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.