Over 56,000 people marched through Toronto during Sunday’s 56th Annual Walk With Israel event, according to the Toronto Police Service.
The rally, organized by the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, took place on the same day as Israel’s National Security Council warned of an “increased threat from terrorist elements against Israelis and Jews” in Canada, raising the threat level from one to two.
Nevertheless, the UJA Federation’s march went ahead as scheduled. At 56,000, the turnout was even greater than the estimated number of attendees at the Israel Day event on Fifth Avenue in NYC, making the Toronto rally the largest outside of Israel in 2025.
The march began at the Temple Sinai synagogue, continued along Bathurst Street, and ended at the UJA Federation’s Sherman Campus, where the vibrant Renee & Irwin Nadal Walk Festival occurred.
As well as various performances, there were spaces commemorating the victims of the October 7 massacre, calls for the release of the hostages, and booths showcasing Israeli culture and the Jewish community.
“This was a significant day for our community,” said Ken Tanenbaum, chair of the UJA Federation.
“The strong turnout reflects our shared commitment to Israel and the strength of our diverse community here in Toronto,” Tanenbaum said.
“What we witnessed today was more than a mass gathering; it was a declaration,” said Adam Minsky, president and CEO of the UJA Federation.
“Thousands of Jewish Torontonians and allies came together to stand for democracy, peace, and the right of Jews to live safely in Israel and here, in Canada,” Minsky continued.
Sarah Peters Mali, the director-general of the Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA in Israel, discussed the increased antisemitism faced by Canadian Jews of all walks of life since October 7.
She said the community has “responded with exceptional resolve, contributing more per capita to support Israel than any other Jewish community worldwide.”
“The Walk with Israel by UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and Toronto's Jewish community powerfully expresses Canadian Jewry’s unwavering commitment to the State of Israel," William Kleinbaum, Managing Director, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, said.
"As the largest Jewish community in Canada, Toronto plays a central role in preserving Jewish identity and strengthening the unbreakable bond with Israel. In these challenging times in Israel and Canada, the walk sends a clear message of solidarity, hope, and resilience,” Kleinbaum said.
The proceeds from the event will be distributed to humanitarian aid drives and the rehabilitation of communities affected by the terrorist attacks in Israel’s South, the UJA said.
Donations will be directed to the UJA Federation’s local partners in Israel, who are providing mental health support and aid for terror victims.
In a video posted to X/Twitter, MPP Michael Kerzner, the solicitor-general of Ontario, said that it was a “walk to stand up for values that are our Ontarian values; the walk to remember the hostages that were brutally taken on October 7.”
Israel’s 2025 Eurovision entry, “New Day Will Rise,” could be heard playing in the background.
Canadian politician Kevin Vuong said he was proud to have been among the 56,000 peacefully marching in Toronto “for our democratic ally, for peace, and in support of our Jewish brothers and sisters.”
Multiple government officials, members of parliament, and council members were also in attendance, including Roman Baber, Vince Gasparro, Melissa Lantsman, James Pasternak, and Brad Bradford.
Arrests and counterprotests
Multiple pro-Palestinian groups, such as Durham Region 4 Palestine, staged counterprotests.
In one image, protesters could be seen using their figures to make the shape of an inverted triangle over the visual of those carrying Israeli flags. The inverted triangle is used to symbolize Hamas.
During the event, Toronto police arrested 57-year-old Tarek Ibrahem for yelling antisemitic slurs at attendees.Back in November, Ibrahem, a Syrian refugee, was identified by the Canadian OSINT account Levianthan as the man in a photo who was dressed as Yahya Sinwar while holding a sign glorifying Hamas on Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue in Toronto.
Separately, on the same day as Canada’s Walk With Israel event, the Toronto Police Service announced that it had arrested 26-year-old Basel Al-Sukhon for hate-motivated death threats against the Israeli community on social media.
The police added that Sukhon had posted several threats against Israelis between Wednesday, May 21, 2025, and Saturday, May 24, 2025.
The Jerusalem Post found screenshots of an Instagram post by Sukhon in which he said, “Zionists all belong in a shallow unmarked mass grave.”
Then, referring to the murder of Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgram in Washington, he said, “Two Israeli ambassadors who support mass starvation of children and genocide is a start but it ain’t f***ing enough [sic].”