Sam Heller, 38-39, is a Canadian from Vancouver.
A 2014 article from eJewish Philanthropy about lone soldiers to Israel included Heller’s story. The article states, “Sam Heller, (28), from Vancouver, who recently returned to Canada after serving in the IDF for 24 months through Garin Tzabar (Nahal Infantry Brigade, Battalion 50), said ‘I always knew I wanted to do my part for the State of Israel. Whereas for some people, it’s enough to show their support for Israel by writing out checks, for me, I knew I had to go a step further.’
Heller went to Israel on a high school program with Habonim Dror (a Socialist-Zionist Jewish Youth Movement) when he was 16. ‘I related strongly to the Zionist ideals of taking on responsibility for the Jewish people. But I wasn’t in any position to support myself and do it alone. I found that Tzofim’s Garin Tzabar program created a safe and comfortable environment for a thorough preparation process for joining the army, both prior to my arrival in Israel and during my military service there.’ Heller put his college degree, which he was mid-way through completing, on hold when he made the decision at the age of 23 to go through with his dream of joining the IDF. ‘I was the oldest in my Garin Tzabar year. I’m back at college now, continuing from where I left off, surrounded by people who are all younger than me. All my friends who finished college have begun proper careers. In that sense, I feel at a slight disadvantage, but on the other hand, I don’t regret my decision for a second. I served my people and my country, and there’s no better feeling than that. I know the experience I gained, the lifelong friends I made, and the life skills I learned can’t ever be beaten by anything I’ll get out of college. My only wish is that I could be back in Israel right now, joining my brothers on the frontline. It hurts to be here, so far away from where my heart and mind are currently.’”
The article noted that Heller takes issue with the term “lone soldier”: “As Heller surmised, ‘Really, there’s no such thing. I never once felt alone in Israel. I would have, had it not been for Garin Tzabar. At first I used to say I have a brother in Canada and I have new brothers in Israel. But now, looking back, and when I think about the attendance to the funerals of our brothers last week, I have more than just my Garin brothers in Israel; I have an entire Israeli family.’”
Heller created a WordPress website in 2010 to document his time in the Israeli military.
Elsewhere, Heller has explained why he joined the Israeli military. A December 2017 article from the Jewish Independent noted: “Judaism and the history of the state of Israel are integral to Sam Heller’s identity. A longtime camper at Habonim Dror’s Camp Miriam, and later a staffer there, Heller went on to become the president of Hillel’s Israel Action Committee at the University of British Columbia. But, before he completed his degree in political science, he took a major detour. […]
Heller’s Jewish and Zionist commitments did not emerge from nowhere. They were passed down from generation to generation. ‘I grew up in a religious and Zionistic home,’ he says. ‘My father, Ilan Heller, was born in Israel and grew up in Montreal when there were still signs up saying “No Jews, No Dogs Allowed.” My mum, Gail Heller, was born and raised in Vancouver and was very connected to the community. She passed away when I was 13 and, since then, I always felt that I needed to be involved. I do a lot of what I do with her in mind, always.’
His maternal grandparents, Regina and David Feldman, survived the Holocaust and have been a strong influence on him. His paternal grandfather, Benjamin Heller, was born in Romania and survived the war in Russia, though his parents, two sisters and a brother were killed by the Nazis; he made it to Israel in 1948, was an officer in the artillery corps of the IDF and was involved in the 1956 Suez campaign. Heller’s paternal grandmother, Haya Novik Heller, was born in Mandate Palestine and, along with her brothers, was involved in the founding of the state of Israel. ‘My great-uncles, Yehuda Harari and Moshe Marienburg, were with the Jewish underground,’ he says. ‘My savta [grandmother] was with another group in the underground, and my great-uncle Rafael Algor (where I get my middle name) was in the Haganah. Basically, they were all involved with the founding of the state and I grew up on their stories. I felt a need to go and explore my roots, which is how I ended up in Israel.’
Heller says he is motivated by a belief in Jewish peoplehood. ‘I feel that if you care about your fellow human (and fellow Jew) then you inevitably will care about Israel and other Jewish communities around the world,’ he says. ‘We need to reconnect to Jewish peoplehood. I want to make sure that my great-great-grandchildren will grow up learning and connecting to Jewish traditions and thought that have been around for thousands of years.’ A friend once said something that has stuck with Heller: ‘I don’t want to live a life that’s been lived a thousand times over.’”
The post notes that Heller was the managing director of Hillel BC at the time.
Heller was also mentioned in a May 2024 Jewish Independent article about an annual ceremony in British Columbia for Israeli soldiers that have been killed. It noted that he lit a candle of remembrance.
Heller now works as a real estate agent in Vancouver, according to his professional website and Realtor profile.
