THORNHILL, Ont. — Each Sunday morning, dozens of people gather outside Promenade Mall in Thornhill for a short, silent circuit to call for the release of the Israeli hostages taken on October 7 and to pray for their safe return. The gathering is part of Run for Their Lives, an international campaign that now counts roughly 250 weekly walk and run chapters worldwide.
Organizers and regular participants say the Thornhill walk mixes grief, resolve, and ritual. Walkers meet at 10 a.m., don red shirts or scarves to symbolize bleeding hearts, and complete a 22-minute lap that echoes the group’s pledge to keep the hostages in public view until they are freed. The lap is followed by prayers led by local rabbis and the singing of Hatikvah.
What began as a modest local response has shown staying power. The Thornhill chapter launched on the 100th day of captivity and has since sustained a committed core of roughly 60 to 80 weekly participants, organizers say. The group includes observant and nonobservant Jews and non-Jewish allies. The event is intentionally peaceful and short so families and neighbors can participate.
The Run for Their Lives movement was inspired by families of hostages and community activists who sought a visible, recurring public reminder of those still in captivity. Organizers provide banners, hostage posters, and flags. At the Thornhill gatherings, volunteers hand out materials and lead prayers. Michelle Factor is one of the local organizers credited with sustaining the weekly schedule and outreach.
The Thornhill walk is one of many similar actions across North America and Europe. Chapters in cities including Vancouver, Victoria, Paris, and cities in the United States follow comparable formats. Many communities hold the walks every Sunday to keep pressure on authorities and to maintain public awareness of the hostages’ plight. Organizers say the global network gives families of captives a sense that they are not alone.
Participants describe the gatherings as both a petition and a source of emotional support. “We walk to show the families and the hostages that they are never forgotten,” one regular participant told a local reporter. The symbolism is deliberate and repeated each week. Walkers carry portraits of victims and wear colors meant to keep attention on the issue until all captives return.
The events have drawn attention from local Jewish institutions, community leaders, and sometimes elected officials who attend or issue statements of solidarity. The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto lists Thornhill’s Run for Their Lives gatherings in its community calendar, reflecting the walk’s visibility within the city’s Jewish communal network.
Organizers emphasize that the walks are nonviolent and inclusive. They encourage allies of all backgrounds to attend and to join in the simple act of walking and praying. The weekly cadence is designed to maintain constant public pressure and to provide an ongoing space for communal grief and hope. When hostages are freed, organizers plan small public celebrations to honor their return.
As the conflict and hostage crisis continue to draw international attention, the Thornhill walks serve as a local expression of solidarity with victims and families. For participants, the weekly ritual is both a moral statement and a communal anchor that transforms private sorrow into a public demand for action and for humanity.
This article is based on verified information from The J, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, The Canadian Jewish News, and official Run for Their Lives community posts.
As a regular participant at Run for Their Lives, Thornhill and sometimes Run for Their Lives, Beaches, I appreciate all that the organizers have done to keep the hostages front of mind and heart. However, as someone with a personal connection to Lieutenant Hadar Goldin Z”L, who has been held by Hamas since 2014, it saddens me that these walks, and others across the country, have recently ended when we still have hostages in Gaza. A new initiative is taking shape in Toronto to remind the public that our fight is not over until the last hostage returns. The release of all the deceased hostages is not only a fundamental Jewish and Israeli value, it is a humanitarian imperative and mandated under international law. It also shows Hamas that we will not tolerate them keeping hostages and using them as bargaining chips.