David Max, 33-34, is a Canadian who grew up in Toronto and was involved in the Jewish community. Max and his family attended the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Synagogue (BAYT), and Max completed high school at Bnei Akiva’s Yeshivat Or Chaim Jewish high school in North York, Ont., according to his LinkedIn. After high school, Max completed a bachelor of arts degree in history at York University. Following this, he immigrated to Israel to join its military.
Max served as an operational radio systems specialist in the military’s Signals Corps from 2013 to 2015. A June 2015 letter from the BAYT synagogue included Max’s service in a list of things to be congratulated, stating, “David Max, son of Jordan & Vivian Max, who was promoted to the rank of Samal (Sergeant) in the IDF.”
Max remained in Israel after finishing his service, and now works as an executive assistant on a new metro line project in Tel Aviv.
Max’s mother, Vivian Max, was featured in a 2014 article in The Canadian Jewish News (CJN) about a Toronto meeting for parents of so-called lone soldiers.
CJN article quoted Vivian speaking about Max: “Still, his mother, Vivian, quotes the mother of another Canadian serving in the IDF: ‘Nothing I’ve done in my life prepared me for this.’ If you’re Israeli-born, Vivian Max told The CJN, being a soldier ‘is a common thing. Everyone knows what’s expected. They know what the standards are. We don’t know any of that. We don’t know what we’re getting into. It’s such a learning curve for us.’ Vivian Max, who lives in Thornhill, confesses to having unusual feelings. ‘Truthfully, I feel guilty because I don’t worry as much as the parents who have a kid running into Gaza. I’m in a different category. And I feel guilty about that.’”
The article continued: “She said her son, like so many lone soldiers, faces ‘a major roller-coaster with many obstacles. It’s very hard for them. A few weeks ago, he was sick and someone could take care of him on base. If he went back to his kibbutz, where he has a room, he would be totally alone.’ As well, David has had a hard time connecting with native Israelis, she added. ‘But he’s gotten so many freebies and special treatment because he’s a soldier and a lone soldier, like discounts,’ Vivian enthuses. Recently, while David waited in line at a grocery store, a woman offered to pay for his items.”
A LinkedIn profile for Vivian states that she currently works as an activationist at a health centre in Newmarket, Ont. She previously volunteered for the Jewish National Fund and worked as a fundraising administrative assistant at the The Association for The Soldiers of Israel, an organization that states it “supports the men and women of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on active duty by funding a myriad of programs, services and facilities, all designed to improve the soldiers’ welfare and well-being.”
