‘It feels so good': Toronto's Walk with Israel breaks record with 56,000 participants
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Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Toronto on Sunday for the annual Walk with Israel, breaking the event's attendance record for the second straight year.
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Local law enforcement estimated there were roughly 56,000 participants, surpassing the previous benchmark set last year by 6,000.
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A rally and concert held shortly before the walk in the parking lot of Temple Sinai, a synagogue bordering a major highway, was packed with Israeli and Canadian flags and people of all ages. The Magen Group, a prominent local entertainment company run by Persian Jewish brothers, emceed the event and Jewish rapper, Kosha Dillz, made a brief appearance on stage.
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'It feels so good,' Sara Lefton, the chief development officer of the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto (UJA), the group that organized the event, told National Post minutes before it began. 'I think the Jewish community is really seeking togetherness. The more isolated we've been feeling, the more that we are seeking a moment like this to come together as the Jewish community, but also with our friends and allies.'
No masks, no anger, just pride, positivity and inclusion. Toronto's Walk With Israel was a manifestation of what Toronto can be once again. pic.twitter.com/Kd3fSG0edx
— Ben Mulroney (@BenMulroney) May 25, 2025
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A contingent representing the Nova Music Festival Exhibition, an art installation honouring concert-goers massacred by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which is currently on display in Toronto, was also present. For Omri Kohavi, a survivor of the atrocities and co-founder of the Tribe of Nova Foundation, a group dedicated to helping other survivors of the attack, the public display of support for Israel was deeply moving. He echoed Lefton's feeling of positivity at the sight of so many Canadians showing their solidarity.
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'It's a good feeling to see all of you guys. Very nice people,' he said with a heavy Israeli accent. 'We are brothers. We are from the same roots, so it's a great feeling.'
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Kohavi was joined by Ilan Faktor, an organizer of the Nova exhibition and a prominent Israeli trance figure. Faktor spoke of the cultural inheritance Canadians and Israelis share and underscored the Walk's importance for Jews 'to be proud, stand for themselves and not hide or feel bad about themselves.'
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