Dozens of Canadians have gone to Israel to take up arms for the Jewish state

Rafi Broer, 22, right, is pictured with his mother, Audrey Shecter. Broer was discharged after 27 months of service in an IDF combat engineering corps.

The children of Gaza

Katrina Clarke | July 23, 2014

If things had turned out differently, Orli Broer would be starting her second year at Montreal’s 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 Bank and her nights with a gun under her pillow.

She is one of thousands of lone soldiers, young adults from around the world who come to Israel to fight for the Jewish state. Some are Israeli citizens who grew up elsewhere, others visited on school trips and felt compelled to take up the Zionist cause. Few have close family in the country.

Dozens of Canadians Have Gone to Israel to Take Up Arms for the Jewish State by Maria Anderson