{"id":78820,"date":"2026-06-08T01:50:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T01:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/78820\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T01:50:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T01:50:23","slug":"record-breaking-60000-people-attend-torontos-walk-with-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/78820\/","title":{"rendered":"Record-breaking 60,000 people attend Toronto’s Walk With Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carrying the flags of Israel, Canada and the LGBTQ community, George Saltzberg was one of the record-breaking 60,000 people who participated in this year\u2019s Walk With Israel in Toronto.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat brought me out here is my strong connection to Israel,\u201d said Saltzberg. \u201cWe all come from different backgrounds and belief systems. Normally, a lot of us don\u2019t agree, but on this one thing, we stand together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event, which was organized by UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, set a goal to raise $780,000 \u2014 in honour of the 78 years since Israel was founded. Funds are directed to supporting Israelis, including mental health counselling, and educational enrichment for Israeli children with special needs.<\/p>\n

Small groups of protesters gathered near Bathurst and Sheppard. According to Toronto Police Service, six people were arrested, with charges including assault, breach of the peace, and obstruction. An enhanced police presence was clearly seen, along with barriers to separate participants from protesters.<\/p>\n

Saltzberg, who attended the Walk with his husband, said he was especially motivated to support Israel following the events of October 7, 2023. \u201cEspecially these days with rising antisemitism, I thought it was very important to stand with the Jewish people,\u201d he says. \u201cOctober 7 will always be the day my life changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"George Saltzberg waving flags during the 57th Toronto Walk With Israel. (Photo credit: Emma Paidra)<\/p>\n

A notable presence at this year\u2019s Walk With Israel were Iranian allies of Israel. Though many participants proudly carried Israeli flags, the Pahlavi flag of Iran \u2014 which has been banned in Iran since 1980 \u2014 was also very popular.<\/p>\n

Ehsan, who was one of many Iranian allies present, carried the Israeli flag and a picture of Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of the Pahlavi dynasty of Iran, who lives in exile in the United States. He said it was important for him to attend the Walk, and sees Israel as a unique ally to Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only true friends that the Iranian people have are in Israel,\u201d said Ehsan.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ehsan, one of many Iranian allies, with an Israeli flag and a picture of Reza Pahlavi. (Photo credit: Emma Paidra)<\/p>\n

Representing a smaller group of allies, from India, was Sunny Singh. Draped in an Indian flag and a shirt that read \u201cPunjab\u201d in Hebrew, Singh said there is a strong connection between the Indian and Israeli people.<\/p>\n

\u201cHebrew is one of the oldest languages and Sanskrit is the oldest language in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cWe share a lot in common.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Sunny Singh, sporting a shirt that reads \u201cPunjab\u201d in Hebrew. (Photo credit: Emma Paidra)<\/p>\n

Sara Lefton, chief development officer of UJA Toronto, said the presence of allies is indicative of a shift in how Canadians perceive antisemitism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hate against the Jewish community is not a Jewish issue alone,\u201d said Lefton. \u201cWhat you\u2019re seeing is other people standing up and saying that this kind of hate is not okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others in attendance were looking for a reason to celebrate. Annie and Mica, who did not provide last names, are McMaster University students and members of a Jewish sorority. Carrying both the Israeli flag and their sorority\u2019s flag, both students were looking forward to being part of the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been times in my life where I felt very alone, and I have found so much support in the Jewish community,\u201d said Annie. \u201cI wanted to come out and show my support.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Joy and Sam Lanys, a Jewish mother and daughter attending the Walk With Israel along with their dog, Bowie, the presence of allies was significant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually amazing,\u201d said Joy, looking around at the many Pahlavi flags in the crowd. Wearing a grey T-shirt with the words \u201cProud Zionist\u201d written in yellow, Joy said she was looking forward to being part of the event. \u201cI\u2019ve been walking since I was a kid. I haven\u2019t missed a year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Lanys also said that it was important she attended the Walk With Israel as a way of openly displaying her Zionism, and was not worried about pushback from protesters. \u201c\u2019Zionist\u2019 is not a dirty word,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s so much police protection. This is the most secure it could be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Joy and Sam Sanys, with their dog, Bowie, at Toronto\u2019s Walk With Israel. (Photo credit: Emma Paidra)<\/p>\n

Jaquie Dason was also present with her eight-year-old daughter, Marley. Marley had repeatedly voiced concerns about walking by Bathurst Street and Shepperd Avenue, where she knew she would likely pass by protesters. \u201cI just tell her that we\u2019re safe and protected,\u201d said Dason. \u201cThere are always going to be people who disagree. But we love Israel and we want to stand for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dason said taking her daughter to the Walk With Israel was important to her as a parent. \u201cI feel a great sense of pride in bringing my children here. It\u2019s really beautiful seeing our family, friends and even people we don\u2019t know coming to support us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Dason, Ron Laxer values being in attendance at the Walk With Israel alongside his family. Laxer first attended the Walk in 1979 with his newborn daughter. This year, Laxer was once again in attendance\u2014but with his now-adult daughter, as well as his 95-year-old father.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think [support for Israel] is a part of everything we do, and the way we\u2019ve lived our lives. I\u2019m very happy that [my daughter] wants to continue what we started so many years ago,\u201d he said. \u201cWe look forward to it every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laxer said that since first being part of the Walk With Israel, he has noticed that support for the event and all that it stands for has intensified. \u201cOver the last couple of years, people feel a need to come out and support the community more,\u201d he said. \u201cIt seems to be more acute now.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Laxer, the event is an important way to stand up for the Jewish community and demonstrate solidarity with Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to come together and feel strong,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to push us around. Here we are, loud and proud.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carrying the flags of Israel, Canada and the LGBTQ community, George Saltzberg was one of the record-breaking 60,000…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78821,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[967,3138,48,31365,23029],"class_list":["post-78820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-featured","tag-protests","tag-toronto","tag-walk-with-israel","tag-zionism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}