The Honest Report

In the wake of Israel's recent armed conflict with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Gaza-based Islamist terrorist group, the Jewish State has once again faced accusations of excessive force relating to its conduct. But beyond the often hyperbolic headlines, Israel's practices in conflict are widely seen in military circles as representing among the highest levels of morality seen anywhere in t...

Given the continued failure of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement to effect grievous economic harm on the Jewish State, anti-Israel activists have pivoted in recent years to using international legal outlets to attack and defame the country. In addition to using legal forums like The Hague and the International Criminal Court (ICC), these activists have also used rhetoric to help push...

Unfortunately, Israel is no stranger to terrorist attacks. Whether suicide bombings, stabbings, or car rammings, for many decades, Israelis have become accustomed to living in an environment of additional sensitivity to their surroundings. These attacks, whether perpetrated by "lone wolf" attackers or from Islamist groups like Hamas or Islamic Jihad, have killed and injured scores of Israelis, wit...

When it comes to reporting on Jewish communities in Judea & Samaria, nuance isn’t exactly something often seen in the news media. Whether disdainfully referring to them as illegal Jewish settlements, or claiming that their existence violates international law, or even that they are the single biggest obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians, it can be hard to separate truth from fic...

On June 11, 2003, Sarri Singer was heading to a restaurant in Jerusalem to meet friends for dinner. In her 20s, she was an American volunteering in Israel. But while taking the bus to the restaurant, a Palestinian suicide bomber exploded his vest, killing himself and 17 other innocent civilians. Sarri was injured, but she survived. Tragically, all those around her on the bus did not survive. After...

Israel may not often get a fair shake in the news media, but what's the cause - and the solution? Is the problem inherent bias on the part of journalists, is it a more sophisticated messaging on the part of anti-Israel activists, or is the complexity of the conflict that makes Israel inevitably have a more challenging time? Few individuals know the truth better than Avi Mayer. Mayer has served as...

If you were told the word "Italy," what words come to mind? Pasta, beautiful, or cobblestones perhaps? If you were told the word China, perhaps you'd think of The Great Wall, The Yangtze River, or Chinese food. But when people think of Israel, what words come to mind? Even among Jews, Israel is often associated with anti-Israel disinformation. How did anti-Israel groups brand Israel so succes...

Perhaps you've heard the point made before that Jews, far from being illegal occupiers in the land of Israel, are in fact indigenous to the region. But what exactly does indigenous mean, and can the Jewish claim to Israel really hold up to that kind of claim? Ryan Bellerose certainly knows. As a Metis from Alberta, he has become one of the world's pre-eminent activists on behalf of Israel and Jewi...

Day in and day out, anti-Israel activists, whether on campus, on social media, or on the pages of daily newspapers, seek to defame Israel. And it seems that despite the herculean efforts of the Jewish and pro-Israel world to fight back, there’s still an important voice missing: personal stories. Hananya Naftali is one of the world’s most recognized personal stories. A young Israeli, formerly havin...

Every day Israel is hailed as a colonialist and apartheid state by its opponents. However, nothing could be further from the truth; and yet this reality of Israel being defamed as a colonialist state persist. Why is it so dangerous and problematic? In this week's episode of The Honest Report Podcast, we sit down with Ysabella Hazan, a Montrealer and law student at the University of Ottawa, who is...

Before the advent of social media, getting your message out to the wider public was not always an easy task, but since the explosion of social media in the last 15 years, anyone with internet access can spread their message to the world. This democratization was supposed to be a good thing, but things haven't turned out that way. Anti-Israel activists have used social media platforms like Facebook...

Around the world, Holocaust denial continues to spread its ugly and hateful message, claiming that the Nazi Holocaust either didn't happen, or that the numbers are greatly exaggerated. But the challenge to truth isn't just hate; it also comes from ignorance and apathy. In recent surveys, significant numbers of respondents, especially younger people, claim little knowledge of the Holocaust. But the...

Anti-Israel activists are busy spreading propaganda about the Jewish State, and often it can seem like the challenge is insurmountable. After all, the anti-Israel movement is so large and well-funded, how can its false claims be effectively challenged? While it may not be possible to directly reach everyone, when promising young university students spend time studying in Israel, this can be one of...

Israel is known around the world as Start-Up Nation, and as a fast-rising technological hub. But Israel's technological innovations have meant more than just a growing Israeli economy; Israeli innovations have also helped to improve living conditions for people around the world, including in Africa. In this week's edition of The Honest Report podcast, we sit down with Aryeh Green, Chief Strategy O...

When the Syrian Civil War erupted in 2011, a human rights catastrophe soon followed. Syrian civilians, seeking safety and often treatment for injuries. Neighbouring Israel, as it often does, opened its borders to Syrian refugees, and offered them medical treatment in a safe and secure setting. In this week's edition of The Honest Report podcast, we sit down with Lt. Colonel (Res) Eyal Dror, who le...

The anti-Israel movement characterizes itself as a moral beacon calling out the alleged crimes committed by the Jewish State. But their allegations are frequently characterized by ignorance, malice, and quite often, racism. In this week's episode of The Honest Report, we sit down with Tyler Samuels, a Toronto-based Jew of Colour and social media influencer, for his take on how the supposedly progr...

China is the world's most populous country, and depending on how one measures it, either the largest economy in the world, or the second, and likely to become the first in a decade. As China continues its ascent, how does the Chinese media represent Israel, and how is the Jewish State portrayed by the news media in the world's most populous country? In this episode of The Honest Report, we sit dow...

When it comes to Israel, the news media tends to oversimplify the realities on the ground. And that means for Canadians reading, watching or listening to the news, they aren't getting a full picture about Israel, notably about the 25% of the population which is non-Jewish, and the full civil and democratic rights they enjoy as Israeli citizens. In this week's edition of The Honest Report, we sit d...

With a growing Iranian presence throughout the Middle East, what tools does Israel have at its disposal to counter the Iranian regime's efforts, and how are these complexities reported in the international news media? In this week's edition of The Honest Report podcast, we sit down with Professor Mordechai Kedar, an internationally-renowned speaker, lecturer and scholar on the Middle East and Arab...

Since its inception, the BDS movement against Israel has not only sought to demonize the Jewish State, but to intimidate Jewish students and anyone connected with Israel. At the University of Toronto, the anti-Israel campaign of intimidation has continued for years, but recently, a Jewish student secured a major victory on campus, with the university administration withholding more than $10,000 in...

Why are the populations of some countries more supportive of Israel, while in other countries, the population holds a generally more hostile view of Israel? In no small measure, this is a testament to how supportive of Israel the local government is, and the level of free press the country enjoys. In this week's edition of The Honest Report podcast, we sit down with Annika Hernroth-Rothstein, a Sw...

In a number of Western democratic countries, taxpayers are helping to fund NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) which are demonizing Israel and helping to advocate for the BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions) movement against the Jewish State. In this episode of The Honest Report podcast, we sit down with Professor Gerald Steinberg, founder and president of NGO Monitor, which tracks this nefarious...

Jerusalem is not just a holy city, but a contested city. And anti-Israel activists are working hard in an attempt to de-Judaize the city and in turn, harm Israel's character as a Jewish and democratic state with Jerusalem as its capital. In this week's edition of The Honest Report podcast, we sit down with Arieh King, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, member of the city council, and founder of the Israel...

In the words of legendary Israeli diplomat Abba Eban: the Palestinians have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. But have the Palestinians simply missed opportunities, or have their rejections been more strategic? Is it incompetence or malice? In this edition of The Honest Report podcast, we sit down with Dr. Einat Wilf, former Member of Knesset and co-author of the book "The War of...

In recent weeks, there have been two separate incidents of students performing the Nazi salute in Toronto public schools, specifically directed at teachers. These incidents have been widely reported by the news media, but despite the widespread outrage and condemnation, there is a major element of the story being missed in reporting. To help understand the real story, in this episode of The Honest...