’’Help Israel. Escape your daily life. Work with Israeli soldiers‘‘. With these words, the website of the Canadian branch of the Israeli organization ’’Sar-El‘‘ welcomes its visitors. The name of the organization is an abbreviation of the Hebrew phrase ’’Service for Israel‘‘.

This non-profit organization, which is partially funded by the Israeli Ministry of Defense, operates in more than 30 countries worldwide, including Canada, where it has a presence in the two largest cities, Toronto and Montreal.

The mission of ’’Sar-El‘‘ is to recruit volunteers ’’to contribute to the security of the State of Israel by supporting Israeli military bases logistically‘‘.

’’Sar-El‘‘ was founded in 1983, while the Israeli army was still occupying large areas of Lebanon.

The organization is facing a legal challenge in Canada, as citizens accuse it of violating the law on recruitment abroad. An appeal hearing in the case is scheduled at the Ontario court on November 7.

The organization recruits volunteers in both peacetime and wartime all year round. An information session for those interested in volunteering was held in the federal capital, Ottawa, on September 26.

Radio Canada attempted to attend, but the event organizers refused any media presence, and a few hours prior, contacted one of the organizers, a woman named Sue Butchin, who agreed to provide some details.

Butchin told Radio Canada that volunteers ’’do the tasks that no one else has time for‘‘ at Israeli military bases, such as ’’cleaning the kitchen or sorting cans‘‘.

She confirmed that none of the volunteers in ’’Sar-El‘‘ are sent to the front lines to support Israeli soldiers in their war, whether on the southern front against Hamas in the Palestinian Gaza Strip or on the northern front against the ’’Hezbollah‘‘ organization in Lebanon.

’’It is basically a (voluntary program) for tourists who want to help‘‘, added Butchin, noting that volunteers usually stay for a week or two at military bases ’’throughout Israel‘‘.

In addition to cleaning the kitchen and sorting cans, volunteers perform ’’various tasks depending on the needs of the army‘‘, according to a webpage hosted by the Israeli army dedicated to ’’Sar-El‘‘ activities.

Among those tasks are ’’packing first aid kits, repairing communication devices, and cleaning military equipment‘‘, including tanks and rifles.

Radio Canada has attempted for weeks to speak to representatives of ’’Sar-El‘‘ in Israel and Canada, as well as to Canadian volunteers who provided assistance at Israeli military bases under this program, but only a few responded to the request for an interview.

Daniel, a 42-year-old Canadian volunteer from Toronto, agreed to speak to Radio Canada about his experience under this pseudonym to avoid harassment. He said he participated in the ’’Sar-El‘‘ program twice since Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the current war in Gaza.

’’I went there in February and August of last year‘‘, said Daniel, who belongs to the Jewish community. He explained that each of these trips lasted five days spent at a military base in the Negev Desert in southern Israel.

In 2022, a Canadian branch official of ’’Sar-El‘‘ told the ’’Canadian Jewish News‘‘ (CJN) that between 100 and 150 Canadians volunteer annually in ’’Sar-El‘‘.

However, this number is likely much higher today, given that the number of volunteers has reportedly increased seven or eight times since the start of the current war a year ago.

After previously having between 5,000 and 6,000 people from over 30 countries volunteering in ’’Sar-El‘‘ annually, the number of volunteers since October 7, 2023, has reached approximately 40,000, according to the executive director of ’’Sar-El‘‘, Keren Dahan, in a press interview.

In Canada, the law prohibits anyone from encouraging another person to join the armed forces of a foreign country, except if the recruitment is conducted by diplomats for their own citizens. This was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Canadian Ministry of Justice in an email to Radio Canada.

’’Sar-El‘‘ in Canada was the subject of a lawsuit in September 2022, but the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (SPPC/PPSC) dropped the charges two months later at the request of the Attorney General according to one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, Shane Martinez.

The lawsuit was filed at that time by David Mivasir, a Jewish rabbi from Ontario, and Rahab Nazzal, a Canadian artist of Palestinian descent.

The case has not been completely closed, as the plaintiff intends to appeal the Attorney General's decision, according to their lawyer.

’’On November 7, we will be before the Ontario Court of Appeal to hear this case‘‘, said lawyer Martinez, accusing the Canadian government of ’’acting in bad faith for political purposes‘‘.