Dozens of Canadians have gone to Israel to take

up arms for the Jewish state

Raf Broer, 22, right, is pictured with his mother, Audrey Shecter. Broer was discharged after
27 months of service in an ID com!at engineering corps.
Object1
The children of Gaza
KATRINA CLARKE | July 23, 2014
If things had turned out differently, Orli Broer would be starting her second year at Montreals
McGill University, spending her days studying and her nights dancing.
Instead, the 19-year-old moved to Israel and joined the Israeli Defence Forces. Now,
she spends her days in the West Ban and her ni!hts with a !"n "nder her pillow.
#he is one of tho"sands of lone soldiers, yo"n! ad"lts from aro"nd the world who
come to Israel to fi!ht for the $ewish state. #ome are Israeli citi%ens who !rew "p
elsewhere, others visited on school trips and felt compelled to tae "p the &ionist
ca"se. Few have close family in the co"ntry.
"ourtesy of Audrey Shecter#r$i Broer, %&, says she now fee$s a 'deeper connection( with Israe$ than "anada.
'f the (,)** lone soldiers servin! in the IDF, a+o"t 1,) are from -anada, says the
Nefesh B.Nefesh lone soldier pro!ram.
/ach year, 1) to (* -anadians 0 men a!ed 11-(2, women a!ed 11-(( 0 visit Israel on
the 3arin 4%a+ar pro!ram, which prepares them for active d"ty. 5any others arrive on
their own.
We want them to "nderstand this is not a 6ollywood movie,7 said 8air 9an, the
pro!ram.s North :merican director. ;4hey are not !oin! to +e 9am+o. 4he army is
hard and complicated.7
6is !ro"p helps or!ani%e fli!hts and accommodation, and holds meetin!s for parents.
:rran!ements incl"de livin! to!ether on a i++"t%, a collective comm"nity, learnin!
6e+rew and adj"stin! to life in a new co"ntry.
3arin 4%a+ar does not do any recr"itin!. 9ather, it helps yo"n! people who are
interested and maes s"re they are there for the ri!ht reasons.
If someone comes to tell me that he wants to join the IDF to ill :ra+s, he is not !oin!
to !et inside,7 5r. 9an said.
5s. Broer says she had an ;inner feelin!7 and wanted to !ive +ac to Israel, after a year
st"dyin! at the 6e+rew <niversity of $er"salem.
: lot of Israelis are lie, =Why wo"ld yo" leave -anada> It.s so easy there,. 7 she said.
;4hey don.t !et why I.m here.7
4he woman said she now feels a ;deeper connection7 with Israel than -anada. ;It.s my
home and I have to protect my home.7
5s. Broer is stationed in the West Ban, where she iss"es permits to ?alestinians
wantin! to travel to Israel. 'n weeends, she ret"rns the i++"t%, where she han!s o"t
at the pool and +ars with other lone soldiers from the <nited #tates, @enya, :"stralia
and /"rope.
#he says her wor can +e nerve-racin!.
It.s scary. Now I.m a part of somethin! +i!!er and whether someone nows my personal
+eliefs or not, they loo at me as the IDF, they don.t loo at me as 'rli Broer, a -anadian from
4oronto,7 she said.
ami$y photo) "ourtesy of I$an *ann+etta ,e$!, %&, and I$an *ann are "anadian citi-ens serving with the Israe$ Defense
orces.
Bac in -anada, her mother, :"drey #hecter, admits she sometimes feels helpless.
A'rliB called me and she said, ='@, mom, I have lie five min"tes to decide. What
wo"ld mae yo" less nervo"s, if I was posted to a +ase in 3a%a or posted to a +ase in
the West Ban>. 7 said 5s. #hecter, a 4oronto lawyer.
6er son 9afi served for (C months in the IDF com+at en!ineerin! core and was
dischar!ed in Fe+r"ary.
Neither 5s. #checter or her h"s+and are Israeli citi%ens, +"t they are $ewish and their
children attended $ewish schools.
It.s +een very odd to +e the -anadian mother of Israeli soldiers,7 she said.
When my da"!hter phones and tells me that her friends are in 3a%a D I don.t have
!ood thin!s to say.7
:ccordin! to a report in the $ewish $o"rnal, lone soldiers are re!arded as ;a ind of
star7 in Israel.
For Israeli ids, army service is a rite of passa!e. B"t +eca"se it is a choice for the
yo"n! mem+ers of the Diaspora who re-direct their own life paths to protect Israel,
those enlistees are !iven a hero.s welcome 0 and a lifetime of #ha++at dinner
invitations from their fellow soldiers, who +ecome their s"rro!ate families.7
A. .hoto/"ourtesy *i0e ish!einA group of 1.S. men serving with the ID in 22%2. 3here are a!out 2,422 $one so$diers
current$y serving in the Israe$i mi$itary.
B"t that doesn.t mae thin!s easier for their parents +ac home.
4odd 3reen+loom says the (E years his da"!hter, now ((, spent in the IDF were
diffic"lt 0 she was patrollin! Israel.s +order with /!ypt.
I didn.t sleep a lot,7 he said.
5r. 3reen+loom, a 4oronto lawyer, had tried to convince his da"!hter to postpone
joinin! the army. 6e wanted her to attend "niversity in -anada first. #he !ave him a
firm ;no,7 sayin! she wanted to +ecome an Israeli citi%en.
Ilan 5ann, (,, too a different ro"te, earnin! his de!ree in fine arts from 8or
<niversity +efore joinin! the IDF in early (*1(. 6e says he nows 2* to )* c"rrent and
former lone soldiers from -anada and is pro"d of the co"ntry.s rep"tation as ;Israel.s
+est friend.7
Wednesday, he was ret"rnin! to 4el :viv from $er"salem, where he attended a f"neral
for 5aF #tein+er!, (,, an :merican lone soldier. 5r. #tein+er! and Nissim #ean
-armeli, (1, another :merican, were illed with 11 other Israeli soldiers and scores of
?alestinians in a !ro"nd +attle on the weeend.