Record 20,000 people walk with Israel in Toronto [Video]

It was a particularly humid day, but that didn’t stop a record-setting 20,000 people from participating in UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s 46th annual Walk with Israel event May 29 in downtown Toronto, eclipsing last year’s record of 17,000.

Some 300 athletes also took part in the second annual Run with Israel, an event that runs parallel – albeit at a quicker pace – to the walk.

The day raised approximately $1.1 million, including $460,000 from corporate sponsorships, which will go to initiatives and programs supported by federation, including creating educational opportunities for at-risk youth in Bat Yam, social welfare and educational projects for residents of Sderot (the Israeli town on the Gaza border that has endured rocket attacks for the past decade), higher education and programs for young people in Israel’s southern region of Eilat/Eilot (federation’s …