Maya Kitai, 24, is a Canadian who was born and raised in Calgary.
Her LinkedIn page notes that she was involved in Jewish community events while growing up, such as serving “on the board for Jewish Youth Groups, including the Bnei Brith Youth Organization (BBYO),” and helping to “initiate the C-Teen youth group with Chabad.” She went to Henry Wise Wood High School, a public high school in Calgary.
Kitai produced a video for a 2021 Calgary Jewish Community Centre (CJCC) event dedicated to mourning Israeli soldiers that had been killed in combat where she explained how she joined the Israeli military. The CJCC also posted videos of Kitai’s Israeli military ceremony, her marching and her re-uniting with her father after basic training. On the event page, the CJCC wrote, “We are very proud of the many members of our Calgary Jewish community who have served in the Israeli army.”
In the video about her service, Kitai said, “I always had a pretty strong connection with Israel as my father was born in Israel and he served in the Israeli army. […] We came to visit Israel quite a bit as he grew up here so all his family is here, so I had a pretty good connection with Israel. But I always felt like something was still missing. I never thought I would have drafted into the Israeli army as I didn’t think it was in my capabilities or in my reach of things I could do, but with the support of family and friends I was luckily able to draft into the Israeli army in 2019.” Kitai was about 18 months into her two years of service at the time. She said, “Since drafting into the army I have gained a lot of appreciation for the land, for the people I fight alongside to protect it. It has been an honour and a pleasure to serve in the Israeli army.”
Kitai’s LinkedIn page states that she “Volunteered for the Israel Defense Forces, serving as a Combat Engineering Instructor and Commander for female instructors; received the ‘Outstanding Soldier Award’ in my unit.”
Kitai now works as an office manager in Israel and is studying business administration at Reichman University in Israel, according to her LinkedIn.
