'It's needed now more than ever': Jewish community optimistic ahead of Walk with Israel fundraiser
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Last year's walk was buoyed by the return of four Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas and held in Gaza, and this year's event is equally timely, Lefton said. 'It's a scary time to be a Jew in Toronto and in Canada, in general. We have never seen this kind of hate targeted against our community before,' she said. 'Our children are waking up and going to school knowing that there are very real threats that they're facing. For the last year, our community has really been banding together to make sure that we stand up against this hate and use our voices, because we need to call attention to the fact that we're facing this kind of hatred and antisemitism and that it's not acceptable.'
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The adversity Canadian Jews have faced throughout the days and months since the October 7 atrocities — swastikas graffitied on schools, bomb threats against synagogues, shootings at Jewish day schools — underscored for Godfrey the unending struggle of the Jewish people to never give up or be complacent.
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'We can never take freedom for granted…. I think that is even more palpable today, post-October 7, than it has been in my entire lifetime,' he said.
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'It's even more important now to show our friends in Israel and around the world that they are not alone and that the Jewish diaspora is here and strong and supportive of what we're fighting for.'
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