Ayala Rotenberg, 25-26, is a Canadian from Toronto who has said she is from a “religious-Zionist family.” Rotenberg told Haaretz in 2021, “Since childhood I’ve really loved Israel. I lived in a very Zionist community in Toronto,” and noted that she was part of the Bnei Akiva movement, which has schools in Toronto.
Speaking about her time in school, Rotenberg said, “In school we celebrated every Independence Day and every Memorial Day. And it’s crazy to see kids who don’t actually know any soldiers crying on Memorial Day; who are they crying for? But you feel that it’s a family, that it’s really ours. I hadn’t been to Israel before I came in 10th grade. When I think about it, I was 15 then and I boarded a flight and was away for 10 months without returning home.”
Rotenberg says that this trip to Israel in high school was “part of the Naaleh program run by Jewish Agency and the Education Ministry. They bring young people from abroad to go to school in Israel. You get an Israeli matriculation certificate and then you can make aliyah or return to your country of origin.”
Rotenberg chose to stay in Israel: “After my education was paid for and I also received a monthly allowance, I didn’t feel right about just walking away. I was given so much, and now it’s my turn to give to Israel, to our country.”
She told the Jerusalem Post that she had also always wanted to be part of the Israeli military: “I learned about Hannah Senesh and really wanted to be a paratrooper. I was sad when I learned that I couldn’t serve in the paratroopers, but I still wanted to serve my country.”
As such, after finishing a degree in mechanical engineering, Rotenberg was drafted into the Israel Air Force as a ground crew technician. Rotenberg added, “It’s a lot of work, a lot of stress but I really enjoy it.”
Rotenberg attended a 2020 pizza party for Canadian lone soldiers in the Israeli military hosted by Canada’s ambassador to Israel. In an article about the event, The Canadian Jewish News reported that Rotenberg could have chosen to do non-military national service, as many other religious girls did, but that she wanted to be part of the military.
Rotenberg told all three publications that she plans to stay in Israel, telling Haaretz, “I really want to raise my family here. Growing up overseas is very different, and not for the better. […] It’s better here, calmer, and children are freer.” Her LinkedIn profile states that she is now an armament officer in the Israeli Air Force. She also has a profile where she states that she is a “Certified Makeup Artist, Hairstylist and Henna Artist.”
