ManitobaA crowd of people walked together in Winnipeg on Sunday to show solidarity with Israeli people just ahead of the two-year anniversary of the deadly Oct. 7 attacks.Some remain hopeful for peace and for remaining hostages to be returned homeDave Baxter · CBC News · Posted: Oct 06, 2025 9:29 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoJakee Werbuk holds up an Israeli flag while taking part in the walk. (Dave Baxter/CBC)A crowd of people walked together in Winnipeg on Sunday to show solidarity with Israeli people just ahead of the two-year anniversary of the deadly Oct. 7 attacks.”I’m here today to support my community and to let the families of the hostages … know that we are here supporting them and that we want our hostages home and that we want peace,” Jakee Werbuk said. Werbuk was one of an estimated 1,500 people who gathered at the Asper Jewish Community Campus to take part in the Walk for Israel, organized by the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants killed an estimated 1,200 people in southern Israel and took another 250 as hostages.Israel retaliated, launching a war in which more than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed and about 170,000 more wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.An estimated 1,500 people took part in the Walk for Israel. (Dave Baxter/CBC)Most of the hostages have been freed under previous ceasefire deals, but 48 are still held in Gaza — around 20 believed by Israel to be alive.Werbuk said while she wants to see peace in the region, her number one concern is to see every hostage, dead or alive, returned to their families.She’s been feeling more hopeful about that since Monday, when U.S president Donald Trump, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, introduced what a 20-point peace plan that, if agreed to by Hamas, could see the release of all remaining hostages. “I feel incredibly optimistic,” she said. “I think the ceasefire deal that is on the table now is something that the Israeli families need, and I think that supporters around the world are in favour of the proposed ceasefire.”As much as none of us will get everything that we want, we simply want our hostages home.”Jewish Federation of Winnipeg CEO Jeff Lieberman said two years after the attacks, the continuing conflict in the region is still top-of-mind for many in Winnipeg’s Jewish community. (Ron Dhaliwal/CBC)Jewish Federation of Winnipeg CEO Jeff Lieberman said two years after the attacks, the continuing conflict in the region is still top-of-mind for many in Winnipeg’s Jewish community. “It’s very fresh,” he said. “The war is still going on, Hamas is still in control of Gaza.”Lieberman also praised Trump’s 20-point peace plan, calling it “tremendous.””We’re hoping with the peace plan from President Trump that peace will be restored soon, and that Hamas will lay down their arms, the hostages will be released, and that Israelis will be able to live in a safe and secure environment again soon,” he said. “I’m certainly excited that there’s a good opportunity for peace now, and I’m hoping that happens very soon.”Lisa Lewis, who took part in Sunday’s walk, also said her primary concern is the return of all remaining hostages. “They’ve been there for two years and we’ve seen the way they have been treated and mistreated,” Lewis said. “Once the hostages come home, then [we can] look towards the solution for peace long term.”Ben Carr, the MP for Winnipeg South Centre and a member of Winnipeg’s Jewish community, said he joined Sunday’s walk to show support, while calling for an end to what he said has been a rise in antisemitism and hate targeted at Jews since the conflict began.”There has been a very unfortunate conflation of what’s happening overseas in the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the Jewish people worldwide,” he said. “Jewish Canadians are being held accountable for the actions of a foreign government, and regardless of how you feel about the Israeli response, it is not acceptable and it’s antisemitic to hold Jewish Canadians accountable for things that are taking place thousands of miles away.”He added he has been hearing from many Jewish Winnipeggers that they are feeling more on edge about their own safety.Shiran Dandiker and her daughter Hodaya pose Sunday at the Asper Jewish Community Campus. (Dave Baxter/CBC)Hodaya Dandiker, who attended Sunday’s walk with her mom, said she recently moved to Canada but was living in Israel on the morning of the attacks.”I was in Israel and it was not fun,” she said. “I woke up on Saturday and I saw my parents, they were so scared.”Dandiker said she wants to see nothing more than hostages released and peace in the region after two years of conflict and bloodshed. “I want them to come home because they need to be with their families, and they would be so happy,” she said.ABOUT THE AUTHORDave Baxter is an award-winning reporter and editor currently working for CBC Manitoba. Born and raised in Winnipeg, he has also previously reported for the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press, as well as several rural Manitoba publications.
Walk brings Winnipeg’s Jewish community together in support of Israeli people
