Oren Rittenberg, 32-33, is a Canadian from Toronto. An article featuring Rittenberg in The Canadian Jewish News states, “Nira Rittenberg was also born in Israel, but she’s lived in Canada since she was five. Her son, Oren, 21, is planning to serve in the IDF. ‘It was something he said he’d do since Grade 9,’ she said. ‘People told us, “Don’t worry, it’s something that will blow over. He’ll find a degree, a girl, everything will dissuade him from going.” That it won’t happen.’”

The article went on: “Oren, who attended the Anne and Max Tanenbaum Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto and Bialik Hebrew Day School, defied prognosticators. ‘He believes ideologically that this is something important to do. He believes supporting the state by outsiders is a message [for Israelis] also, and he truly believes it will make him a better person,’ Rittenberg said. While all his friends from the University of Western Ontario went off on job interviews, he hooked up with Garin Tzabar, the Israeli scout organization that assists foreign soldiers in Israel. He’ll fly to Israel in August as part of a group of 30 enlistees – four men and 26 women.’He wants to be a combat medic,’ his mom said.”

Rittenberg’s LinkedIn profile lists three months of volunteer service in Magen David Adom, an ambulance service in Israel, and then a gap from 2010 to 2012. Rittenberg returned to Canada in 2012, and has since worked in a variety of jobs, including at Corus Entertainment, Oracle and most recently at NatureX RMS.

Rittenberg’s mother, Nira, is an occupational therapist. Her website notes that she “has been featured in several media outlets, including CBC and the Toronto Star,” and her LinkedIn profile states that she was a columnist at the latter publication from 2016 to 2018.