Israel solidarity walk in Toronto needed amid rising antisemitism, organizer says
56,000 took part in walk, days after 2 Israeli Embassy employees were killed in U.S.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Toronto on Sunday for an annual fundraising walk in solidarity with Israel — an event participants said is particularly needed this year due to rising antisemitism amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
The Jewish community has felt increasingly isolated after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and a dramatic increase in antisemitism in Canada since then, said Sara Lefton, chief development officer for the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, which hosts the walk.
"We want our neighbours, friends and colleagues in Toronto to stand with us because it is a horrific time for our community," she said.
Statistics Canada reports a 71 per cent increase in hate crimes targeting the Jewish population between 2022 and 2023, with the largest increase seen after the Oct. 7 attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Toronto police said they have received reports of 43 "antisemitic occurrences" so far this year — representing 43 per cent of all reported hate crimes in 2025. That's a 48 per cent decrease in reports compared to this time last year, police said on Sunday, however 2024 statistics show the Jewish community was the most frequent target.
The solidarity walk took place days after two Israeli Embassy employees were shot and killed outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. Investigators and leaders around the world have denounced the killings as a targeted, antisemitic hate crime.
"Watching the horrific murders in Washington, D.C., is really a dose of reality for all of us of what can happen when hate is left unchecked," Lefton said.
About 56,000 people participated in Sunday's walk, the UJA said in a news release.
Stuart Lewis said he joined the event because the right to live as Jews in Israel and Toronto is "under attack."
"I'm here to support our rights here in Toronto, Canada and in Israel," he said.
But Molly Kraft, an advocate with the Jews Say No to Genocide Coalition, said she is offended by the idea the walk is "somehow for Jewish trauma or Jewish safety."
"As a Jewish person, I believe in fighting antisemitism as well, but I think [the walk is] about supporting a military superpower that's hell bent on occupation, genocide and destroying Palestinian life," she said. Israel has repeatedly denied claims of genocide in its war in Gaza, which has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
Israel's National Security Council upgraded its travel alert for Canada on Sunday from Level 1, which means no travel warning, to Level 2, which means "potential threat level."
The council said planned counter-protests to pro-Israel rallies on Sunday have resulted in discourse, "including what could be understood as calls to violently harm Israelis and Jews at these events."
It recommended "that those attending the support rallies listen to security personnel and local police at the events, obey their instructions and avoid any friction with the anti-Israel protests."
Walk comes after Canada calls for aid to Gaza
Sunday's walk began at Temple Sinai Congregation of Toronto synagogue and continued north on Bathurst Street, ending with a festival at UJA's Sherman Campus.
Police officers were visible all along the route. Toronto police had said on Saturday there would be a "strong presence" at the event, including police from York, Durham and Peel regions, as well as the OPP.
Toronto police declined to say how many officers were deployed in an email Monday, with spokesperson Stephanie Miceli saying police do not release "operational details."
A 57-year-old man was arrested at about 12 p.m. after allegedly yelling antisemitic slurs at people attending the walk, Toronto police said. He has been charged with mischief interfering with property and causing a disturbance. The investigation is being treated as a suspected hate-motivated offence, police said.
The UJA's website said that as of Sunday afternoon, the walk has raised more than $670,000. That's more than in previous years, Lefton said.
"The event today is really about families coming together to celebrate our identity and stand united," she said. "It's not a political event."
But Kraft objected to this description.
"You cannot have this walk for Israel as this casual, family hangout for a state that is enacting one of the most violent genocides that we've ever seen," she said.
The event took place after the leaders of Canada, Britain and France warned on May 19 that their countries could take punitive action if Israel does not stop a renewed military offensive in Gaza and lift aid restrictions to the population.
"The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching international humanitarian law," a joint statement released by Prime Minister Mark Carney's office said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the statement in a post on X and called it "a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7."
Earlier this week, Israel began allowing humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza, after placing a nearly three-month blockade on aid supplies that brought people in the enclave to the brink of famine. But aid groups have said supplies still haven't reached Palestinians in need.
The United Nations has warned that 14,000 children in Gaza are at risk of severe malnutrition over the next 11 months if critical aid doesn't arrive.
Nova musical festival survivor in attendance
The UJA Federation said in a news release that funds raised during Sunday's walk "will support urgent humanitarian relief and long-term recovery efforts in Israel, with a focus on aiding families and communities still rebuilding after the trauma of October 7th."
Lefton said the money will go in part toward supporting the mental health of Israelis with PTSD and rebuilding homes destroyed in the Hamas-led attack.
Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities near Gaza's border on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Hamas is still holding 58 captives, about a third of whom are believed to be alive after most of the others were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel's retaliatory war has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians and reduced much of Gaza to ruins, Gaza's Health Ministry says. Most of them are civilians, including more than 16,500 children under the age of 18, Gaza health officials say.
Omri Kohavi, a survivor of an attack at the Nova music festival on Oct. 7 that killed more than 360 people and saw dozens taken hostage, attended Sunday's walk.
He was in Toronto with the Nova Exhibition, an international touring exhibit recounting the events of that day.
He said he came to the walk to support Israel and was happy to see the "partying and good vibe."
"I'm very proud. It makes me strong," he said.
Suzanne Wintrob said her cousins were living in a kibbutz in Israel on Oct. 7. Half of their friends were killed in the attacks, she said.
"They have survivor's guilt.... They'll never be the same," she said. "The whole country is in trauma."
Wintrob was among several people at the walk holding posters of hostages still in captivity. She said she is praying for safety and peace.
"Everyone wants peace on both sides of this conflict," she said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Andréane Williams, Perlita Stroh, Jamie Strashin and Reuters