Israel solidarity walk in Toronto needed amid rising antisemitism, organizer says
CBC
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.
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.
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.
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."
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."
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