HonestReporting Canada

Recently, two Jews were viciously beaten in New York City because one of them was wearing an Israel Defense Forces sweater. Lest there be any doubt that the motivations were antisemitic, anti-Jewish slurs were made at the victims during the assault. Despite the cries of critics, when Jews are assaulted for daring to express their affiliation with Israel, it's antisemitism, pure and simple.

In a world of nearly 8 billion people, and more than 200 countries, the only Jewish state, with a small population, attracts condemnation and hate immensely disproportionate to its size, but why? None of the accusations made against Israel can justify this outsized hatred, and it's time for the media to stand up and say so.

2021 had no shortage of major news stories, whether the insurrection of the U.S. capitol in Washington, the ongoing Covid pandemic, or the American pullout from Afghanistan, but despite these major news stories, a recent Time Magazine issue profiling 100 top news photos of the year, featured on its front cover a likely staged anti-Israel image propaganda image. In fact, three of the 100 images selected by Time Magazine editors were anti-Israel. In a year of so many important news stories, it was shameful that Time Magazine chose to single Israel out for exclusive censure and condemnation.

A recent Washington Post article reported that in 2020 and 2021, Israel had carried out a number of air strikes on Syrian chemical weapons sites, which effectively stopped Bashar Assad's regime from acquiring chemical weapons. It did the same in 2007, when it destroyed a nascent Syrian nuclear reactor. And although Israel receives no recognition for its actions, the reality is that thanks to the Jewish State, both Israelis and Syrians are safer as a result of the Assad regime being denied chemical weapons.

Only a few months after tacitly accusing Israel of providing Covid vaccines only to its Jewish population, Michael Che of Saturday Night Live (SNL) is at it again. In a recent episode, Che made a snide comment about Jews, once again under the pretense of humour, claiming that Jewish people in Israel can't make wine. Saturday Night Live: unlike award-winning Israeli wines, leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

When a recent video hack revealed widespread torture at an Iranian prison, Iranian officials wasted no time in speaking out against the incident. For decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has used torture with brutal effectiveness against its own people and to intimidate its population into silence. Will the news media report this incident as having been isolated or as being systemic and reflective of the true face of the Iranian regime?

Two thousand years ago, the Syrian Greek Empire attempted to assimilate the Jewish people in Israel. Today, as we mark the final day of Chanukah, the students' union at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus, attempted a similar battle when it passed a motion banning kosher caterers unless they were anti Israel. Find out why this effort was rife with bigotry and Jew hatred.

Only four years after moving its embassy to Jerusalem, the U.S. is now looking to open a consulate serving the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem, which Israel views as an effective slap in the face. While Israel says it will not allow such an effort to undermine its legitimacy in its eternal and undivided capital, in reality, the move is a highly significant attack on Israel’s claims to the holy city and it serves to prejudge a final status issue that the parties must negotiate.

Recently, Israel blacklisted six Palestinian NGO's for their connections to terrorism, accused them of funneling foreign aid to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a proscribed terror group which has murdered innocent Israelis. Instead of lauding Israel for the move, much of the international media has issued condemnations alleging that the Jewish state was attempting to quash dissent instead of daring to defend its citizens from terror attacks.

For years, anti-Israel and antisemitic content has filled Palestinian school textbooks, even earning a harsh rebuke from the European Union (EU) Parliament this past April, but despite the criticism, little seems to have changed. Palestinian textbooks, which demonize Israel and Jews are a major obstacle to peace, and are effectively child abuse, harming both Palestinians and Israelis, but will the Canadian media report on it?

A new video game scheduled for release in December 2021 glorifies the killing of Israeli soldiers. The game, titled Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, depicts a recently released Palestinian prisoner attempting to "free Palestine" by attacking and killing Israeli soldiers, and who calls out "God is great" when a soldier is killed. At a time when Jews worldwide are the number one targets for hate crimes, and with social media and gaming platforms being powerful breeding grounds for antisemitism, this video game will only serve to glorify the killing, not just of Israeli soldiers, but of all Israelis, and by extension Jews. Will the media take notice?

Recently, a school administrator in Texas was caught on tape telling teachers that they should teach an "opposing" side of the Holocaust. While pushback was immediate and the school board quickly clarified the veracity of the Holocaust is not up for debate, but as we mark Holocaust Education Week, it's never been more important to draw the line between truth and fiction, and to protect the facts.

In mid-September, a demonstration took place in downtown Ottawa calling for the destruction of Israel. Equally appalling, protestors called for the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails without distinguishing from those who have blood on their hands and are convicted terrorists. Canada is a vibrant democracy with freedom of expression and assembly, but at the very least, a demonstration replete with genocidal proclamations warrants a strong condemnation from politicians, journalists and opinion makers alike.

In September, more than 300 influential Iraqis gathered in the northern city of Erbil for a conference aimed at promoting peace between Iraq and Israel. It featured influential religious leaders and high level bureaucrats, in what was likely the first event of its kind. But within days, in the face of threats from the Iraqi government and an influential Shia Islamic cleric, many of the speakers recanted their pro-peace views. Despite this setback, if peace will ever spread throughout the Middle East, those who take a chance on peace must be acknowledged and promoted. Tragically, the silence of the Canadian news media in covering this story only serves to harm the cause of peace in the region.

In every conflict between Israel and Hamas, the world media tallies up death tolls and Israel is invariably accused of a "disproportionate response" by journalists, critics in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and by the United Nations. But when looking at the actual casualty figures, it becomes quickly apparent that, far from being a "disproportionate response," the number of Palestinians injured or killed is actually significantly less dramatic than the news coverage would suggest, especially in comparison to worldwide deaths due to conflict. Even more so, when you look at the breakdown of casualties, there's almost a 1:1 ratio of combatant to civilian casualties, which explains why Israel has an earned moniker for being the most moral army in the world. Learn how the media (mis)reports Palestinian casualty numbers to tarnish Israel's reputation.

Since the Taliban took over much of Afghanistan, the media have been mute on the alarming parallel between the Taliban and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Both regimes oppress women, persecute minorities, kill gays, jail journalists, sponsor terrorism, chant "death to the West" and call for the genocide of Jews, but the media have been mute on the disturbing similarities between these tyrannical regimes. Learn how Iran and the Taliban are two birds of the same feather who flock together.