Orli Broer, 29-30, is a Canadian from Toronto who attended Jewish schools in the area growing up. Broer joined the Israeli army when she was 19 after finishing her first year at McGill University.

In 2014, she told the National Post she wanted to provide a service to Israel after spending a year at a university in Jerusalem. The Post wrote, “The woman said she now feels a ‘deeper connection’ with Israel than Canada. ‘It’s my home and I have to protect my home.’” The Post noted that Broer was stationed in the occupied West Bank during her service, determining whether Palestinians who wished to cross into Israel would be given permits to do so. She told them, “It’s scary. Now I’m a part of something bigger and whether someone knows my personal beliefs or not, they look at me as the IDF, they don’t look at me as Orli Broer, a Canadian from Toronto.”

In November 2016, Hillel at the University of Toronto (U of T) hosted an event called “The IDF Through Her Eyes,” featuring Broer as a speaker. The event description noted that she became a soldier through Garin Tzabar, a program that facilitates immigration to Israel.

Broer’s LinkedIn page notes that she completed a bachelor’s degree in history at U of T and then a masters degree in child study and education. Her profile also notes that she works as a Jewish studies teacher at Danforth Jewish Circle and a Sunday school teacher at Beth Tzedec Congregation, both Toronto synagogues.

One of Orli’s siblings, Rafi Broer, was also in the Israeli army and is included in this database.

Broer’s mother, Audrey Shecter, is a partner and family lawyer at a Toronto law firm. Shecter has spoken to multiple media outlets about her children’s service in the Israeli army. She told the National Post, “It’s been very odd to be the Canadian mother of Israeli soldiers,” with the paper noting that she and her husband are not Israeli citizens.

Shecter told the paper that prior to being deployed, Orli called her and said, “OK, mom, I have like five minutes to decide. What would make you less nervous, if I was posted to a base in Gaza or posted to a base in the West Bank?” Meanwhile, she told The Canadian Jewish News that Orli’s service makes her anxious: “She is wearing the uniform of the country, and as far as I’m concerned, that makes her a target. And she’s living on a base in the West Bank, so who knows what can happen?”