“We assume we belong here,” Goodman-Sone said. “This is where we choose to live, this is our home, our community, our friends and all of our friends’ children serve in the military. I am so grateful that I made this decision.”

Global Affairs Canada estimates that about 35,000 Canadian citizens live in Israel, meaning people with at least one Jewish grandparent and their spouse can quickly gain citizenship. Since the war between Israel and Hamas began, more than 1,300 Canadians have left the country on state-organized military flights, but Goodman-Sone is one of many Canadians who have made the state their Jewish homeland and say they have no intention of leaving to leave the country.

“Nobody wants to live under missile attacks, you can’t live like that,” said Todd Sone, Goodman-Sone’s husband. “But we cannot run away from threats. We must face them because if we spent our lives running away from threats and evil, we would have no justice in the world.”

The couple and two of their three sons were vacationing in Paris when they learned of Hamas attacks in southern Israel that killed more than 1,400 people, including the son of a close friend. The family had the opportunity to go to Canada, where they have family, but returned to Israel.

“There are crucial moments in life when you have to make difficult decisions,” Sone said. “You can choose a safe path, in this case a much safer one, or you can choose the path that gives your life meaning.”

Sone, who is originally from Toronto and works at a private equity fund that invests in medical technology companies, said he spends half his days volunteering at a food distribution center, packing food for Israelis displaced by Hamas rocket attacks since the start of the war became.

A feeling of unity

After a year of mass protests across Israel against judicial reforms implemented by a coalition government that polarized Israeli society, Sone now says he sees a strong sense of unity in the country.

Myriam Azogui-Halbwax, who moved to Israel seven years ago after immigrating to Canada from France, says she too has noticed that people are getting closer.

Her children have visited Israeli children displaced by the attacks, and in WhatsApp groups, she says, people share information about funerals and grieving families – the seven-day Jewish mourning period.

On Tuesday, Azogui-Halbwax attended the funeral of Tiferet Lapidot, a young Israeli woman with ties to Canada who was killed Saturday. Like most of the hundreds of people at the funeral, she said she didn’t know the 23-year-old or her family.

“We all felt the need and the importance to come and show our support and tell them we are with you because those could have been our children,” she said.

See also: 23-year-old dead in Israel: “We feel a great emptiness”

Azogui-Halbwax, who has Canadian citizenship, works in the Israel office of the Canadian Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, where she organizes visits to Israel for groups from Canada. She says the idea of ​​leaving never crossed her mind.

“This is my country, my home. I love Canada, I really love Canada, but this is my home, this is where my people live, my family. This is my home, where I am. Especially in these difficult times,” she said in an interview. “My three daughters were born in Montreal and I hope they will have a life in Israel. My oldest daughter is now 19 years old and serves as an active combatant in the Israeli army. As a woman and feminist, I am proud that my daughter is serving as an active combatant in the military, but as a mother, I am extremely concerned. I don’t sleep well,” she added.

Her two other daughters – one is 12, the other almost 17 – could have gone, but Azogui-Halbwax believes they would be no safer outside the country than at home, where they are protected by the Israeli army.

She says that life has changed since the war began: classes are canceled, people no longer go for walks or go to restaurants. But the brutality of last Saturday’s attack strengthened his decision to stay in Israel.

“The Jews will not disappear, Israel will not disappear and the Jews will not leave Israel,” she said.