{"id":721656,"date":"2026-06-07T20:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T20:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/721656\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T20:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T20:46:09","slug":"walk-with-israel-draws-tens-of-thousands-in-toronto-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/721656\/","title":{"rendered":"Walk With Israel draws tens of thousands in Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"

A heavy police presence is on site as tens of thousands participate in Toronto\u2019s annual Walk With Israel on Sunday. <\/p>\n

There was a heavy police presence in North York on Sunday as tens of thousands of people took part in Toronto\u2019s annual Walk With Israel.<\/p>\n

Organizers said the turnout at this year\u2019s event was the largest in its history. They are estimating more than 60,000 people attended the march, which is now in its 57th year.<\/p>\n

Sara Lefton, chief development officer at UJA Federation, said these unprecedented numbers are reflective of both solidarity with Israel and concern about rising antisemitism in Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the Jewish community, we\u2019ve seen more hate in recent years than ever before directed at our community,\u201d she told The Canadian Press.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s not just a Jewish issue, this is an issue for all Canadians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lefton said organizers see the Walk With Israel as a message that \u201chate is not acceptable in our country,\u201d describing it as \u201ca moment of unity and solidarity for the Jewish community and the people of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"POLICE A heavy police presence at Toronto\u2019s annual Walk With Israel on Sunday, June 7, 2026 (CP24 photo). <\/p>\n

So far, Toronto police, who increased their presence this year in an effort to prevent confrontations, have made six arrests.<\/p>\n

They say said a woman was arrested<\/a> for obstructing a peace officer near Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West at approximately 8:40 a.m., just before the walk began. <\/p>\n

A second arrest<\/a> was made at Earl Bales Park at approximately 10:22 a.m., where police said a man was arrested for assaulting a peace officer.<\/p>\n

A third arrest<\/a> occurred just after 11 a.m. , with investigators saying a man was arrested for operating remotely piloted aircraft system (drone). He was issued a ticket under Canadian Aviation Regulations, police said.<\/p>\n

A fourth arrest<\/a> was announced around 11:45 a.m., where officials say a woman was arrested for \u201cbreach of the peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

By 1 p.m., police say they arrested a fifth person<\/a> and charged them with assault. <\/p>\n

Shortly before before 2 p.m., police announced a sixth arrest<\/a>, saying that a woman has been arrested for obstructing a police officer. <\/p>\n

Toronto police say further information will be provided in a news release later today.<\/p>\n

\"\"Walk With Israel Toronto\u2019s annual Walk With Israel on Sunday, June 7, 2026 (CP24 photo). <\/p>\n

Despite the arrests, Lefton said the Walk With Isreal is not divisive, underlining that it is intended to celebrate \u201cshared values,\u201d including freedom and democracy.<\/p>\n

Many participants carried carried Israeli flags, while some Iranian, American, and Canadian flags were also visible in the crowd.<\/p>\n

Mona Arablengh, an Iranian who rejected the idea that supporting Israel was a betrayal of Iranians, was among those taking part. <\/p>\n

She said the alliance was viewed negatively by Iran\u2019s Islamic Republic government, but not by many Iranians themselves. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor my people, no, it\u2019s not a betrayal,\u201d said Arablengh, who pointed to what she described as a long history between the two peoples. <\/p>\n

She called Israel \u201ca democratic country\u201d whose values she supports. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really proud to be friends with Israel,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Walk With Israel Toronto\u2019s annual Walk With Israel on Sunday, June 7, 2026 (CP24 photo). <\/p>\n

The event came amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East and repeated protests in Canada over the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

With files from The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A heavy police presence is on site as tens of thousands participate in Toronto\u2019s annual Walk With Israel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":721657,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,47,44,11867,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-721656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-national","tag-news","tag-ontario-quebec","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=721656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/721657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=721656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=721656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=721656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}