KAHANE: Weekly pro-Israel rallies will continue until war ends, hostages rescued
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Every Sunday since Oct. 15, 2023, at the corner of Bathurst St. and Sheppard Ave., a pro-Israel rally has taken place from noon-2 p.m.
Although this is the longest-running weekly rally outside of Israel, with a large police presence, high-profile attendees, and politicians, it has received little media attention.
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On Sunday, at the 58th rally in a row, one of the organizers, Guidy Mamann, said “our message is one of peace, we tell our people not to engage [with counter-protesters across the street], and we have an incredible show of force by the Toronto Police Service. There are thousands of intersections in Toronto where we could be, but this is the heart of our community and if we can’t wave an Israeli flag and say ‘am Yisrael chai’ [the people of Israel live] here, then we can’t do it anywhere. We are just here to celebrate our community…not antagonize anyone.”
Sunday, the rally was particularly well-attended. Some speculated the turnout was likely due in-part to outrage over the pogrom in Amsterdam last week which saw Israelis hunted, beaten, robbed, and left for dead in the streets, while attackers yelled “free Palestine” and hurled antisemitic slurs.
“This is not a battle about Israel or the Jewish people, it’s about values, and we will continue to fight for our values, democracy, and the West” says Bucky Apisdorf, founder and CEO of the group, Let’s Do Something.
Amidst the music and singing, flew the flags of Canada, Israel, India, American, Morocco, and Iran in solidarity. Rally-goers noted a larger and larger contingent of Persian-Canadians in attendance to express their support for Israel as the war against the Iranian regime and its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah (to name a couple), progresses.
During one of the intermittent speeches, Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner told the crowd: “We had the terrible attack in Amsterdam last week, there is no justification or equivalency that would justify this antisemitic attack…never give up, I will be with you every step of the way, and please God, those hostages should come home.”
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While the war has cast a shadow of uncertainty for many, one thing that holds steadfast: The resolve of rally goers and organizers to show up every Sunday until the war is over and the remaining101 hostages are returned home.
“Supporters of Israel have to stand together and send the world a message that terror should not be tolerated anywhere,” says Mamann.
— Jonathan Kahane has a Bachelor of Arts (Hon.) degree in forensic psychology and is currently studying applied neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London
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