With a long-anticipated hostage–prisoner exchange expected to begin early Monday, this moment is being described as both hopeful and harrowing—and as a test of communal resolve. About 1,500 people from across the country registered for a Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) webinar this weekend to hear from relatives of victims and hostages’ families, while weekly rallies in multiple cities prepared to mark the expected returns with prayers, posters and pleas to “keep going” after the headlines fade.

The deal calls for Hamas to release all living hostages within a tight window as international teams work to recover remains believed to be buried in Gaza. Israel, in turn, is set to free a large group of Palestinian detainees once the hostages are back on home soil in Israel. For Canadian families, the logistics matter—but the meaning dominates: closure for some, new beginnings for others, and a reminder that the fight for safety and truth isn’t over.

“She was courageous, and she was strong”

From Ottawa, Ont., Jacqui Rivers Vital spoke during the CIJA webinar about her daughter, Adi Vital-Kaploun, 33, who was murdered in her home on Kibbutz Holit. Adi’s children, Negev and Eshel, were taken hostage but were later freed and returned safely to Israel. A courageous mother who defended her family, Adi was also an accomplished academic whose love of the desert shaped her research in solar energy.

“I’m really happy for all the families who are getting their loved ones back—whether they’re alive or whether they’re dead—because at least they’ll be able to bury them the way we did,” Rivers Vital told the webinar audience. “But it doesn’t change my reality. Adi is gone.”

Her “mission,” she said, has been to make sure Canadians know the names and stories of the Canadians killed on Oct. 7. “There are so many people in Canada—they don’t know,” she said. “People always ask, ‘How can you be so strong?’ We have a choice—we go up or we go down. And there’s no way we’re going down. Never give up hope—never, never, never. If we do, they win.”

She described returning to her daughter’s grave to sing Hatikvah a week after her funeral and the countless times she has told Jewish youth: “You have to plant the seed, and you have to be strong. That’s the only way we’ll be stronger.”

On the Oct. 10 episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, Ellin Bessner spoke with Jacqui Rivers Vital in Jerusalem about the mood in Israel during this heady time, and how she’s navigating the second Yarhzeit of her daughter’s death.

“Maybe we were separated in our bodies, but in our souls we were together”

From Regina, Sask., Ohad Lapidot spoke during the CIJA webinar about his daughter, Tiferet Lapidot, 23, who was murdered at the Nova music festival after calling her mother to say, “I love you.” Tiferet was remembered as “a beautiful and generous soul,” a volunteer for at-risk youth in Israel and in Africa.

Lapidot said that in the 10 days when his family still believed she might be alive, he was overwhelmed by messages of solidarity from Canada. “I got a great hug from the Jewish community in Canada,” he told participants. “Maybe we were separated in our bodies, but in our souls we were together. This solidarity is amazing.”

He said the release of hostages “is a great relief,” but “totally incomplete.” 

“Israel is under grave threat,” he said. “We must continue and keep the spirit alive so that it will not happen again.”

“This is how we bring light to the darkness around us”

From Montreal, Que., Raquel Ohnona Look spoke during the CIJA webinar about her son, Alexandre Look, 33, who was murdered at a roadside shelter near the Nova music festival. “Alex spoke seven languages and loved to explore the world,” she said. “He bravely fought the terrorists with his bare hands and used his own body to save the lives of others.”

Ohnona Look called the imminent releases “an amazing time,” adding that “those we’ve been praying for for two years are coming home.” At the same time, she said, the moment carries deep sorrow: “Every day is Oct. 7. But at least the parents who will get bodies—the remains of their children—will have a place to gather and remember.”

She described the creation of Alex L. Place, a green space in Côte St-Luc between a synagogue and a school, and recalled how her family reclaimed Simchat Torah last year by dedicating a Torah scroll in Alex’s honour. “This is how we bring light to all the darkness around us,” she said. “But we’re not done. We have to keep fighting. We have to all be warriors with purpose.”

“She reminded us who we are”

Ashley Waxman Bakshi, who was born in Hamilton, Ont., spoke during the CIJA webinar about her cousin Agam Berger, a young Israeli soldier and accomplished violinist who was kidnapped from Nahal Oz and held hostage in Gaza for 482 days.

“Agam reminded us who we are,” she said. “She said, ‘I understand that I was taken hostage because I am Jewish. And so I will be Jewish to the end.’”

Waxman Bakshi said her cousin’s faith and resilience inspired the entire family. “When she came home, it was proof that God exists,” she said. “You can see it in her eyes. Somebody who was in the dungeons of Hamas—who was made to do humiliating things—and yet she still has her light.”

Addressing the Canadian Jewish community, she added: “This is not the time to be quiet. Be stronger, be more vocal. Send your kids to Israel. Bring your friends. The best way to counter lies is to see the truth with your own eyes.”

She said the connection between Israelis and diaspora Jews has never been clearer. “We strengthen one another,” she said. “Your strength here strengthens us there.”

Across Canada, a balance of celebration and caution

In Toronto, Ont., Guidy Mamann, a lawyer who has helped organize the weekly rallies at the Bathurst and Sheppard intersection since Oct. 13, 2023, prepared for what he expected to be the group’s 106th gathering. “We committed ourselves to being out here for as long as it takes to celebrate the return of our hostages,” he said in an interview before the noon start. “Two years later… the hostages are going to be returned in a matter of hours. All we can do is pray that nothing comes apart—and that all of our blessed hostages come home, and that our brave soldiers return to their families safely and of sound mind.”

On Sunday, more than 100 people arrived at this North York intersection to show support for Israel, waving Israeli flags. Police cruisers surrounded the area. Hostage posters lined the barricades. Israeli music blasted through the speakers but couldn’t fully drown out one booming voice across the street—an anti-Israel demonstrator shouting into a megaphone.

She yelled phrases such as “Hamas brought them home!” and “God bless the resistance!” and “The intifada has been globalized!”

In Vancouver, B.C., organizer Daphna Kedem said the city’s Israel support coalition—which includes Vancouver UnXeptable and other community groups—has gathered downtown for 104 consecutive Sundays.

“This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for,” she wrote in a statement. “It’s been such a roller coaster over the past two years—really unfathomable—and we can only hope that this nightmare is finally over. I celebrate the families who will soon be reunited with their loved ones, while also mourning the unimaginable loss of those whose relatives will return in body bags. The joy and the sorrow are inseparable, and we feel both deeply.”

She added that the weekly gatherings “kept the hostages in the public eye and contributed to this moment. Every voice, every sign, and every act of solidarity has mattered.” But she also cautioned that “this is only the beginning. The ceasefire and the first hostages returning are just the first step. The real work starts now: healing, rebuilding, and holding those responsible accountable, while recognizing that both Israelis and Palestinians have suffered.”

“There is a long road ahead to restore trust, repair lives, and address the deep wounds on both sides,” Kedem said. “We must not lose sight of the lessons of the past two years: there is no military solution, and no community can find lasting security while the other continues to suffer. Real peace will require honesty, responsibility, and leadership that prioritizes reconciliation, dignity, and justice.”

At the close of the CIJA event, Elan Pratzer, chair of the board of directors for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, urged Canadians to celebrate without losing perspective. “There’s a time for war and a time for peace,” he said. “Celebrate the moment. But recognize the war is not over. Our job is to continue to fight for our people in Canada, for Canada itself, and for Western values and for Israel.”

The post Canadians brace for hostage release with relief, vigilance and a renewed sense of solidarity appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.

Demonstrators hold a banner during the ‘Nationwide March for Palestine’, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect, in Sydney, Australia, October 12, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hollie Adams

Tens of thousands joined a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney on Sunday, organizers said, one of dozens of demonstrations across Australia, with some protesters expressing skepticism a ceasefire in Israel’s two-year-old assault in Gaza would hold.

The organizer, the Palestine Action Group, estimated a crowd of 30,000 in Sydney, the nation’s most populous city, one of about 27 nationwide. Police did not have a crowd estimate for the protest.

The Gaza ceasefire appeared to be holding early on Sunday and Israeli troops had pulled back under the first phase of a US-brokered agreement to end the war, which has killed tens of thousands and left much of the narrow enclave in ruins.

“Even if the ceasefire holds, Israel is still conducting a military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank,” Amal Naser, an organizer of the Sydney rally, said in a statement. “The occupation as well as systemic discrimination against Palestinians living in Israel constitute an Apartheid system.”

Australian Broadcasting Corp footage showed protesters, many carrying Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyeh scarves, marching on closed city streets. Police said no arrests were made.

The rally was held in the business district after a court last week blocked a move to hold it at the Sydney Opera House.

Protester Abbi Jordan said she was at the rally because “this so-called ceasefire will not hold.”

“Israel always breaks every ceasefire they’ve ever done. For 78 years, they’ve been conducting an illegal occupation in Palestinian territories, and we demand the Australian government sanction Israel,” Jordan told Reuters.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for more than 200 Jewish organizations, condemned the protest organizers. “They want the deal to fail, which would mean the war would continue,” co-Chief Executive Peter Wertheim said in a statement.

Pro-Palestinian protests have been common in Australia, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, since the war in Gaza erupted when militants of the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis in an attack on October 7, 2023.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump (not pictured) hold a bilateral meeting at Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Egypt to attend the Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit, where leaders are expected to sign a US-brokered peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza, his office said on Saturday.

The first phase of the plan is set to begin with the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners by Monday, marking what Britain called a “historic turning point” after two years of war.

The British leader would pay tribute to the role of US President Donald Trump and the diplomatic efforts of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey in brokering the deal, his office said.

He is expected to call for continued international coordination to implement the next phase, which includes deploying a ceasefire monitoring mission and establishing transitional governance in Gaza.

Starmer will reiterate Britain’s “steadfast support” to help secure the ceasefire and deliver humanitarian aid.