsam is a Canadian who graduated from Yeshivat Or Chaim, one of the Bnei Akiva private Jewish high schools in Toronto, in 2019. He was a counsellor and programming organizer at the school.
A 2021 issue of the school’s magazine noted that he immigrated to Israel. He initially worked as an intern at a management company, and also volunteered as an ESL teacher for the Israeli Ministry of Education, according to his LinkedIn profile. The profile adds that he was in the Israeli military from March 2021 to February 2024, including as an intelligence analyst and a staff sergeant.
His profile describes his intelligence work as follows: “Utilized GIS and other intelligence technologies to provide battalion command with accurate intelligence for informed decision-making.; Researched modern conflict areas extensively to enhance readiness for future engagements.; Operated in high-pressure environments, including borders with Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank.”
It describes his work as a staff sergeant as follows: “Commanded a team of 4-7 soldiers, managing workloads and training programs; Designed and implemented training to ensure a cohesive and well-prepared unit; Led the team throughout the ‘Swords of Iron’ war.”
The “Swords of Iron” war refers to Israel’s war with Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023.
After finishing his service, Balsam returned to Toronto and worked for MZL Roofing & Metal Works for nine months. His profile notes that he has since gone back to Israel and is a business administration student at Reichman University.
Benjamin Brown
Benjamin Brown, 20-21, was raised in Toronto and was an active member of the Jewish community, attending Jewish elementary and high schools (Associated Hebrew School and the Bnei Akiva Or Chaim high school, respectively). Brown’s father, Jeffrey Brown, is a former president at the Beth Avraham Yoseph Synagogue in Thornhill, Ont. The rabbi at the synagogue, Daniel Korobkin, told The Canadian Jewish News (CJN) that the Brown family are “very strong religious Zionists.”
After high school, Brown moved to Israel in order to attend a yeshiva and also enlist in the army. In July 2024, Brown was nearing the end of his service in the 12th Battalion of the Golani Brigade in Shebaa Farms — Lebanese land illegally occupied by Israel — when the army base where he was stationed was struck by a Hezbollah rocket. A piece of shrapnel pierced Brown’s brain and he was eventually placed in a medical coma in an attempt to allow him to heal.
CJN reported that Benjamin was inspired by his older brother, Zachary Brown, who had served in the Israeli army a few years prior as a “top sharpshooter” in the Kfir Brigade. He described the brigade as a “combat unit that primarily specializes in urban warfare in the West Bank.”
Korobkin told CJN that both brothers joining the Israeli army was a “natural outcome” of the education they received at their Jewish schools, as well as other factors. A mother of one of Benjamin’s classmates said that around a quarter of their high school class joined the Israeli army, and that the students are commemorated with a plaque in the school. Both brothers also have had their service in the army celebrated in the Beth Avraham Yoseph Synagogue’s newsletter.
Isabelle (Isy) Burke
Isabelle (Isy) Burke, 23-24, is a Canadian from Ottawa who immigrated to Israel in 2022 and joined the Israeli military.
Burke attended the Temple Israel Religious School in Ottawa for high school. The Australian Jewish News reported in May 2024 that Burke decided to immigrate to Israel after a 10-day Birthright trip, which was “shocking” to her parents. Burke told the publication: “[Canada] wasn’t my home because of the people and Israel is my home. I tell everybody that when I went to Israel, I finally felt safe in a country that you shouldn’t feel so safe in, but it is my safe place.” She also noted that her parents are “proud” of her.
The publication reported that Burke willingly chose to join an Israeli military combat unit, and had been in an Air Force Iron Dome battery near Eilat for six months at the time of publication. Burke has also toured Jewish communities and institutions in Australia and elsewhere with United Israel Appeal to advertise her experience as a lone soldier. Describing her service at one event, Burke said, “Our actions do not only protect the State of Israel, but also safeguard the Jewish people everywhere.” She added that they fight for “the future of our children.”
Edan Cohen
Edan Cohen is a Canadian who graduated from Associated Hebrew Schools, a private Jewish elementary school in Toronto, in 2012. His Facebook profile states that he then attended TanenbaumCHAT, a private Jewish high school in Toronto. Cohen’s LinkedIn profile notes that he obtained a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Waterloo in Ontario from 2017 to 2022, and worked in several positions over this time, including as a “Media Intern” at Hillel Ontario and an “Engineering Intern” at TanenbaumCHAT.
Cohen is featured in the Spring 2025 issue of the school’s magazine in a section celebrating alumni. The section contains a photo of Cohen in Israeli uniform, and states: “Edan (Edan Cohen)’12 from his Officers Course. Edan is currently serving in Israel’s Air Force, IDF, as an engineer. He graduated this year as an Officer and was awarded the ‘best soldier’ award from his graduating class.”
Gabriel Edery
Gabriel Edery is a Canadian who attended the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue. A March 2025 issue of the synagogue’s magazine lists Edery as one of a few “BAYT expats” who are “now serving in the IDF” that the synagogue is “proud” of. The magazine adds: “Their dedication and courage inspire us all—Am Yisrael Chai!”
Nava Edery
Nava Edery is a Canadian from Toronto who attended the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue. She also graduated from Ulpanat Orot, one of the Bnei Akiva private Jewish high schools in Toronto, in 2023. A 2024 issue of the school’s magazine noted that she immigrated to Israel. A March 2025 issue of the synagogue’s magazine, meanwhile, lists Edery as one of a few “BAYT expats” who are “now serving in the IDF” that the synagogue is “proud” of. The magazine adds: “Their dedication and courage inspire us all—Am Yisrael Chai!”
Dynai Eilig
Dynai Eilig is an Israeli-born doctor who now works and lives in Vancouver, according to a 2024 Jewish Independent article. An author bio on the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee states: “Dynai is an orthopedic surgeon and a co-founder of United Jewish Shield, which trains and deploys security volunteers for Jewish community events. After the October 7 attack, Dynai returned to Israel to join trauma teams as a surgeon and serve as a reserve fighter with the IDF.”
Eilig has discussed his return to Israeli military service with various Canadian news outlets, including CTV News and CTV Your Morning, focusing on his experience as a surgeon. He told CTV: “I have to do this, just so I can show my kids that there are certain times in life you have to get involved […] You can’t stay on the sidelines.”
Eitan Ellis
Eitan Ellis, 27-28, grew up in a “Zionist, modern Orthodox home in Toronto,” according to a profile in The Canadian Jewish News (CJN). Ellis told the publication that he became motivated to join the Israeli military due to his experience at a synagogue in the city: “I would always go to shul with my parents, and at the end of the service, there would be a prayer for the State of Israel. I thought it was a nice thing, but something always bothered me about that. Everyone always says, ‘I love Israel, let’s say a prayer for them,’ but I never really felt like that was enough.” The profile notes that he attended Jewish schools, and a Facebook page states that he went to William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute in Toronto for high school.
Ellis enlisted in the Israeli military in 2014 in the Golani Brigade, and has claimed to have significant combat experience: “I’ve served on virtually every border we have in Israel. I’ve seen every enemy, I’ve been engaged in conflicts with Hamas, with Hezbollah, even ISIS…”
He added that this experience has not always been pleasant: “I’ve had nights in the West Bank when they sent us in at three in the morning to arrest a terrorist, and we go in and we’re heavily armed and we break down the door and we grab people out of their homes, and we’re doing an amazing thing. We’re arresting a terrorist who is responsible for the death of Jewish lives. But then you turn around and you see his nine children, sitting there, crying, with hate in their eyes, and it breaks my heart.” Still, Ellis said he believes the Israeli military is the “most moral army in the world.”
After finishing his military service in 2017, Ellis obtained a Bachelor’s degree in political science and government from the IDC Herzliya university, and then went on to work in a range of jobs in Canada. According to his LinkedIn, he currently works as the director of business development at AdvancePro Technologies, a software company in Toronto where his father is the CEO.
Both of Eitan’s parents have spoken about his service in the Israeli military. His mother, Limore Ellis, told CJN that she had mixed feelings when a 17-year-old Eitan told her about his decision: “What? Where did we go wrong? We sent you to Jewish day school, we raised you in this loving Jewish home, we taught you to love Israel, but – what? Can’t you love Israel from afar and do some good over here?” But, she told CJN, since she couldn’t stop him, she decided to support him instead.
Eitan’s father, Israel Ellis, has written about his service in an October 2024 Substack article. Here are several notable quotes from the piece:
- “When our children join the IDF, it is a commitment from the deepest part of their Neshama (soul). They are known as Chayalim Bodedim (lone soldiers), drawn to Israel by some kind of homing signal calling them back to the land of their people. They serve, defend, and protect because they understand what the state of Israel means to Jewish survival.”
- “When he first wanted to join ten years ago, we’d get into yelling matches. ‘Listen, I get it—but first get your degree, then let’s talk.’ Again, with the Aba: ‘Aba, it’s my obligation! Just because I was born in Chutz La’aretz (outside of Israel), I shouldn’t serve??? If I don’t do this, I can’t be a Jew!’ I didn’t need to hear more. My next words were, ‘What can I do to help?’”
- “Our son is not an anomaly. He’s one of many boys and girls from our community who have made this incredible commitment to protect, defend, and serve in the IDF. […] I am grateful to be connected to our soldier heroes from Toronto, though I will not mention them by name. We are now living in a country – Canada – that is betraying us every day, and I seriously fear reprisals against them by a government morally misaligned and on the wrong side of history. But to whoever is reading this, you know who you are. You know that we get it. You can hear it in my voice and words. We are a village in Canada, connected to a village in Israel, in a profound way.”
- “Yes, being the parent of an IDF soldier is most stressful—but there’s another side. There’s a sense that we, as parents, we did something to give him this fire, this purpose. It’s in our DNA, a connection deep within us from biblical times. And while my heart is in my throat, I also feel a powerful pride—not something to wear on my sleeve, but a deep knowingness that this is my child, a protector of our people.”
The article from Israel also notes that Eitan had rejoined the military since Oct. 7, 2023, stating that he was called to report to duty after Iran’s missile attack on Israel in October 2024. As noted, Israel is the CEO of a Toronto software company. He has also written two books, most recently one about the events of Oct. 7, 2023, called The Wake Up Call: Global Jihad and The Rise of Antisemitism in a world gone MAD.
Coby Fein
Coby Fein grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, according to a 2021 Hasbara Fellowships essay where he wrote that he “did not grow up in a very big Jewish community.” Fein attended Camp Ramah in Canada while growing up for four summers, including one as a staff member. The camp states that its vision is to “instill core Jewish values that will guide our future leaders and inspire an unwavering dedication to the Jewish community,” and lists one of these values as encouraging “a deep commitment to Israel.”
Fein immigrated to Israel and joined its military after high school, and has written and spoken about why he decided to do so. In the aforementioned 2021 essay, which was written before he joined the Israeli military, he recounts being disturbed on trips to Israel by the way other youth talked about Palestinians. He mentions a meaningful interaction he had with two Palestinian boys where they came across each other in a park and played baseball.
He ends the piece by writing: “I carry this story very close to my heart, because it’s a vital part of who I am as a Jewish person. I love Israel. I have studied the country’s history in school, and have returned many times since that sabbatical. I became a Bar Mitzvah there, on Givah Tzarfatit, near that park. I love and cherish the idea of a Jewish homeland. I’m joining the IDF in 2022 because I feel that I owe a debt to the land of Israel. And I am aware that this is paradoxical, but I do not want to see a world in which Israel drives Palestinians out from their homes. I truly believe we can coexist, because even my twilight game of catch revealed that in many ways we are more similar than we are different. It scares me that I used to think differently. Looking back, I wish that I had given that boy my shoes instead of that baseball. I wish that I had asked them for their names. I understand that one game of catch does not reflect the entire geo-political scope of the Israeli Palestinian dispute. However I think that as Jews, we need moments like that one to illuminate the very human stakes of the conflict. At least I did.”
In November 2023, Fein recorded a video message for Camp Rafah attendees while in the midst of his military service in the Nahal Brigade, waiting to go into Gaza. Responding to a question about why he became a lone soldier, Fein stated: “I always figured that if people like me didn’t do it, who else would? There’s only so many people in the country itself and they need all the help they can get in this army. I guess I just figured that any extra support would be appreciated and useful. Now, I didn’t expect myself to be in the middle of a war, but here we are. I think now more than ever it’s important to remind Jews all over the world how critical support for Israel really is. And I’m not saying ‘come draft.’ That’s a little extreme. But I am saying do what you can. Be proud to be Jewish, be proud to be a Zionist, no matter who’s telling you not to be.”
Fein is a son of Dahlia Lithwick, a Canadian from Ottawa who moved to the United States for university. Lithwick’s professional website states that she is a “regular contributing analyst at MSNBC and senior editor at Slate Magazine – and, in that capacity, has been writing their ‘Supreme Court Dispatches’ and ‘Jurisprudence’ columns since 1999. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Harper’s, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and Commentary, among other places. She is host of Amicus, Slate’s award-winning biweekly podcast about the law and the Supreme Court.”
Lithwick was featured in a 2024 event at the Reuben & Helene Dennis Museum in Toronto, which is associated with the Beth Tzedec Congregation synagogue. The description for the event states: “Beth Tzedec spiritual leader Yacov Fruchter will be in conversation with journalist, writer, lawyer and podcaster Dahlia Lithwick. In December 2021, Dahlia added to her repertoire ‘mother of a lone soldier’ when her son Coby joined the IDF. He is currently stationed in Northern Israel and his brother Sopher will be enlisting in the spring. We will discuss her experience spending half of her time in Israel since October 7, the state of Jewish unity, and Jewish texts that can help sustain us at this time.”
Lithwick had also attended Camp Ramah in her youth, and was featured in a May 2024 Instagram post on its page where she mentioned Fein was in the Israeli military.
Maoz Fenigstein
Maoz Fenigstein, dead at 25, was an Israeli soldier killed in Gaza in December 2023.
Fenigstein was featured in a May 2025 article from JFeed titled, “Born from Tragedy: How a Fallen IDF Hero Brought Two Hearts Together.”
The article states: “In a tale that blends heartbreak, tribute, and unexpected romance, the memory of fallen IDF reservist Maoz Fenigstein, killed in Gaza in December 2023, has led to an extraordinary love story among his former classmates in Montreal, Canada.
Maoz Fenigstein, a reservist who fell battling Hamas terrorists, left behind a legacy that reached far beyond his native Israel. As a child, Maoz lived in Montreal, where he attended the Hebrew Academy [a Jewish private school]. His death in combat deeply touched his former classmates, particularly Eliana, who proposed a meaningful tribute on their class WhatsApp group.
She suggested raising funds to donate special edition copies of Mesilat Yesharim to their alma mater and other schools, encouraging students to study it in Maoz’s memory.
The call to action resonated with Benjy, a classmate who had barely spoken to Eliana during their 12 years at school together. Moved by her idea, Benjy reached out, offering to volunteer in Israel and personally deliver a copy of the book to Maoz’s family. This small gesture sparked a connection between the two, leading to conversations, a courtship, and, remarkably, their recent marriage.”
Fenigstein’s obituary on the Friends of The IDF website states: “Master Sgt. (res.) Maoz Fenigstein, 25 who loved the land of Israel, was full of joy, and always had a smile on his face, was killed on December 19 in Gaza, serving as a combat reservist in the 7008th Battalion of the Commando Brigade’s Special Force Unit. Maoz, who resided in the community of Giv’at Hahanan, studied in the Yeshiva Bnei Netzarim and Ramat Gan, and later at the ‘Re’uta’ Yeshiva in Carmel. Known as a lover of the outdoors, Maoz could be found skiing in Canada or cycling in the Judean Hills. After his death, his organs were donated, saving many lives.”
Ruby Gelfand
Ruby Gelfand is a Canadian who was a student at the Trafalgar School for Girls in Montreal and then attended TAV College in the city.
Gelfand was featured in the Spring 2024 issue of The Atlantic Jewish Council’s Shalom magazine in an article about current and former staffers at Camp Kadimah, a Jewish summer camp in Nova Scotia. She began as a staff member in 2022, and discusses her experience growing up and how it helped lead her to join the Israeli military.
Gelfand states, “Camp has played a crucial role in my Jewish journey and my connection to Israel. Despite not attending a Jewish high school, I cultivated my Jewish identity primarily through home practices like Shabbat. However, it is at camp, in a hyper-Zionist environment surrounded by Jewish peers, where I feel most at ease and connected to my Jewish heritage. This is where I have built significant relationships and where I feel most comfortable expressing my Jewish identity without fear of judgment or negativity from others. The programming at camp, particularly the perspective provided by Israeli staff members, has enriched my understanding of Israel and strengthened my admiration for the country. I eagerly each year to reunite with my Israeli friends. Camp has not only provided me with a consistent and safe space, but has also instilled a sense of pride and confidence in my Jewish heritage.”
Responding to a question about what she plans to do after that summer, Gelfand states, “I have decided to make Aliyah and enlist in the IDF in August, following my summer at camp. This decision stems from my deep-seated desire to join the army, a dream of mine since I was younger. During my gap year program in Israel last year, I was surrounded by soldiers and people in uniform, which reinforced my sense of duty and obligation to protect and serve my country.”
She ends the interview by stating, “My days at Kadimah will live with me for the rest of my life, and I can only hope to come back after my army service!”
Gelfand’s Facebook profile states that she has been in the Israeli military since December 2024.
Gabriel Gershkovich
Gabriel Gershkovich is a Canadian from Hamilton, Ont. He graduated from Hamilton Hebrew Academy, a private Jewish elementary school, in 2013, according to a Facebook post from the school congratulating graduates for immigrating to Israel and “living the dream!”
Gershkovich is featured in a July 2024 post from the “Smiling Soldiers” Instagram account, which states that it is “trying to show the world the real, happy, fun and human side of the IDF.”
The post, which contains several photos of Gershkovich in military uniform, states: “Lone Soldier Gavriel is originally from Hamilton, Canada. He drafted in 2020 to the Combat Engineering Corps., and served there dutifully until 2022. An expert in all things military gear, explosives, and a man of great discpline, Gavriel was a standout soldier during his time in the army. Following his service, he signed up for a Yeshiva for חוזרי בתשובה in Jerusalem called Mayanot, where he thrived and learned, and had an overall great experience. It was there that he was studying when that dark fateful day in October happened on Simchat Torah, one of the happiest days in the Jewish calendar… he was called up to reserve duty almost immediately, and left Yeshiva to protect his people. He would spend a lot of time in reserves, and spent a little while in Gaza, fighting for what he believed in. He is as hardcore as you will find when it comes to his religious standards, and absolutely loved Yeshiva, and never wanted to leave. But he knew, that when his brothers and sisters are in danger, and he has what to offer in his abilities, strength, knowledge, and body, he reported without delay or complaint, and felt honored to serve. Whenever he would get off from his reserve duty for a week or so, he’d go straight back to Yeshiva, take in as much as he could, and report right back to base as soon as he was recalled.”
Gershkovich was also featured in a 2025 LinkedIn post where he is introduced as a rabbi. Gershkovich tells viewers: “I was here in Israel. I went to the army for three years, and I came to learn here in Maayanot for a year. October 7, I went to the reserves, and I fought in Gaza. I was in the reserves for a few months, and then I came back to yeshiva.”
He added, “Having been in Gaza, living and fighting in the war, and also learning yeshiva, I can tell you that learning yeshiva is just as much a battle. It’s not easy. […] Just like soldiers are fighting for something greater than themselves — for Israel, for the Jews, for Hashem — so too can we do it in our […] lives, whether it’s yeshiva, whether it’s in the work place. Whatever it is, we can give ourselves over to something greater than ourselves.”
Atarah Gobrin
Atarah Gobrin was a student at Ulpanat Orot, one of the Bnei Akiva private Jewish high schools in Toronto, and graduated in 2018, according to the school’s magazine.
Atarah’s LinkedIn notes that she was a fellow and then a mentor at Diller Teen Fellows, a Jewish youth organization, like her sister. After high school, Atarah immigrated to Israel and attended a pre-army prep program for women from 2018 to 2019. She then enlisted in the Israeli military, and served as a combat soldier and commander from July 2019 to April 2022.
Her LinkedIn states, “I served as a combat soldier in Combat Intelligence Unit. This included 8 months in a specialized unit locating and eliminating tunnels on the Gaza border as well as 1 year as a commander and Mashakit Hadracha (MASHAD) in charge of educational content, logistics, and leadership development of officers and commanders.” Her profile also notes that she won the “Commander Award of Excellence” during her service in November 2021.
Atarah was the recipient of a scholarship from Indigo CEO Heather Reisman’s HESEG Foundation, and attended The Hebrew University of Jerusalem for a bachelor’s degree with a double major in “communications and journalism and sociology,” from 2022 to 2025. Her profile also notes that she is a “big sister” at “Ach Gadol (Big Brother) for Lone Soldiers,” where she says she mentors “4 Lone Soldiers currently serving in the IDF in need of emotional support and guidance.”
Shalhevet and Atarah’s mother, Ashira Gobrin, is listed in the Bnei Akiva magazine as the chair of the chains’ board of directors, and her website states, “I’m also a seasoned board director serving roles such as Chair of Bnei Akiva Schools of Toronto and Chair of The Toronto Heschel School.”
Ashira is the author of a Substack titled “Proudly Zioness,” and has written several articles mentioning that her daughters have served in the Israeli military, including one focused on Atarah, who Ashira states has served in the military since Oct. 7, 2023.
The January 2024 post notes that Atarah was able to get a surprise eight-hour leave of absence from her service. Ashira wrote, “What a backwards world we live in where our children are defending their parents. My daughter is a soldier. Defending her home and people. My heart is equally broken and filled with pride and admiration for her courage and her strength.”
Jake Goodman
Jake Goodman is a Canadian who graduated from Associated Hebrew Schools, a private Jewish elementary school in Toronto.
A May 2024 post from the school’s Instagram account features a photo of Goodman wearing an Israeli military uniform, and states: “AHS students wrote letters to AHS alumni Jake Goodman, who is currently serving in the IDF as a lone soldier. Your family at AHS, and our whole AHS community, supports you!”
Ishai Gottlieb
Ishai Gottlieb is an Israeli who moved to Vancouver in 2022 to pursue a job opportunity. Shortly after Oct. 7, 2023, he booked a flight to return to Israel and rejoin the military as a commanding officer. He told CTV News Vancouver: “I need to be there […] I just had this urge. I couldn’t stand aside and look at what’s happening to Israel from the outside.” He added, “The evil now has a face and an address and we will treat evil as it should be treated.”
The job opportunity Gottlieb moved to Vancouver for was a position as the assistant rabbi of the Schara Tzedeck Congregation. A May 2024 article in the Jewish Independent states that the synagogue made a “priority” of programming that featured the experiences of people from their congregation that had joined the Israeli military.
The publication reported, “One of the people from Schara Tzedeck who has gone to serve was assistant rabbi Ishay Gottlieb. ‘He’s a major in the reserves in the IDF, and he left on Oct. 9th and wasn’t really back until the beginning of January,’ explained [Rabbi Andrew] Rosenblatt. ‘You’re essentially funding a staff member, like many Israeli organizations [are having to do], but there’s lots that had to be compensated for in that context.’” The rabbi added, “When you walk into Schara Tzedeck, we want you to feel like you’re in a little embassy of Israel in this building.”
Ari Halevi-Wise
Ari Halevi-Wise, 21-22, was born in Montreal. He visited Israel for a year after finishing high school in Canada, and then decided to remain there permanently.
Halevi-Wise was completing his national service in the Israeli military in 2023. His unit was initially stationed in an area near Gaza, but was moved to the illegally occupied Golan Heights in the days before October 7. His family claims that those who weren’t moved were all killed or captured on October 7. Halevi-Wise’s service was then extended as Israel’s assault on Gaza began.
Ari is the son of Yael Halevi-Wise and Daniel Wise, both of whom are professors at McGill University. Yael is an associate professor of Jewish Studies and English and the chair of the Jewish Studies department, while Daniel is a professor in Mathematics and Statistics. Both Yael and Daniel have signed public letters over the years opposing pro-Palestine activities, including one in 2016 decrying attempts from McGill students to pass BDS motions.
Yitzchak Ickovich
Yitzchak Ickovich, 24-25, is a Canadian who went to high school in Langford, B.C. He then completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Victoria from 2018 to 2023. His LinkedIn notes that he volunteered at the campuses’ Hillel chapter. It also states that he completed a Stand With Us Canada fellowship, where he “advocated for Israel at the University of Victoria while also educating people on Israel.”
After finishing his degree, Ickovich immigrated to Israel to draft into the military as a so-called ‘lone soldier’ through the Nefesh B’Nefesh program. He states that after finishing his service he intends to complete a masters degree in forensic psychology.
Nir Koren
Nir Koren was born in Israel. Various profiles state that Koren worked as a community rabbi in several countries, including Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia. He eventually moved to Canada, and now works as a lawyer at Tamir, an Ottawa charity that provides support for Jewish people with developmental disabilities.
Koren left his family to join the Israeli army within a week after Oct. 7, 2023. He told the National Post that he previously served with the Israeli army in 2006 during its war in Lebanon, but that the current conflict is different: “We fought against soldiers (in Lebanon), we didn’t fight against civilians.”
Koren was mentioned in the Oct. 18, 2023, session in Ontario’s parliament by MPP Greg Rickford, who said, “As I watched the events unfold in Israel, I’m in awe of the bravery in its full display. In the face of this evil, thousands of men and women are stepping up to fight for what is right: their homeland, their people and their right for a safe community and their loved ones. I think of people like Ottawa’s Nir Koren, a lawyer and father of five who’s made the journey back to Israel. People like Nir recognize the danger that they are stepping into. They don’t run from it; they step into it.”
Jeffrey Kovac
Jeffrey Kovac is a Canadian who describes himself as a “IDF veteran and proud Zionist” on his LinkedIn profile. His profile notes that he was a “Finance Analyst” in the “Israel Ministry of Defense” from October 1996 to September 1999. His profile states that he now works as an insurance broker in Westmount, Que. The “about” section of the profile adds: “Wal-Mart Retail Link Analyst. List of Customers - CVS pharmacies, Wal-Mart, Zellers, Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart, Jean Coutu, Bed Bath & Beyond, X-Mas Tree Shops, 5 Below, Toys R' US, Sears, The Bay, Costco. I love working with driven, motivated, outgoing and upbeat people who I can learn from, teach and drive forward with.”
In January 2025, he posted a Facebook photo of him in Israeli uniform holding a sledgehammer in front of a concrete wall with chain link fence on top of it. The caption states: “Israel in the front! 💪🏻 🇮🇱 Gaza in the back! 👎🏻💩 Best caption wins a gift from the IDF! Am Israel Chai! 🇮🇱 💪🏻 ♥️”
Several people responded to Kovac’s post, with comments such as: “I only see Israel”; “Latrine duty again - eh?”; “The front is always cleaner!!”; “Jewish land to the front… Jewish land to the back!!!”; “Israel’s newest territory coming up the rear!”; “Too bad you aren’t holding a shovel, you could have been digging a grave for all the HHH terrorists.”
Kovac responded to an August 2025 Facebook post from Liberal MP Anthony Housefather about Israeli military service, claiming: “I’ve served 3 deployments since Oct 7th and will go back as many times as I can to help defend the country of my ancestors! I’d love to be questioned by any govt agency and tell them the cold heart truths!! AM ISRAEL CHAI FOREVER! 🇮🇱 💪🏻”
In October 2025, Kovac posted several photos of him in Israeli uniform, as well as one with bombed out buildings and smoke in the background, with the caption: “I’m the grandson of 4 holocaust survivors. One of my grandfathers fought in the Haganah for the independence of Israel. I’ve been to Gaza 4x since this war began. I’ve seen the carnage at Be’eri, The Nova festival and what this war has done to my country. If there’s one thing I can humbly suggest, what my commander Dudu repeatedly told me… ‘Don’t pay attention to the Paca Paca (talk talk). Focus on your family, your career, making the world a better place. Focus on getting your kids ready for their futures. Focus on the good! Jiffa, don’t pay attention to all the paca paca! They’ll all be forgotten as soon as their miserable lives are over.’ Let us all focus on tikkun olam and on bringing back our chatoufim (our hostages)! Let us all focus on remaining strong, resilient, loving, smart, hard working and making Am Israel stronger than ever, and let us always remember our brothers and sisters who we all lost on Oct 7th, and our IDF brothers and sisters we’ve lost ever since! Am Israel Chai chaverim! 🇮🇱 💪🏻”
Matthew LeBreech
In November 2023, Matthew LeBreech posted “an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau” on Facebook, where he states: “Mr Trudeau, I am 33 years old, I am reservist, an Israeli, a Canadian, a husband, a soon to be father, a son, a brother a nephew. There are thousands like me who dropped everything and left their loved ones and civilian life to fight. Mr. Trudeau, take a good look at my face in the picture, I am one Jew in israel who doesn’t care what you think. Regards, Sgt First Class (res) Matthew Brecher I.D.F paratrooper.”
Noy Leyb
Noy Leyb, 33, is a Canadian from Calgary and was an active member of the Jewish community there, attending Jewish schools Akiva Academy and The Calgary Jewish Academy, and then public high school. He also attended synagogue and took part in youth programs at Beth Tzedec Congregation in Calgary, and Camp BB Riback.
Leyb moved to Israel after high school and served in the army for a few years as a paratrooper, reaching the rank of First Sergeant and being stationed on the borders of Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. He attributed this life path to his Zionist parents, who “always told me to be proud of my Judaism and to never be afraid to speak out.” One of Leyb’s brothers also noted that their father, a grandfather and a cousin had all served in the Israeli army.
After finishing his army service, Leyb lived and studied in Israel until 2020 when he moved to Michigan for an MBA, then back to Israel and then to New York, according to his LinkedIn. He returned to the Israeli army a day after Oct. 7, 2023, and also abandoned his tech start-up to focus on hasbara full time, according to Alberta Jewish News (AJN), who he told: “I sleep maybe four hours a night, and the first thing I do is hasbara. It never gets old, at least not yet.”
Leyb has had a great deal of media exposure, with a verified Instagram account with more than 38,000 followers, a Twitter account with the handle “YourIDFSoldier” and interviews and coverage in a range of publications, including: the Canadian Jewish News, CBC, the National Post, CNN, National Review, NBC, Jewish Journal, TMZ, ABC, the New York Post, the Daily Mail, Business Insider, Global News, and others. He has also given speeches in cities throughout North America.
Even Leyb’s personal life has managed to attract media attention, including when he was banned from the dating platforms Tinder and Hinge. Leyb said, “I’m not one to blame antisemitism right away, but this is it. Nothing else explains this […] I’ve never done anything wrong.” The ban came after he uploaded a photo of himself wearing his army uniform and holding a machine gun. “This is the dating app that bills itself as the one ‘designed to be deleted,’ but I was the one who wound up being deleted,” Leyb added.
Leyb has spoken about his post-October 7 deployment in great detail. He told AJN that he spent his first three weeks back in the army training with a Special Forces commando group, and ended up being one of the first to go into Gaza.
Leyb said his unit played a key role in “dismantling Hamas” in northern Gaza, but that the experience was different from past deployments: “I’ve been on the Lebanon border, the Gaza border. I’ve arrested terrorists, I’ve gone into Arab villages, I’ve done everything, but this is different.” Leyb told the National Review he believes Palestinians are “raised on terror” and “breathe terror.”
Leyb’s unit was eventually released in January, and then was deployed again in May. He has since focused full time on his hasbara efforts, saying, “We need to keep this momentum up, this strong Jewish pride, supporting each other, right, left, liberal, orthodox, it doesn’t matter.”
Noy is a brother of two other Israeli soldiers included in this database: Shar Leyb and Tav Leyb.
Shar Leyb
Shar Leyb, 31-32, is a Canadian from Calgary and was an active member of the Jewish community there, attending Jewish schools, according to his Facebook page. In 2010, The Canadian Jewish News (CJN) reported Leyb had wanted to join the Israeli army since elementary school. “People have known ‘that kid’s going to the army.’ I’ve wanted to go into the [Israeli army] since I was very young,” Leyb said, adding that one of his brothers, his father, a grandfather and a cousin had all previously joined the Israeli army.
CJN interviewed Leyb, a recent high school graduate, on his way to Israel, where he said he was planning to stay permanently. The publication reported: “Leyb will go into a kibbutz, brush up on his Hebrew and then enter the army in November. He hopes to become a paratrooper.”
Leyb would in fact go on to join the Israeli military, but in a different unit. As reported by Electronic Intifada in 2019, “Leyb stated […] that he was a member of Duvdevan, an elite Israeli military unit whose members often disguise themselves as Palestinians in order to carry out extrajudicial executions. Leyb even described taking part in a raid on a Palestinian home where young children were sleeping and where the combat soldiers confronted a woman holding a toddler.”
According to his LinkedIn, Leyb returned to Canada in 2017 as part of the group “Reservists on Duty,” which is an Israeli NGO bringing army reservists to university campuses in an attempt to combat BDS. Two years later while travelling with the group, Leyb accused pro-Palestine students at York University protesting the event of chanting, “Intifada, Intifada, go back to the ovens.” Leyb made this claim to a reporter at the Jerusalem Post, who then reported it as fact, leading to condemnations from Canadian politicians at all levels, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Later on, the Jerusalem Post admitted Leyb was its only source for the claim, and as of yet no evidence has been produced to substantiate it, despite dozens of recordings from the event being posted online.
Leyb returned to the Israeli army in October 2023 and has since been deployed multiple times. He was deployed again in October 2024, according to an Instagram post from his brother.
Shar is a brother of two other Israeli soldiers included in this database: Noy Leyb and Tav Leyb.
Tav Leyb
Tav Leyb, 22-23, is a Canadian from Calgary who has been part of the Israeli army since at least October 2023.
Tav has two brothers that have also served in the army since October 2023, both of whom are included in this database: Shard Leyb and Noy Leyb. Tav’s brother Shar told The Canadian Jewish News that their father, a grandfather and a cousin had all previously served in the Israeli army.
In an August 2024 Instagram post, Tav’s brother Noy said that Tav had been serving on the front lines in Gaza for the past 10 months: “For the past 307 days, you’ve been serving on the front lines. While others (like your brothers) had a 2-3 month break, you chose to stay and volunteer extra time. I’m super proud of you man. 10 months at war at the age of only 22 is not normal. But now it’s time to let our parents have some peace and quiet – they haven’t been sleeping since Oct 7th since at least 2/3 of us Leyb brothers were on the front lines.”
Nir Maman
Nir Maman, 47-48, was born in Israel and moved to Canada with his family when he was young. After finishing high school, Maman returned to Israel to join the army, and eventually served as a commando instructor with an “elite counter-terrorism unit,” according to The Canadian Jewish News (CJN).
Maman’s LinkedIn profile lists a wide range of military, combat and policing jobs, including stints as a police constable in Prince Edward Island, a Toronto Transit Commission special constable, an Ontario peace officer, a deputy sheriff in Georgia, and a police officer on a reserve in the United States. Maman also states that he has worked as a bodyguard, a Krav Maga instructor and in specialized hostage rescue positions.
Prior to Oct. 7, 2023, Maman was last deployed with the Israeli army in the late 2000s, and lived in Toronto. After that day’s events, Maman decided to return to the army, but had to convince them to allow him to do so.
In November 2023, he was deployed with Unit 5060, a “light infantry reserve battalion in Hebron” where he was “manning checkpoints, hunting for terrorist cells and conducting raids,” according to CJN. Maman said, “Every night we are going out on arrest missions. We are kicking in doors of Hamas terrorist homes.” He claims that his unit has nicknamed him Thanos.
Maman told CJN that taking part in the war has made him “more connected to our religion, to our roots, to our purpose.” He added, “You go to a pro-Israel protest and our people say, ‘We just want peace for everybody. We just want, that’s it, for the Palestinians, and for us and for everybody.’ You go to their protest, they just want death for everybody. And so, our values are very special, they’re very unique.”
While back in Canada on a furlough, Maman was requested to return to Israel immediately as his unit was going to be entering Gaza. Maman has documented his experience in the army on Instagram.
Adin Mauer
Adin Mauer, 28-29, was born and grew up in Israel. He served in the Israeli military from 2014 to 2019, including as a platoon commander and operations officer, according to his CV. After doing so, Mauer moved to Canada and completed a bachelor of applied sciences at the University of British Columbia (UBC). His LinkedIn profile notes that he works at AMD, a technology company with a location in Vancouver.
Mauer was featured in an Oct. 15, 2023 article from CTV News about men from Vancouver enlisting or re-enlisting in the Israeli military. The article states, “Adin Mauer is in his fourth year of computer science at the University of British Columbia, but knew he needed to step away. ‘Sunday morning, I was supposed to be in a study group to do an assignment in algorithms and there was no way that was going to happen,’ said the 27-year-old Israeli. Mauer, who grew up in Israel and already completed mandatory military service, says he lost friends in the Hamas slaughter that killed at least 1,400 people, many of them civilian women, children and babies. ‘I couldn’t, as an Israeli, as someone who served in the army, sit and watch what was happening.’ Mauer couldn’t divulge specifics, but told CTV News he’s in the warzone located near the south of the Gaza border.”
A December 2023 article from Jewish Vancouver stated that Mauer was one of about 30 men from Vancouver that had gone to join the military since October 8 of that year.
In January 2024, Hillel BC, a Jewish organization on the UBC campus held an event titled “Voices from the Frontlines: An Exclusive Israel Update and Insights from the Ground,” which featured Mauer. The event was protested by several other groups on campus.
Benjamin Philip
Benjamin Philip, 19-20, is a Canadian from Montreal who planned to join Israel’s army from a young age, according to a profile of him in Israeli publication CTech. Philip said, “My great-aunt and uncle and great-grandparents were all Holocaust survivors, and growing up I would always hear about what happened to them. It was very important to me as I got older to ensure that something like that would never happen again.”
Philip told the National Post: “I have a deep love for the country and a profound appreciation for the army, Israeli culture, and citizens’ patriotism. I realized that if I really wanted to be Israeli, part of that means protecting the country and our people.”
By 2023, Philip was already planning to move to Israel. As such, in August, he signed up for the Garin Tzabar program for lone soldiers, which was set to start in the winter. His decision was reinforced after witnessing the events of Oct. 7, 2023. “All that I could think about was not being able to do anything from Canada,” Philip told CTech, adding, “I wanted to come [to Israel] faster. I was thinking about my family here.”
His mother, Galia Philip, told The Canadian Jewish News (CJN) that Benjamin departed for Israel in December 2023 and hoped to join an elite army unit. The National Post noted that Philip was preparing for a March enlistment in a combat position.
In 2024, Benjamin told CTech that he was “deeply influenced” to join the army by his older brother, Eden Philip, who is also included in this database. Speaking of her two sons joining the army, Galia said, “My kids did it (enlisted) not because they had to but because they wanted to. To choose to go to the army, follow certain rules, being under strict conduct, takes a lot of courage. I’m proud of my two boys that that was their choice. I strongly believe that they will do their best and they will come back safe and sound.”
In October 2024, CJN published an update on Benjamin’s status: “Galia Philip said her son Ben is finishing his training in a paratrooping unit, completing his parachuting course and sniper training. Ben overcame an injury during training and is now preparing to serve in a parachuting unit. She anticipates he will be deployed to Gaza or Lebanon.”
Eden Philip
Eden Philip, 28-29, was born in Israel and raised in Montreal. His mother, Galia Philip, told The Canadian Jewish News (CJN) that Eden went to Israel to join the war on Oct. 17, 2023. She said she was initially opposed to the decision because he had already served for two years as a lone soldier in 2017, where he was a “marksman and commander” in the 603rd Combat Engineering Corps, according to his LinkedIn. Galia noted that the unit Eden joined after Oct. 7, 2023, as a Sergeant First Class in reserves, was in the north of Israel on the Lebanese border for the first month, but then moved into Gaza.
Benjamin Philip, Eden’s younger brother, joined the Israeli army after Oct. 7, 2023. Speaking of her two sons joining the army, Galia said, “My kids did it (enlisted) not because they had to but because they wanted to. To choose to go to the army, follow certain rules, being under strict conduct, takes a lot of courage. I’m proud of my two boys that that was their choice. I strongly believe that they will do their best and they will come back safe and sound.”
She shared a letter with CJN that Eden had written to her in December 2023 during Hanukkah as he was preparing for his next deployment, where he wrote, in part, “I didn’t do anything special, I did what every Israeli chose to do on the seventh of October. I chose to pick up my iron sword and defend our country, our people, our home. We should all be making this effort whether it be with a weapon in our hand, with a pen in our desk, with the letters on our keyboards. Each of us can do more. Each of us has a part to play in the history of the Jewish people.”
Eden’s LinkedIn profile notes that since returning from Gaza he has worked as the director of security at the Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem synagogue in Montreal. He had previously worked for a private security agency.
Ido Rahamim
Ido Rahamim is a Canadian who was born in Israel but grew up in Montreal. Rahamim was featured in a July 2025 post from Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration on Facebook and Instagram where he describes returning to Israel. The post states: “🇨🇦 From Montreal to the IDF! 🇮🇱 Meet Ido, a new Oleh who made Aliyah with one mission in mind - to serve and protect the State of Israel. His journey is just beginning, and so is his impact. Welcome home! ❤️”
The post contains a video of Rahamim, in which he states: “My goal for 2025 is to, be’ezrat hashem, settle into the army smoothly and help and contribute as much as I can to help bring everyone home safe.”
Dima Ressin
Dima Ressin is a Canadian who was born in Russia and moved to Toronto when he was four. He graduated from TanenbaumCHAT, a private Jewish high school in Toronto, in 2022. A post from the school on Instagram noted that Ressin planned to join the Israeli military after high school.
Ressin was mentioned in a December 2024 article from The Times of Israel where the writer describes his experience attending a conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The writer notes that he moderated two sessions at the conference, including one featuring Ressin:
“On the first evening, I was honoured to conduct a Q&A with Emil Tesler and Dima Ressin, two courageous young Canadian-Israeli men, who grew up in Toronto and whose lives were forever changed by Oct. 7 and its aftermath. […] Dima, who was born in Russia, moved to Canada with his family when he was 4 and spent his youth in Toronto. After graduating high school, he moved to Israel in [2022] to volunteer in the IDF, serving in the Nahal Brigade. Following the outbreak of the war, Dina and his unit served in and outside Gaza until he completed his service last July and is now back living in Toronto.”
Ressin was advertised as a presenter on the conference’s website, with his event described as follows: “Join us for an inspiring session featuring the stories of IDF soldiers. This session will delve into their remarkable experiences, highlighting their bravery, resilience, and dedication. Through their narratives, we will gain a deeper understanding of the sacrifices made and the spirit of perseverance that defines these heroes.”
The website’s bio for Ressin states: “In August 2022, he volunteered to serve in the IDF. He served in the 50th battalion of the Nahal Brigade. Upon completing his training, his unit was stationed in the Karnei Shomron area of the West Bank. After the breakout of the war, he and his unit were in and out of Gaza until his discharge in June 2024.”
Lili Richards
Lili Richards is described in the Summer 2024 issue of the Jewish London Magazine as a “London-raised IDF soldier” alongside her twin sister, Sara Richards, who is also included in this database. The article notes that the Richards sisters, who were in London, Ont., on leave from the military, shared “their stories” with the organization.
Richards is featured in a June 2023 Instagram and LinkedIn post from Nefesh B’Nefesh, an organization that helps North Americans immigrate to Israel. The post states: “👋 Meet Lone Soldier Lili Richards📍From London, Ontario Canada 🇨🇦 🌱 Your Garin: Garin Ein Hahoresh🔰 Your @idf Position: Shooting Instructor ‘I made Aliyah with @garin_tzabar and @nefeshbnefesh in December 2022 with my twin sister. I live on Kibbutz Ein Hahoresh, Hamerkaz, Israel with 30 other Lone Soldiers. I’m currently in a two month course at the Mitkan Adam base, where I am learning how to become a shooting instructor. A shooting instructor first has to learn how to shoot the weapons that are used in all the IDF units.
After my course I will provide professional training to infantry soldiers in target and shooting practice, therefore it is important for me to be trained and educated in all use of the weapons. I will have the opportunity to work closely with soldiers to help build their skills and support them with their training.
My experience as a Lone Soldier has been amazing despite the difficulties. I have grown so much as a person and it has been incredible seeing myself evolve in Israel. I can see myself slowly integrating in ways I didn’t think possible. I’ve received loads of support from the program itself and also the army in terms of language, drafting process, and social support.’”
Richards’s Instagram account contains several photos of her time in the Israeli military.
Sara Richards
Sara Richards is described in the Summer 2024 issue of the Jewish London Magazine as a “London-raised IDF soldier” alongside her twin sister, Lily Richards, who is also included in this database. The article notes that the Richards sisters, who were in London, Ont., on leave from the military, shared “their stories” with the organization.
A Facebook profile for Richards, which states that she now lives in London, contains photos of her in Israeli military uniform, posted in 2023 and 2024. Her profile describes her as a “digital creator.”
Boaz Rosenzweig
Boaz Rosenzweig is a Canadian from Toronto who attended the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue. A March 2025 issue of the synagogue’s magazine lists Rosenzweig as one of a few “BAYT expats” who are “now serving in the IDF” that the synagogue is “proud” of. The magazine adds, “Their dedication and courage inspire us all—Am Yisrael Chai!”
An earlier issue of the synagogue’s magazine states that Rosenzweig’s parents are Zevi and Aura Rosenzweig. Zevi, a lawyer in Toronto, has an Instagram account dedicated to Israel, where he states, “My mission is to explore every inch of this country.” In March 2025, Zevi posted a video of Boaz getting sworn into the Israeli military, writing: “I cannot describe the emotions coursing through my body as I watch my son being sworn into the IDF: pride, pride and more pride, love, hope, delight, euphoria, glee, optimism, honour. I know the grandparents, the shoah survivors are beaming.”
Elian (Eli) Rubineau
Elian (Eli) Rubineau is a Canadian who has lived in Montreal. He was featured in a December 2024 event at the Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom synagogue in Montreal, which advertised it as such: “Eli Rubineau came to Montreal with his family from Ithaca in 2014 and became actively involved at Temple. He made Aliyah in 2020, moving to Kibbutz Urim in the Negev desert, and joining the IDF’s elite counter-terror unit as a combat medic. On October 7 he and his unit were among the first to respond to the horrors at Kfar Aza, Be’eri and Nir Yitzhak. Today, Eli is in the final months of his service. He is joining us to share his experiences, as a Temple kid, as an Israeli, as a soldier, and as a Zionist.”
Rubineau’s Facebook profile states that he attended high school in Montreal, and also participated in multiple Jewish summer camps and student organizations. He then completed a few months of school at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem before volunteering for the Magen David Adom ambulance and ultimately joining the military.
Liel Sandler
Liel Sandler attended the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue. A March 2025 issue of the synagogue’s magazine lists Rosenzweig as one of a few “BAYT expats” who are “now serving in the IDF” that the synagogue is “proud” of. The magazine adds, “Their dedication and courage inspire us all—Am Yisrael Chai!”
Moshe Tzvi Shapiro
Moshe Tzvi Shapiro, 22-23, is a Canadian from Hamilton. Members of Shapiro’s family attended the Hamilton Hebrew Academy day school. An August 2023 post on the website of a Jewish summer camp stated that Shapiro lived in Jerusalem at that point, and added, “He went to Skokie Yeshiva, and then Yeshivat Hakotel/the Golani Brigade for the past 4 years. Next year he’ll be studying in Machon Lev.”
In April 2024, Shapiro’s mother, Rebecca Shapiro, published an article in the Hamilton Jewish News titled, “Reflections by a Hamilton mother of two lone IDF soldiers.” In it, she discusses Moshe Tzvi as well as one of his brothers, both of whom joined the Israeli military.
Shapiro writes, “How am I feeling? The word ‘OK’ has become a relative term for all of us since Oct. 7. When my two sons decided to join the Israeli army, I was slightly hesitant but optimistically thought that it would be a great experience for them. They would learn discipline, make great friends and protect our homeland.” She said that she was “proud of the role my sons were playing in the unfolding narrative” prior to Oct. 7, 2023.
She then describes their service in the military, noting that Moshe Tzvi “was called up right away as a reservist near the northern border of Syria and Lebanon.” Most of the article discusses her experience as the parent of multiple lone soldiers, and ends with, “Being a mom of soldiers has taught me that we are all capable of more than we ever dreamed possible—even (or especially) during challenges we don’t get to choose. May God watch over and protect all of our precious sons and daughters fighting for our homeland.”
Rebecca is the co-founder of an organization that deals with addiction issues and mental health in Jewish communities, according to her LinkedIn.
Temima Silver
Temima Silver, 22-23, was born and raised in Ottawa, and spent her early years in what she described as a predominately Jewish environment, including the Ottawa Jewish Community School. She then attended a public high school in Ottawa, and has repeatedly claimed the antisemitism she faced there motivated her to move to Israel and join the army as a lone soldier. Silver told CBC the antisemitism she experienced was “through anti-Zionism.”
Silver joined the army in 2020, leaving university in order to do so. She told the Ottawa Jewish E-Bulletin in 2022 that she was a “checkpoints combat soldier.” Silver was released from service later that year and remained in Israel.
In the days after Oct. 7, 2023, Silver decided to join the army again after a call for volunteers was made to her former platoon. Silver told the Canadian Press she made this choice because of how important she believes the war effort would be. “If you don’t believe that this will succeed, then you don’t believe that you see a tomorrow for future generations of Israel, of Jews, of your brothers and sisters. There is no choice,” she said. Silver has also claimed the Israeli army is concerned with protecting human life, and that this stems from the lessons of Judaism.
From July 2024 to February 2025, according to her LinkedIn, Silver worked as a paralegal at an Israeli tax law firm.
Barr Solnik
Barr Solnik is a Canadian who was born in the United States but grew up in Canada. Solnik immigrated to Israel at some point after high school, and has written about his experience as a so-called lone soldier for The Israel Forever Foundation.
Solnik writes, “I served as a sniper in the paratroopers brigade and since the completion of my service have made it my ongoing endeavor to share the lone soldier story with the rest of the Jewish World and to help lone soldiers where I can.”
Discussing his plans to create a film about lone soldiers, Solnik adds, “There is a reason why the lone soldier movement is growing. A few friends of mine and I want to help it grow. We want to share our story in the most authentic way and one which will show Israelis, North Americans, Europeans, South Americans, South Africans and anyone anywhere else where a trace of Jewish blood might lie, why it is we are here, who we are and what we do.”
Solnik’s LinkedIn profile states that he has volunteered for multiple lone soldier organizations, including Kfar Olim (“organizing and initiating the creation of a self sustaining city in the periphery, which supports Lone Soldiers both during and after their military service”) and Ach Gadol (“a unique social initiative aimed at bringing together volunteers, who have all completed their military service as lone soldiers and are presently students of higher education or young professionals”).
In June 2024, Solnik published an article on Medium describing his experience in Gaza amidst the war. Referring to Gazan homes, Solnik writes, “As a Jew, the image of little children’s shoes abandoned and grayed from ash is a hard one to bear. There’s an uncomfortable familiarity. My mind replaces the image before my eyes with one of similar abandoned belongings from another place and time.
Poland, Germany, and other European countries were the centers of displacement, mass incarceration, forced labor, and the systematic extermination of millions of our people. Some of the most notorious concentration camps include Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau, and Majdanek. Yet here I am, in the land of Israel, the home of the Jewish people, and also the residence of our not-so-distant cousins.This time, we are the ones pushing people out of their homes.
The parents and sometimes the children themselves pose a very real and immediate threat to me and my family. The house with the abandoned shoes is filled with grenades, machine guns, and suicide jackets. Some, like the jacket, were hidden under a child’s bed. But it is just a child — what should be a source of joy and goodness, who, while often very selfish, bears a seed of hope for a future that is not yet written. These parents have already sealed their children’s fate. They not only fill their homes with weapons meant to harm others but also systematically educate their children to hate.”
He adds, “In schools decorated with Bugs Bunny and Minions, there are also miniature models of Israelis hanging and oppressing Arab women and men. From feelings of sadness, I cannot help but move towards feelings of hate — not because they have tried and succeeded in murdering some of my people, but because there is no sign, not a single one, of a desire for a better, more collaborative, peaceful world.”
Later, he writes, “I have seen children being sent to spy, deliver bombs, and do all sorts of things in places I wouldn’t wish a soul to be. Why would they be there? Because they send the people they know the IDF won’t shoot to do their bidding. They put them at risk out of their own cowardice and lack of care.”
Menachem Shlomo Stack
Menachem Shlomo Stack, 22-23, is mentioned in a December 2024 article from Ynetglobal about wounded lone soldiers.
The article states: “Menachem Shlomo Stack, 22, made Aliyah from Canada on his own to join the IDF. ‘When I finished my service as a Givati combat operative, the war started, and they asked me to stay for reserve duty right away. I wasn’t even a citizen yet—just a tourist in Gaza,’ he quipped. With no relatives in Israel, Stack is preparing to marry his Israeli fiancée next month, determined to build their future in the country. ‘I wanted to feel part of the nation, to be one of those protecting it,’ he said. ‘I don’t have any Israeli relatives, and I’m the first in my family to serve in the army.’ Last July, Stack was severely injured during an incident in Shijaiyah, where his close friend, Captain Roy Miller, was killed. ‘For a year, we were inseparable—always the first to go in, standing back-to-back during missions,’ he recounted. ‘It creates a bond like no other because every time someone fires at one of you, they fire at both.’ Now, as Israel’s Committee for Immigration and Absorption deliberates over how to define and support lone reservists, Stack’s story highlights the challenges they face. ‘It was really hard,’ he admitted. ‘My parents weren’t there; I didn’t have the support you need—someone to bring food or talk to the doctors. My fiancée came as much as she could, but I spent a lot of time alone in bed. It wasn’t easy. There was so much to deal with beyond the injury.’ Despite everything, Stack has no plans to return to Canada. ‘I think life in Israel has a purpose. This is my home. If my medical condition improves, I’ll go back to reserve duty. My parents understand I’m doing something meaningful and staying because my heart is here.’”
Michael Starr
Michael Starr, 34-35, was born and raised in Toronto. Starr then moved to Victoria, British Columbia, and attended high school there. After completing high school, Starr immigrated to Israel, and later that year joined the military. He served in an infantry unit from 2009 to 2012 as a sniper and sharpshooter.
In a February 2023 interview with the Jewish Independent, Starr explained why he made this choice: “I grew up in a religious and Zionist household, and Israel was a large part of my cultural heritage […] My grandmother was born in Israel and my grandfather served in the Haganah and IDF. Further, there comes a time in every young man’s life in which he needs to leave his father’s home and put himself in a new environment to truly allow him to become himself.”
After finishing his service Starr went on to obtain a “bachelor’s degree, majoring in government studies, and a master’s in terrorism and counterterrorism operations from Reichman University in Herzliya.” He also volunteered with Reservists on Duty, according to his LinkedIn, where he said he: “Volunteered as part of a former IDF lone soldier speaking tour in the US Pacific North West and (later) Mid-Eastern Canada at college and university campuses, synagogues, high schools and community centers.”
Later on, he joined The Jerusalem Post as a journalist, and worked in several positions including the breaking news desk, police affairs correspondent and legal affairs correspondent. His profile on the site currently states that he is the Diaspora affairs correspondent at the paper, “covering global Jewish affairs, antisemitism, and radical anti-Israel activities.” It also describes him as “a veteran of the October 7 war.”
In December 2024, Starr published an article at the Jerusalem Post describing his time in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. The article goes into great detail, and includes a segment where Starr describes killing someone, writing, “The young man I had killed couldn’t have been much older than 18. He was in civilian clothes. He was unarmed.”
Starr adds, “A teen lookout, possibly around 14 years old, darted over to the mouth of the main road at the boundary line. I fired at the ground nearby to scare him off. He fled back north. Another man appeared in the sandy depression. As he ran, I shot him in the leg, but I mistakenly believed I had missed. He stumbled as more gunfire rang – another marksman and I put two more rounds into his torso. I watched through my scope as he nestled into a dirt mound and ceased movement. A moment later, my partner opened fire on another man. The dust cleared, and we waited, and watched. The young man I had killed couldn’t have been much older than 18. He was in civilian clothes. He was unarmed. My heart sank when inspection of a bag dropped by one of the men revealed foodstuffs inside. Was he actually Hamas? What if he was just a civilian desperate for the food we had abandoned in our old complex? Did we really have enough intelligence to use deadly force?”
Later he writes, “Despite the smiles, I was still scarred by the momentary fear that I had killed a civilian. For Hamas, which was willing to send young men to their deaths as cannon fodder, which was willing to have all of Gaza razed in its war against Israel rather than surrender, life was cheap. It was just to kill Hamas terrorists, who sought to kill Israelis and refused to release Israelis hostages, and who would make any peace with the Palestinians impossible. Yet life was not cheap to me. Even if Hamas and its ilk did not value life, the life of men like the one I killed still had innate value. Like Gaza, their lives were full of potential – he could have had a family, loved, studied, a career. Instead, he died among the ruins of a place that could have been teeming with orchards, hotels, and tourists as a jewel of the Mediterranean.”
Starr’s interview with the Jewish Independent names his parents as Steven Starr and Iris Green-Starr, both doctors. It also notes that he had two brothers at the time of the interview that were or had been in the Israeli military: “His brother, Joseph, came in 2012 and served in the Israeli army; today, he is in the Canadian military. Starr’s younger brother, Sam, is currently part of the IDF’s Golani Brigade.”
Naomi Stochinsky
Naomi Stochinsky is quoted in a feature article about lone soldiers in a 2018 issue of the Shaarei Shomayim synagogue in Toronto’s magazine speaking about her service: “Associated, CHAT and Camp Moshava gave me the education and, along with family and friends, the inspiration to make Aliyah and join the IDF. In March 2017 I began training to be a soldier in the Chilutz v’Hatzala (search and rescue) unit. The difficulties of being a soldier – long days, sleepless nights, food, etc. – are compounded for lone soldiers who can’t go home on weekends to rest. But I persevered. After seven months of training I was officially inducted as a full-fledged soldier. At my Tekes KumtaI was named the most outstanding soldier of my company and had my Orange Beret placed on my head by the division commander. My parents watched with great pride and tears at my outstanding accomplishment and commitment.”
“Associated” and “CHAT” refer to Associated Hebrew Schools, a private Jewish elementary school in Toronto, and TanenbaumCHAT, a private Jewish high school in Toronto, respectively. Camp Moshava is a Jewish summer camp in Ontario that writes that its “vision is to strengthen the religious Zionist community by educating and nurturing the campers and counselors entrusted to our care each summer to become role models both in Israel and the Diaspora.”
Stochinsky is now based in Israel and recently got married to a lone soldier from Australia. An online post published after Oct. 7, 2023, states: “Naomi is currently serving in pikud haoref in the south.” This Hebrew title refers to the Home Front Command unit of the Israeli military.
Jeremy Tal
Jeremy Tal is a Canadian who attended the University of Guelph from 2014 to 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile, and then acquired a certificate in “Film/Cinema/Video Studies” in 2021 from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Tal’s profile states that he was a “Fitness / Combatives Instructor” in the Israeli military from December 2022 to September 2025. His description of this role states: “• Led fitness and Krav Maga training for over 50 teams across 5 brigades. • Managed training cycles for multiple companies simultaneously, while coordinating logistics and resources. • Educated and directed individuals from recruits to generals, adapting communication style as needed. • Took on additional responsibilities, including managing supply chain operations during a critical period of the War of Iron Swords.”
“War of Iron Swords” refers to Israel’s assault on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.
The “About” section of Tal’s profile states: “Solutions Manager at TAR Ideal Concepts, part of the Avnon Group, delivering multi-domain defense and homeland security solutions across land, air, naval, and critical infrastructure sectors. With a focus on mission-ready, integrated technologies, I work closely with global partners and clients to design, source, and implement solutions that address modern security challenges. Passionate about bridging innovation and operational needs to empower defense forces, homeland security agencies, and critical infrastructure operators worldwide.”
His profile also notes that he worked as a freelance photographer from 2019 to 2024, with his work featured in an Instagram account titled, “Jeremy Tal Photography.”
Emil Tesler
Emil Tesler, 25-26, was mentioned in a December 2024 article from The Times of Israel where the writer describes his experience attending a conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The writer notes that he moderated two sessions at the conference, including one featuring Tesler:
“On [Oct. 7, 2023], Emil’s brother, Din, who was a guard at the Nova festival, sent a farewell message to his family, convinced he wouldn’t survive the terrorist onslaught by Hamas. Not knowing if his brother was alive, Emil took the next flight to Israel from Toronto. After arriving and learning of Din’s survival, Emil fought in the war in Gaza as part of an IDF Special Forces unit and is now back in Toronto rebuilding his life.”
Tesler was advertised as a presenter on the conference’s website. The website’s bio for him states: “Emil Tesler, once part of the IDF special forces, left Toronto for Israel after his brother Din, a NOVA festival guard, sent a farewell message. After confirming Din’s safety, Emil fought in Gaza, witnessing harrowing events and losing friends. Now, seven months later, he’s back in Toronto, rebuilding his life.”
An October 2024 article in the Daily Herald, a Chicago newspaper, covered an event Tesler was speaking at. It noted Tesler had originally served in the Israeli military special forces from 2018 to 2020, mostly in the West Bank. It states that he then moved to Toronto to work as a security guard and locksmith.
The profile states: “[In October 2023], he joined the IDF reserves. ‘(My brother) cried to me badly, “Please don’t go. They will kill you,”’ Tesler, 25, told his audience at the memorial service hosted by the Chabad Jewish Center of Arlington Heights. In November, he entered Gaza with his unit, clearing the ground path for units to follow in the Netzarim corridor. ‘I will never forget it,’ he said. ‘I saw my friend stepping in a booby trap and the explosion. Thank God, no one got killed. ‘We always kept belief, because God’s with us,’ he added. Tesler said the events of Oct. 7, and his experiences since, have strengthened his faith.”
Tesler has spoken about his service elsewhere as well, including at a December 2024 event hosted by Chabad Durham Region in Ontario. The event page states: “Emil Tesler, 25, was released from the special forces of the Sayeret Nahal unit four years ago. A year before October 7th, he moved to Toronto to build a new life. When he received a goodbye message from his younger brother on October 7th, he immediately left everything in Toronto and flew back to Israel. The day after he heard that Din was safe, he packed for reserve military duty. Emil fought in Gaza for several months to protect his family and the Israeli Jewish nation. During this time, he lost many friends and witnessed horrific events, almost losing his life in battle. Now, seven months later, he is returning to Toronto to try to rebuild his life. He sold his car, left his apartment, and put his dreams on hold for Israel. After this difficult period he decided to draw closer to Judaism. He now dons Tefilin and wears tzizit every day, because faith is what kept him alive during the war.”
An Instagram post on Tesler’s account about the event states: “I understand the meaning of my life at the age of 25 and what I need to do, to inspire people, to strengthen them, and to do a mission in the diaspora. This mission is no less important than the fighting itself in Gaza. After a difficult period and after doing everything myself and after everyone left me aside, I am stronger, more powerful than ever. Even after all the difficulty, I will continue to fight for the country on another front.”
His account also contains photos of him in military uniform, holding weapons in Gaza.
Aviv Troy
Aviv Troy, 24-25, is a Canadian from Montreal who moved to Israel with his family around 2007. Troy enlisted in the Israeli military in 2020
Troy is a son of Gil Troy, a historian, author, columnist and a “distinguished scholar” at McGill University. The Jewish News Syndicate published an article about Gil in April 2024, writing, “Parents should instill as much Jewish identity, values and history in their children as possible with an understanding ‘that an attack on Israel is an attack on them,’ Troy said. ‘We’re going to raise a generation of Zionist Jews with fluency and identity,’ he said. ‘New Jews with the willingness to defend themselves when necessary but building, rebuilding and dreaming always, which is what Zionism has always been about.’”
Gil has written articles about all of his children, including one focused on Aviv and published in March 2020 in the Jerusalem Post titled, “To my son, enlisting as a coronavirus-clouded soldier.” Gil writes, “Since graduating from high school in June, 2018, in your adventure with Hemdat Yehuda, that extraordinary ‘mechina,’ pre-military academy, you sharpened your mind, deepened your piety, refined your patriotism, and expanded your soul to take root, and soar.”
He adds, “When you were kids, we often celebrated your birthdays by giving soldiers care packages. You gawked at these soldiers as if they were larger than life. All four of my miracles, our kids, look larger than life to me. As you go to serve your nation, your people, and the civilized world, so calmly, gracefully, naturally, despite these turbulent times, you loom ever larger.”
Gil also wrote about Aviv in a December 2024 article, where he notes that Aviv has been an active participant in the Israeli military post-Oct. 7, 2023. Gil writes, “The third speaker, my son Aviv Troy, still doing revolving-door reserve duty, acknowledged that the war in America [referring to alleged antisemitism on university campuses in the United States] ‘may have been a different struggle, but the struggle was just as real there,’ requiring ‘different types of heroes and different types of courage.’ But he articulated one secret to the wave of Israeli heroism: ‘I was lucky enough to never feel alone from the ninth of October, the day that I landed back in Israel.’ He added: ‘I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to be completely alone on a campus and not quite sure who has your back.’
Aviv described rushing home to Israel from Sri Lanka, having finished his military service two months earlier. Changing planes in Dubai, waiting at the luggage carousel, he checked his messages. One voice mail reported that six good friends had died fighting in Kfar Aza alone. Two others, who had been at the Supernova music festival, were missing.
After landing, he scrambled to base, despairing with everyone else. But ‘once I got my weapon, once I got my vest back, there was something that made me say “okay, we got this….” I knew what I was doing, and I didn’t feel alone. I felt like I had my unit’s support and my country’s support, and I found that very inspiring.’”
Aviv has three siblings who have also served in the Israeli military, including Yoni Troy. One of Aviv’s grandfathers is the now-deceased billionaire real estate investor, Marcel Adams.
Yoni Troy
Yoni Troy is a Canadian from Montreal who immigrated to Israel with his family around 2007.
He enlisted in the Israeli army in 2017. Describing this experience in 2019, Yoni wrote, “When I applied to become an Israel Defense Forces officer, a doctor blocked my application because I have asthma. I was crushed. I always dreamed of serving as an officer. I became determined to prove that my asthma wouldn’t stop me. By working out intensely, I improved my breathing. Then, after appearing before eight army doctors over four months and one medical board, I began officers’ training.”
Troy is a son of Gil Troy, a historian, author, columnist and a “distinguished scholar” at McGill University. The Jewish News Syndicate published an article on Gil in April 2024, writing, “Parents should instill as much Jewish identity, values and history in their children as possible with an understanding ‘that an attack on Israel is an attack on them,’ Troy said. ‘We’re going to raise a generation of Zionist Jews with fluency and identity,’ he said. ‘New Jews with the willingness to defend themselves when necessary but building, rebuilding and dreaming always, which is what Zionism has always been about.’”
Gil has written articles about all of his children, including one focused on Yoni and published in January 2017 in the Jerusalem Post titled, “A letter to my son as he enlists in the Israeli army.”
He states, “Dear Yoni, We named you Jonah, the dove of peace, but, today, joining the Israeli army made you an instrument of war. Of course, that’s only half the story. The IDF fights for justice, dignity, and most important, self-defense. The cliché remains true: Israel would disappear if young heroes like you stopped defending us – and peace will appear when our neighbors stop attacking us. Once, the Colt .45 revolver was the Wild West’s ‘Peacemaker’; today, you and your buddies are the Middle East’s peacemakers – protecting the civilized world against Islamist terrorism.”
Gil published two more articles about Yoni’s service: one in August 2018 congratulating him on graduating from officer’s training, and another in May 2019 reporting that he had been “gassed” in Gaza. In the latter article, Gil writes, “Last month, my son Yoni and a friend were patrolling along the Gaza border. It was a Friday and, as usual, thousands of Gazans, mostly manipulated and bullied by Hamas, were rioting – yet again mocking the international community’s promises and Israelis’ hopes when Israel left Gaza in 2005. As usual, IDF soldiers lobbed tear gas canisters into the mob, trying to protect our citizens and secure this legitimate border, without causing Palestinian casualties. As Yoni and Itzhak exited their Humvee, the winds suddenly shifted. Whoosh. The tear gas overwhelmed them, burning their eyes, constricting their lungs.”
After finishing his service, Yoni attended Herzog College as an education student, and also wrote articles online.
Yoni was featured in an Oct. 14, 2023, Instagram video taken at an Israeli military base, indicating he had returned to service.
Yoni has three siblings who have also served in the Israeli military, including Aviv Troy.
One of Yoni’s grandfathers is the now-deceased billionaire real estate investor, Marcel Adams.
Jeremy Urbach
Jeremy Urbach, 23-24, is a Canadian from Toronto. He attended TanenbaumCHAT, a private Jewish school in Toronto, for high school, and also went to the Adath Israel Congregation synagogue.
Urbach has written about how his involvement in Toronto’s Jewish community led him to care about Israel: “Israel engagement in Toronto is extremely effective and it remarkably changed my life. The main method of Israel engagement in Toronto is through the UJA’s ShinShinim program. ShinShinim are some of the brightest young Israeli 18-year-olds who delay their mandatory army service to come and volunteer in Toronto.”
Urbach writes, “In 2013, I was lucky enough to host a ShinShin, an 18-year-old boy named Barak. In order to explain the impact this had on me I must explain how engaged I was with Israel before and after hosting him. Before I hosted Barak I liked Israel; I thought it was pretty. I didn’t know that many cities and I knew nothing about life over there. If there was a war in Israel my reaction would be ‘oh that sucks’ and would move on quickly. If I heard my parents talking about Israel I wouldn’t care because it wasn’t a big part of my life. Since I hosted Barak I started to appreciate Israel for more than her beauty, but for her people, innovations, and importance. I made it my responsibility to learn about my homeland and all it has to offer, and the following year when there was a war in Gaza, I would fear because I had a personal connection to someone Israel.”
After high school, Urbach went to Israel to study at a yeshiva. After this, he attended Western University in an undergraduate business program, and served as the president of Chabad on the campus for an academic year, according to his LinkedIn.
Urbach was in his fourth year on Oct. 7, 2023. According to an article in the National Post, he decided that day to begin to prepare to immigrate to Israel: “Literally, on Oct. 7, I made the decision to go to the (Israeli) army. I made a vow. There’s no way this is gonna happen again without them going through me first […] I think a big reason was just my experience on campus. Like, all these people screaming and we couldn’t really do anything.”
The paper wrote, “After October 7, Urbach became a determined advocate for the Jewish community on Western’s campus. At one point he and several other students ‘went rogue’ and taped up posters around campus of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas. ‘Before we knew it, there were literally kids following us and just ripping them down. I remember interacting with them, asking why they were opposed to advocating for Israeli civilians taken by a designated terrorist group.’ The response, he said, was ‘we don’t care.’” Urbach said the school’s administration did little to reassure Jewish students they were safe on campus.”
Urbach immigrated to Israel in August 2024. He has since posted videos on his Instagram account documenting his time in the Israeli military. He told the National Post, “This is the best place to be Jewish. This is the best place where I could tell my story of being a ‘lone soldier’ making aliyah.”
Aby Volcovich
Aby Volcovich, 26-27, was born in Mexico and moved to Canada when he was six. Volcovich told the My Israel Narrative YouTube channel: “I grew up in Canada in a very Zionist upbringing, a very strong connection to Israel, always going to UJA ‘Walk With Israel.’ I was also in NCSY. Overall, I did summer trips to Israel, bar mitzvahs of cousins and what not. So, very connected to Israel.”
He goes on: “And then when I was 18, I took a gap year […] On my gap year I decided that I want to make aaliyah, I want to join the army. So I did that through Nefesh B’Nefesh and also through Garin Tzabar. Joined and drafted into the Nachal Brigade. I was a lone soldier at first, and then afterwards, after a year of being here in Israel alone, with other lone soldiers, my family also decided to make aaliyah. […] I finished the army, then travelled for a little bit. Finished university […] And now that I finished my degree I actually started working in a non-profit called DiploAct, which does hasbara and helping with Israeli image around the world, public diplomacy. And literally after a month of working there the war began.”
Volcovich added that he was drafted into the military in November 2016 and rose to the rank of commander, got released in 2019, and has done reserve duty since, including participating in the war on Gaza.
An Instagram post from someone claiming to have grown up living beside Volcovich states that he “went to Associated and CHAT,” referring to the Associated Hebrew School and TanenbaumCHAT, a private Jewish day school and high school, respectively.
Volcovich believes the Israeli military reflects Jewish values: “I know wholeheartedly that we’re doing the best possible to be as humane. The Jewish values that we really believe in, I believe that the IDF is really going and doing those values.”
He has documented his time in Gaza on Instagram, and also spoken about it in Canada. He was featured in a March 2024 event at the Montreal Holocaust Museum where he spoke about being a lone soldier, which ended up attracting international attention due to protests outside the venue.
Volcovich’s parents, Moy and Mery Volcovich, shot a video in October 2023 calling on people to make donations to buy equipment for Aby and his unit. Moy is a professional photographer that has published several books.
Michael Zenou
Michael Zenou, 33-34, was born and raised in Toronto to an Israeli father. Zenou eventually moved to Israel where he began working in the logistics field, as well as at a stand in Jerusalem selling fruit juice. He also served in the Israeli army for two years when he was 24. When asked about why he chose to move to Israel, he said, “It’s the best place.”
Zenou said he was called back into army service an hour after the Hamas cross-border assault on Israel became known. Speaking to CTV News on Oct. 13, 2023, about his service, Zenou said he was in an army unit on the north side of the Gaza border. He added, “I was myself in a gunfight on [Oct. 11, 2023] between a unit of eight Hamas terrorists who were all killed.”
Avraham Zvi (AZ) Thau
Avraham Zvi (AZ) Thau is a rabbi listed as a member of staff at Bnei Akiva Schools, a chain of private Jewish high schools in Toronto. His bio on the school’s website states: “Raised in West Hempstead, New York, Rabbi Avraham Zvi (AZ) Thau is a graduate of DRS Yeshiva High School. Post-high school Rabbi Thau studied at Yeshivat Hakotel where, after one year, he made Aliyah and joined its Hesder program, serving in Shiryon (tank corps) of the IDF during Operation Protective Edge (Tzuk Eitan). While completing his studies at Hakotel, he served as Rosh Madrichim of the overseas students, Associate and Educational Director of the Hakotel Bergman Family Leadership Program, and Jerusalem Chapter Director of NCSY Israel. Rabbi Thau received his B.A. in Business and Management from Jerusalem College of Technology (Machon Lev) and his rabbinical ordination from World Mizrachi. He is excited to come to Toronto on shlichut with his wife Hadassah and their children.”
A January 2024 Instagram post from the school states that Thau had been “called back to Israel” as a reservist after Oct. 7, 2023, to rejoin the Israeli military.
Thau was also featured in a December 2023 video on the school’s YouTube page where he discusses his “army journey,” including details on his post-October 7 service in a tank unit. He states: “We have seen combat. We have been shot at. We are responding, kindly, thank god. A lot of machine gun bullets have been fired at them, and even some tank shells, which are always a blast. Pun intended.”
