“This grassroots event was organized in under a week by students. We were very excited to see so many members of Toronto’s Jewish community brave the cold and snow to support the rally. It was a great example of students coming together to make a strong statement about standing with the Israeli people and denouncing the actions of Hamas, which is a recognized terrorist organization in Canada”, said student Daniel Ferman, President of Hillel@ York University.

The rally featured student Jewish leaders who spoke about the day to day life for the men, women and children in Southern Israel under Hamas missile attacks and the need to stand up against terror. Dozens of students worked behind the scenes to organize the logistics, the pr campaign, the technical components of the rally and to act as marshals.    Guest speakers included student leaders Josh Xiong and Rebecca Cherniak as well as Vijay Sappani, a prominent member of Toronto’s Indian community.

“It was very inspiring to see how many student leaders came together from all different groups, clubs and walks of life, Jewish and not Jewish for one common interest - because we all care about the lives of human beings living half way across the world. I feel blessed and proud to have been part of such a unique and inspiring opportunity”, said Mandy Woznica one of the organizers.

“It was uplifting to see the community unite behind all of us -the students. The over-all feeling was that the future leadership of Jewish Toronto looks promising.  We were proud as students, as Jews, and as Canadians, to have sent a strong message about shared Canadian values to the streets of Toronto”, said student leader Meyer Mechanic.