Over the last 16 months, many corners of the Canadian news media have portrayed Israeli society in very broad, generic terms, frequently depicting them, or at least large swathes of them, as seeking to-settle Gaza, for example, and to expel Gazans.

But hardly surprisingly, it turns out that such views are remarkably marginal in Israel, though news coverage has suggested otherwise. In so doing, news outlets have framed Israelis as being extremist and fanatical, when the reality is very different.

To help us wade through the truth about Israelis, and what much of the Canadian news media either doesn't know or otherwise has shown little interest in explaining, we are joined by Yair Ettinger. He is an Israeli journalist with a focus on religion in Israeli society, a former fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, and the author of the book Frayed: The disputes unraveling religious Zionists.

Yair joins us as our guest this week.

In the late 1940s, nearly a million people indigenous to the Middle East were effectively exiled from their homes and faced violent repression, simply for who they were.

But if you think their story has been told by the news media, think again. They were Jews from Arab lands and Iran, numbering some 800,000 strong. And although their stories vary, their history is as relevant today as it was 75 years ago.

To help us delve deeper into these Jews and their largely untold story, we are joined by Martin Himel. Martin is an award-winning filmmaker, and he joins us to discuss his new film, The Forgotten Exodus: Jews from Arab Lands, which tells the story that the news media has forgotten.

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Recent months have seen a number of people in Canada suspected of planning mass casualty terrorist attacks identified, from a father and son allegedly members of the Islamic State, to a man attempting to cross into the United States from Quebec, allegedly trying to bomb a Jewish centre in Brooklyn.

So what exactly is happening behind the scenes on the legislative, legal and other levels to strengthen Canadians against extremism and terrorism?

To help give us an inside look, we are joined by Sheryl Saperia. She is the chief executive of Secure Canada, a non-profit organization dedicated to combating terrorism and extremism by creating innovative and transformative laws, policies, and alliances that strengthen Canada’s national security and democracy.

Yipeng Ge is an Ottawa physician. He is also a supporter of terrorism, having praised Hamas multiple times on social media, and following the terrorist pogrom in Amsterdam, posted an approving image to his followers.

He may be the most infamous, but he's far from the only person in Canadian medicine to glorify Hamas and to demonize Israel. How deep is this rot, how did it happen, and what will it take for the news media and the relevant medical bodies to take notice?

To help us understand the depth of the problem and what can be done about it, we are joined by Dr. Yoni Freedhoff. He is an associate professor of family medicine at the University of Ottawa, and founder and medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute, a weight management clinic. He is also an outspoken advocate for Israel and against Jew-hate.

For the casual observer, it can be difficult to keep track of events in the Middle East. After October 7, the war seemingly was between Hamas and Israel, before Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen and other groups joined in.

But all these terrorist groups are not independent, but mere proxies, often called tentacles of the same octopus: the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Hezbollah, by far, is the strongest of these terror proxies, and while it has suffered many setbacks in recent weeks, it remains a serious threat to Israel. So what, if anything, will force Iran to cease its relentless war against Israel?

To help navigate this complex reality behind the headlines, we are joined by Hanin Ghaddar. She is a journalist and the Friedmann Senior Fellow in The Washington Institute's Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics, where she focuses on Shia politics throughout the Levant.

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The last year has unmasked for all to see the level of infiltration by anti-Israel and anti-Jewish extremists, in multiple areas: in the news media, in politics, in universities, and even in public schools.

But noticing a problem and doing something about it are two different things. That's where JEFA has come in. JEFA, or Jewish Educators and Families Association, which also counts many non-Jews among its ranks, was founded in the wake of October 7 and has since become a powerful resource gathering students, educators and faculty members in schools across Canada to help combat the insidious and hateful campaign being waged there.

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After ignoring a year of incessant Hezbollah terrorism on Israel, the news media is now devoting extensive news coverage to it as a result of Israel responding.

Against Hezbollah, what can be the end game for Israel, particularly in light of discussions around a truce being pushed by Washington? And with news coverage portraying Israel, and not the terrorist group, as the aggressor, what is the path for peace?

To help us untangle fact from fiction, we are joined by Michael Rubin. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where his expertise focuses on Iran, Turkey and the broader Middle East. A former Pentagon official, he has lived in post-revolution Iran, Yemen, and both pre- and postwar Iraq.

Israeli misdeeds, knowing that they will be rarely challenged by news media outlets.

But that doesn't make their claims any closer to the truth.

Andrew Fox knows that well. Having served three tours in Afghanistan, as well as in Bosnia, northern Ireland and elsewhere in the Middle East, he is a former major in the British military who served as a paratrooper and a senior lecturer at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he currently is a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society.

As an expert on urban warfare, he is also an outspoken advocate seeking to ensure that media outlets articulate the truth, and not just Hamas propaganda.

Major Andrew Fox joins us as our guest this week.

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A year after Hamas' genocidal massacres on October 7, and the world has long forgotten, at least much of it. It has forgotten not just the brutality and the demonic viciousness, but the deliberate randomness of it, how Hamas terrorists intentionally went after civilians, young or old, it didn't matter.

But the world cannot forget, and Igal Hecht, a Toronto filmmaker and creator of Chutzpa Productions Inc, is releasing a new film, The Killing Roads, telling the stories of the highways and roads where Hamas terrorists massacred unsuspecting motorists during their invasion.

The film will be released for free across social media, as well as at thekillingroads.com, on October 1, and Igal joins us as our guest this week.

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In South Asia, Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country with a sizeable Hindu minority, which in recent weeks has suffered an outburst of violence, in just the latest chapter of harassment going back more than 100 years. And, like Israel, the news media has often downplayed the concerns of Hindus in Bangladesh, and that's when the story gets reported at all.

To help us understand this context more deeply, we are joined by Rishabh Sarswat, the president of CoHNA, the Coalition of Hindus of North America.

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