Nir Koren was born in Israel. Various profiles state that Koren worked as a community rabbi in several countries, including Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia. He eventually moved to Canada, and now works as a lawyer at Tamir, an Ottawa charity that provides support for Jewish people with developmental disabilities.

Koren left his family to join the Israeli army within a week after Oct. 7, 2023. He told the National Post that he previously served with the Israeli army in 2006 during its war in Lebanon, but that the current conflict is different: “We fought against soldiers (in Lebanon), we didn’t fight against civilians.”

Koren was mentioned in the Oct. 18, 2023, session in Ontario’s parliament by MPP Greg Rickford, who said, “As I watched the events unfold in Israel, I’m in awe of the bravery in its full display. In the face of this evil, thousands of men and women are stepping up to fight for what is right: their homeland, their people and their right for a safe community and their loved ones. I think of people like Ottawa’s Nir Koren, a lawyer and father of five who’s made the journey back to Israel. People like Nir recognize the danger that they are stepping into. They don’t run from it; they step into it.”

(A version of this mini-bio was originally published in a November 2024 article at The Maple.)