“As long as the hostages are in the terror dungeons of Gaza, I cannot keep away from this walk, I have to come every single week,” Amir A. told JNS on Sunday.
Every week since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, dozens of Canadian Jews, Israelis and supporters have gathered in Montreal’s Hampstead Park to participate in a march organized by BringThemHome Montreal to highlight the plight of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
“Even though we go on living and try to get ourselves back on track since Oct. 7, the captives never leave our hearts, not even for a split second,” said Amir.
“We are here to tell the families of the hostages and everyone who has been affected by the attacks, not only in Israel but all over the world, that we stand with them,” he added.
On the backdrop of a surge in antisemitic attacks in Montreal, including Jewish institutions being targeted by gunfire, firebombs and vandalism, over 80 people draped in Israeli flags and wearing “BringThemHome” dog tags had proudly gathered at the meeting point.
“The objective of this march is to bring hope to the families of the hostages in Israel, to show them that, while we are far away, we care about them and we don’t forget about the situation,” Michal, one of the organizers of the weekly event, told JNS.
“I felt that the community needed something after the major trauma we went through. We started with some installations with posters of the hostages. Then, we began to walk and every week more people joined,” she said.
“It’s a cure. It makes us stronger and gives everyone a safe place to be with each other, to share concerns, thoughts and support each other,” she added.
Case in point is a young non-Jewish man who asked to be identified as Kay, after having been doxxed due to his support for Israel.
“A pro-Hamas X account sent a bunch of my tweets to my employer and I was let go. They smeared my name. I have always been pro-Israel but even more since then,” Kay told JNS.
“Being canceled is not fun. I was fired with cause and wasn’t eligible for unemployment insurance or severance pay. There were times I even thought of suicide because I feared my life was over, but I persevered and found another job,” he continued.
“I support Israel because It’s the right thing to do. It’s one thing to criticize Israel’s policies. It’s another to criticize its right to exist. If you criticize the latter, you are antisemitic,” he added.
Samy, who is also not Jewish, was born in Canada to parents from Morocco.
“I support Israel and I believe that we need to stand against antisemitism,” he told JNS at the march on Sunday.
Samy noted the sense of pride he felt when Morocco signed the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Jerusalem in 2020.
“Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and its fight is our fight. We take certain things for granted but Israel defends our way of life. We should support the country in its fight against terrorism and antisemitism,” he said.
“While I don’t agree with everything that the government of Israel does, and there are some dark parts of history, the mullahs of Iran who are financing and supplying Hamas have done a hell of a lot worse,” Samy continued.
“We all wish the war would end, but for that there needs to be a roadmap leading to a peaceful agreement. Israel has to contribute, but not while Hamas is holding hostages and remains an integral part of Palestinian society. Hamas must be eradicated,” he said.
Margaret M., the great-aunt of Hamas captive Omer Shem Tov, also participated in Sunday’s march. Shem Tov was abducted from the Supernova music festival together with his friends Maya and Itay Regev on Oct. 7.
The Regev siblings were released as part of a weeklong ceasefire agreement in November, while Shem Tov remains in Gaza.
“I’ve been coming just about every week. We all have to do something, we feel very helpless staying home and looking at social media. It’s depressing,” Margaret told JNS.
“Being with the community makes me feel more positive that something could change, hopefully soon. We want to promote peace, we want an end to this war, this tragedy,” she continued. “We want to bring home all the hostages for them to go on with their lives as best they can. We send our love to our families in Israel, and the entire state.”
With Hebrew songs blasting from a portable speaker and participants energetically calling for the release of the captives in both English and French, the crowd marched for approximately 45 minutes. The route began along residential streets, then passed over one of Montreal’s busiest highways en route to a nearby Jewish community center.
“What happened in October was devastating. It was one of the worst days of our lives,” Keren Z., one of the organizers, told JNS. “I’m from Kibbutz Holit, we lost a lot of members on Oct. 7. Hamza and Youssef [two Bedouins from Rahat who worked in the community] are still hostages,” she said.
“We will continue this until every single one of the hostages is back, we will not stop until we will make sure the whole world knows. This is a humanitarian cause, not a political one,” Keren added.
Throughout the walk, there was a noticeable police presence. During the march, Tracy S. distributed stickers reading “46 weeks, 324 days, way too long!”
“We know that they [the police] are on it. We are all vigilant and that has brought the community closer together, unfortunately,” Tracy told JNS.
“There will alway be a threat, but we are here for the hostages,” she said.
Among the participants was a man flying a flag symbolizing the 2011 Syrian revolution and the broader anti-Assad movement. He agreed to speak to JNS on the condition of anonymity as he still has family in Syria.
“This flag for many people became the symbol of defiance against the insane Iranian project to have a land corridor stretching from Tehran to Israel through Syria,” said Murad (not his real name).
“This is why for me supporting Israel and carrying this flag go hand in hand,” he added.
Murad moved from Syria to Lebanon in 2005 and seven years later became a refugee. In 2015, he immigrated to Turkey and six months ago finally arrived in Canada.
“We rebelled against Assad’s authoritarian system and we oppose Hezbollah and Iran. There is no scenario in my mind where we don’t also support Israel, it just fits perfectly,” he said.
“But back there, we don’t talk about this out loud. Since I am in a free country, I can embrace this idea. I came to this protest and raised the flag and everyone was so lovely and welcoming,” he continued.
“It’s one of the first times that I feel at home, surrounded by people who want me here. It’s a blessing,” he added.
