The March to Jerusalem, a community walk organized by Federation CJA for 40 years, won’t take place this spring, but the federation says it hopes it can be held later.
Traditionally held in May and, in more recent years, in June, the march has attracted a declining number of participants.
“Unfortunately, we were not able to secure a date for the March to Jerusalem at its usual time this year due to other large-scale community events occurring in June,” the event’s website states. “Please stay tuned to our Facebook page for a possible future date later this summer.”
The march to show pride in Israel has for many years been followed by the Israel Street Festival outside the YM-YWHA. That event is not being held either this spring.
Once a 26-km trek through the streets of Montreal and over Mount Royal that drew thousands, the march has been scaled back in recent years, and was for a time held only in Côte St. Luc and Hampstead. It raised funds for Jewish identity programs at the Bronfman Israel Experience Centre.
The march appears to have lost ground to the downtown Rally for Israel, a nine-year-old grassroots-organized walk from Phillips Square to Place du Canada, held on Yom Ha’atzmaut, that has become a popular way of publicly supporting the Jewish state.
