The Honest Report

In the aftermath of Gaza's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Paul FInlayson, a non-Jewish professor at the University of Guelph-Humber, took to social media with a fiery defence of Jerusalem and rhetorical attack on Palestinian terrorism.

That didn't sit well with others, who soon launched a coordinated effort that resulted in Finlayson's suspension, and in recent days, the formal termination of his employment.

Critics have said what happened to Finlayson is an assault both on free expression and academic freedoms, but beyond selective coverage in a handful of outlets, Canadians would be hard-pressed to see any mention of his saga in major newspapers and broadcasters.

Scenes where self-described progressives marching with anti-Israel placards and Palestinian flags might be a source of endless mockery and derision, but they represent a real effort by hardline anti-Israel activists to hijack the progressive cause, all under the guise of the religion of 'Palestinianism.'

How did this movement allow itself to be taken over so quickly, and is there hope for it to find its way out of this morass? To help us understand this situation, we are joined by Pat Johnson. He is a commentator and ally to the Jewish community, a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a progressive who has become vocal in the last two years, decrying the obscenity of progressive leaders embracing a hateful and decidedly non-progressive movement.

In October, 2024, the Law Union of Ontario held their 50th anniversary conference, titled "Revolutionary Advocacy." Its keynote speaker was Harsha Walia, who is alleged to have led "Death to Canada" chants at an anti-Israel protest hosted by Samidoun, the designated terrorist organization.

If an Ontario lawyer participated in that conference, they would have received credit from the Law Society of Ontario, and that infuriated Ontario human rights lawyer Bryant Greenbaum, who soon filed a complaint against the society for recognizing the validity of such an event and its speaker.

But the LSO did not apologize or backtrack, which forced Greenbaum to take both them and the host, the Law Union of Ontario, to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. 

Public schools aren't just one front in the extremists' war against Israel and Jews in the Western world, it is one of the biggest opportunities. This is where anti-Israel activists have attempted to twist reality and demonize anyone who challenges their revisionist take on history, and where hateful students have taken out their anger at Israel on Jewish students.

But now one lawyer is fighting back. After one Jewish girl in Mississauga, Ontario, was allegedly bullied by her peers - and while authorities allegedly did little to stop it - local lawyer Jamie Spotswood stepped in, and is suing the girl's teacher, principal and superintendent, as well as the Peel District School Board. He is working with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs’ Legal Task Force on the case.

Jamie joins us on our podcast this week to discuss the case, and why it may open the door for more litigation elsewhere.

While it is anyone's guess whether the Iranian regime will survive the war with Israel, one thing is clear: that the Islamic Republic of Iran's control over its people is weaker now than it was in recent memory, and that means a lot of senior officials will be looking to make their exit.

That deeply concerns people like Mojdeh Shahriari, an Iranian-Canadian lawyer in Vancouver and co-founder of StopIRGC, a group aimed at preventing members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the regime's military and security arm, from entering Canada.

Mojdeh joined us to discuss the widespread presence that IRGC officials already have in Canada, the hands-off approach from political leaders that has allowed them to come and stay, and why a lot more of them will be attempting to make that move soon.

Welcome to the Honest Report podcast.

Before October 7, 2023, and the Palestinian terrorist invasion of Israel that day, Jon Fraser was a technology executive, executive coach and keynote speaker in Toronto. He still is, but since then, living and working in downtown Toronto, he has become a vocal opponent of the regular hate rallies which have plagued the area over the last 20 months.

Since then, under the permissive eye of law enforcement, politicians and with the silent approval of most news media outlets, these pro-Hamas rallies have been scenes of utter lawlessness. But Fraser, who has been a witness to it firsthand, has since become a prominent voice on social media, where he castigates authorities who have done nothing in the face of these hate rallies.

Masha Kleiner is a Vancouver-based software engineer, writer, blogger and rock climber. She had her hands full. But after Hamas' October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel, she found more time to do more, because more needed to be done.

Since then, she has become a one-woman activist organization, spearheading pro-Israel rallies, direct action, educational and advocacy campaigns, petitions, counter-protests, stickers, and more.

Masha's efforts, ranging from showing up to the University of British Columbia with a sign that says "I am a Zionist, ask me a question," to showing Canadian support for Israel in downtown Vancouver, have redefined pro-Israel efforts in the city, making them more vocal, more present, and more powerful.

The lessons from her activism have also uncovered a truth unreported in the media: that small anti-Israel protests do not reflect the will of Canadians, as she has learned first-hand.

Masha's story isn't just about one person, but about what others can do when they see a need not being addressed, and they step up to address it. Masha joins us as our guest this week.

After brief but intense skirmishes between India and Pakistan, a tense quiet has taken hold over South Asia as the two powers agreed to a US-backed ceasefire.

Those battles came in the aftermath of a bloody terrorist attack in northwestern India on April 22 which killed dozens of people at the hands of Islamic terrorists.

That attack was not an isolated massacre, but just the latest salvo from Islamic fundamentalists in the region. While thousands of kilometres may separate Israel and India, both countries face similar threats from similar fanatical extremists hell-bent on murdering as many people as possible.

To help us make sense out of this story and what is not being reported by the news media, we are joined by Guneet Singh. He is the founder of the CanAm Network, an independent news media outlet based in Vancouver.

While they may seem like two separate issues, anti-Israel disinformation in the news media and anti-Jewish hate crimes are actually very much intertwined.

Thanks to the incessant anti-Israel propaganda frequently disseminated by news media outlets, a message continues to be made to Canadians: that Israel, the Jewish State, is a genocidal regime, and by extension, its supporters are culpable too.

But not only is this factually wrong, it's a hateful defamation, and joining us to help us understand this linkage is Richard Robertson, the Manager of Research for B'nai Brith Canada, which recently released its annual audit of anti-Jewish hate crimes.

A recent explosive exposé in Blacklock's Reporter, an Ottawa-based news outlet, unmasked that the federal government in early 2024 spent nearly $130,000 on monitoring pro-Israel social media accounts, ostensibly under the guise of monitoring right-wing extremism.

Tom Korski, the news outlet's managing editor, was our guest this week to discuss how they uncovered this story, what it means for Canadians, and the lessons for news media outlets across the country.