The Honest Report

Ken Timmerman is an author and former foreign correspondent who was once held captive by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1982 during the First Lebanon War.

He's also worked as a journalist in Egypt and Iraq. His newest book, "And the Rest is History, Tales of Hostages, Arms Dealers, Dirty Tricks and Spies", is a biographical account of his experiences as a war correspondent in the Middle East.

In this week's episode of The Honest Report, we sit down with Ken to discuss his own experiences, as well as his perspective on how journalism, and in particular war journalism in the Middle East, has changed in the last 40 years.

Welcome to The Honest Report podcast.

While the BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions) movement portrays itself as a grassroots campaign using legal means to combat alleged Israeli crimes, at its core, the movement is radically different.

In addition to spreading anti-Israel disinformation, BDS campaigners also frequently use tools of discrimination in their attempt to demonize the Jewish State. While these efforts can take place anywhere, college and university campuses, as well as inside the halls of government, are frequent targets for this battleground aimed at delegitimizing Israel.

In the face of these campaigns, many pro-Israel efforts have been launched in response, including the use of legal means. In this week's podcast, we sit down with Ron Machol, the Israel-based Chief Operating Officer of Zachor Legal Institute. Ron has a hi-tech background and is responsible for project development and outreach at the organization.

Welcome to The Honest Report podcast.

Antisemitism, often called history's oldest hatred, has a habit of reinventing itself in order to stay a powerful force. In contemporary times, antisemitism has often hidden behind a veneer of anti-Zionism, but its core anti-Jewish nature has not changed.

Despite antisemitism's changing face, only with continuing ignorance can it be given oxygen, and that's where an innovative and interactive new exhibit, soon to be launched across Canada, will add a unique voice.

In this week's podcast, we sit down with Sam Eskenasi. Sam is the Director of Advocacy for La'ad Canada, a non-profit advocacy organization taking a different approach when it comes to educating the general public about Israel and the Jewish People.

The claim that Israel is an illegal occupier of Palestinian land is arguably the most common allegation made against the Jewish State. This broadside, disseminated by anti-Israel activists, positions Israel as having no legitimate basis in international law.

But beyond the rhetoric, does international law back up this statement, or does Israel possess legal rights to the land in question, including Judea & Samaria (often called the West Bank). To help answer this question, HonestReporting Canada is joined by Avi Bell, Professor of Law at Bar Ilan University, who has extensive experience in writing and lecturing on this topic.

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In some respects, the Middle East is changing so quickly for the better, it can be difficult to keep track. Israel’s relationships with a growing number of Muslim-majority countries, for example, is a relatively recent trend, but one where more promise exists.

But in other ways, things in the Middle East seem to be staying the same, or getting worse. Incitement from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and attempts to erase Jewish history from the region continue unabated. Criticism from the United States and European Union, focusing on Israel’s security decisions, has become only more pointed recently.

Despite Israel’s economic success, why have some Western powers become increasingly emboldened to repeatedly attack Israel’s security decisions, while saying precious little about the Palestinian Authority?

Our guest on this week’s podcast is David Weinberg. David is a columnist with the Jerusalem Post who has held a series of public positions, including senior advisor to deputy prime minister Natan Sharansky and coordinator of the Global Forum Against Anti-Semitism in the Prime Minister's Office; spokesman of Bar-Ilan University, and many other roles, who will help shine light on what is spurring on this trend of Western criticism, and how the new Israeli government may respond.

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On the evening of January 14, tens of thousands of Israelis – by some estimates, more than 80,000, or nearly one percent of Israel’s entire population – gathered in Tel Aviv to protest a move by the new government, criticizing what they called an attack on Israeli democracy.

Similar protests were held in Haifa and Jerusalem.

While news media outlets reported on the attempts by the new government to “overhaul the judiciary,” what are the facts beyond the headlines?

To help us make sense out of this complex issue, we are joined in this week’s podcast by Barry Shaw. Barry is the Senior Associate for Public Diplomacy at the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies and hosts a weekly interview program, The View from Israel.

Barry joins us to also shine a light on the other strategic challenges facing the Jewish State in 2023, including the Iranian nuclear threat, but also a possible role for Israel in helping to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Welcome to The Honest Report podcast.

The ongoing issue of Palestinian incitement against Israel and Jews, in general, has long been an obstacle to peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

In territories under the Palestinian Authority (PA), to say nothing of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip, Israel is frequently and widely demonized and delegitimized as a Jewish state, and general and overt antisemitism is used as a means to attack Israel.

This messaging, often coming from official Palestinian Authority outlets, is significantly at odds with the public persona put forward by PA President Mahmoud Abbas to global audiences, which is pro-peace.

And if you've ever seen an Arabic-language video of a Palestinian representative being candid and less than diplomatic in speaking about Israel or Jews, there's a good chance it was from MEMRI.

MEMRI, or the Middle East Media Research Institute, is a nonprofit press monitoring and analysis organization that provides translation of media outlets from a number of languages, including Arabic.

MEMRI's deputy director, Elliot Zweig, is our guest on this week's podcast.

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Two months after Israelis voted in their fifth election in three years, Israel has a new government - of sorts. Though Benjamin Netanyahu is back as Israel's prime minister, the composition of the new governing coalition is different than what it's been in the past, and some new members of the government, as a result of their right-leaning politics, have attracted a lot of criticism from the news media and elsewhere.

But how much of the criticism of Israel's government is accurate, and how much is simply a relic of knee-jerk anti-Israel sentiment?

To help separate fact from fiction, our guest on this week's podcast is Lahav Harkov. Lahav is the Senior Contributing Editor and Diplomatic Correspondent of The Jerusalem Post, and is well-connected to the country's top lawmakers and diplomats.

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For years, news media outlets have covered the topic of small Jewish outposts built in Judea & Samaria (West Bank), which Israeli law considers illegal. But these outposts, despite the media attention paid to them, pale in number compared to Palestinian outposts, built in part due to funds from the Palestinian Authority.

According to Regavim, an Israeli organization which monitors such activity, there have been 80,000 such Palestinian structures built on this land since 2009, but it garners virtually no media attention.

Our guest this week is Naomi Kahn, the Director of Regavim's International Division, who shares with us her organization's work in monitoring this construction, why the Israeli government has permitted such construction to take place for so many years, and how the incoming Knesset may potentially change this pattern.

Welcome to The Honest Report podcast.

There's more attention than ever before being paid to Israel's diplomatic relations with Arab & Muslim-majority countries. Due to the Abraham Accords, Israel's relations with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have attracted headlines, but also other states like Morocco, Sudan, Kosovo, and others.

But Azerbaijan, for its part, has not garnered as much media coverage, despite 30 years of ties between Azerbaijan and Israel.

Home to as many as 30,000 Jews, Azerbaijan is located in Central Asia and finds itself sandwiched between Russia to the north, Turkey to the west, and Iran to the south. So what does Jewish life - and relations with Israel - mean to this country of 10 million people?

In this week's podcast, we sit down with Dave Gordon. Dave is a freelance journalist and editor who recently traveled to Azerbaijan on a Jewish fact-finding mission, and he's joining us today with his findings.

Welcome to The Honest Report podcast.