On the eve of the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, hundreds more than usual attended two pro-Israel rallies that have been held each Sunday in suburban Toronto neighbourhoods with a high Jewish population, advocating for the release of the hostages who were taken into Gaza.
The Hamas attacks, which killed 1,200 people in Israel, triggered a war in Gaza, where 101 hostages, not all of whom are still believed to be alive, are being held. The Gaza health authority, which is controlled by Hamas, estimates that 41,000 people have been killed in the ensuing conflict.
More recently, the war has extended to southern Lebanon, which has become a base for Hezbollah fighters launching rocket attacks on northern Israel.
Since the start of the war, a number of grassroots groups in Toronto have been holding regular events to keep the plight of the hostages in the public eye. In Thornhill, Ont., Michelle Factor organized a weekly Sunday morning Run for Their Lives, one of an estimated 266 such events that happen worldwide.
Usually, about 100 people turn up to walk or run one kilometre around the Promenade Mall, but on Oct.6, several hundred turned up to walk to the nearby Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto (BAYT) synagogue. There, participants placed 1,200 Israeli flags on the front lawn, in memory of those killed in Israel on Oct. 7.
Factor started the Thornhill event after hearing the mother of a hostage speak on the 100th day of his captivity.
“Hersh’s mom, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, she said at 100 days, ‘if you want to help, you find a Run for Their Lives in your city and you lead it.’ And that’s what I did,” Factor said as she walked to the synagogue.
Hersh, who was kidnapped during the Nova music festival, was executed in Gaza along with five other hostages in August. His parents became internationally known for their advocacy for return of the hostages.
The first Thornhill run was held in freezing weather, but people continued to show up, Factor said.
“People need some hope. We’re not alone, we’re doing this together. We want them (the hostages) home, we’re going to do what it takes to make the world know that this is still happening. It’s been an unbelievable year of hell, so we need to be together.”
Leah, who did not want to give her last name, said she has come to the run often, as a way to advocate and pray for the hostages.
“I’m heartbroken,” she said as she reflected on the one-year anniversary since the hostages were taken into captivity. “I’m absolutely heartbroken that they’re still there, that most of the world doesn’t care and that some have been killed.”
The walk usually circles the suburban mall, but on Oct. 6 marchers proceeded to the nearby modern Orthodox synagogue, where people planted Israeli flags on the lawn, a project sponsored by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Canada.
While it has been mostly churches across North America that have placed the flags, Rabbi Daniel Korobkin, senior leader at the BAYT, was encouraged to participate as well.
“I just felt it was an honour to be so supported and embraced by the Christian community. They really have our backs, and to be able to show we will not cower, we will not be afraid,” he told The CJN.
A large pro-Palestinian protest took place outside the synagogue, opposing an Israeli real estate expo that was being held there, on March 7. The protest left congregants feeling “very intimidated,” recalled Rabbi Korobkin.
“Today, to be able to say on Oct. 6, almost one year later, that we’re now planting flags of Israel in front of our property, to show the world that ‘Am Yisrael Chai,’ the people of Israel live and we are supported by friends in the Iranian community, in the Christian community, in the Hindu community, in so many other communities and we’re very, very grateful for that support.”
A few kilometres south on Bathurst Street, a rally that bills itself as “The Longest-Running Rally for Israel in the World,” met for the 53rd consecutive week.
Guidy Mamann and three friends started by waving Israeli flags on the corner of a Jewish neighbourhood, after Hamas leadership called for a day of violence on Oct. 13, 2023, and worried parents kept their children home from Jewish schools.
“On that Sunday, as we saw people drive by with tears in their eyes and with darkness in their faces, we said we have to come back on Sunday and do this again. And every Sunday since then we’ve been here,” Mamann told a crowd of several hundred people who gathered on the corner of Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue.
Politicians from municipal, provincial and federal government as well as local rabbis addressed the group, while Toronto police officers posted on all corners of the intersection and in the shopping centre parking lot patrolled the area.
The weekly rally has grown to over 100 people who wave Israeli and Canadian flags and play music for two hours on Sunday afternoon.
Charlene Glaun, who stood at the entrance to the strip mall waving an Israeli flag, says she has come “religiously” since the rally started. “I’m a proud Zionist and a proud Jew and I need to be here for myself, for Israel, for the free world and for democracy,” she said.
Mamann said he never envisioned the rally would continue for over a year, with no end in sight.
“Hell no, there was no possibility of that. There has never been a war that Israel has fought that has lasted a year and we’re not even close to finish. This war’s not going to end next week or the week after that,” he said in an interview with The CJN.
“We have to hunker down, we have to figure out how we’re going to do this and how to pace ourselves. But we promise we’re not going to allow those soldiers to go into Gaza or go into Lebanon thinking that they’re alone and that Jews in the Diaspora have forgotten them.”
