Toronto, Canada · 2026

At the delicate seam between Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut, members of Toronto's Israeli community joined the congregation of Holy Blossom Temple for a special bilingual Hebrew-English ceremony. Built around “Bein HaShmashot” (Twilight) - a booklet created by the WZO's Department of Irgoon and Israelis Abroad, the service was led by the Department's North America representative, Lior Sagi, alongside the congregation's Rabbi Yael Splansky. More than 100 participants from both communities took part in a ceremony that began with the tears of Yom HaZikaron and ended in Israeli folk dancing and a sea of Israeli flags. Israeli street food was served, and the evening featured the Department's “Map of Hope” exhibition, artwork by Israeli artist Zeev Engelmayer, including his large-format “Map of Hope.”