HonestReporting Canada

In early July, Israel carried out a major counter-terrorism operation in the Jenin refugee camp, which for years has been an epicentre of Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel. Although the operation was over in only two days, Israel seized and destroyed a large cache of weapons, and said it killed 18 Palestinian armed combatants, without killing a single Palestinian civilian. Not only does Israel have a right to defend itself, but its ability to minimize Palestinian civilian casualties is noteworthy, though it often goes unreported by the news media.

According to a recent survey conducted by Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), based on a two-year review of posts on Twitter, Israel is accused of violating human rights more than any other country in the world. The report found that Israel faces those accusations on social media 38 times more than Iran, and more than 100 times more than North Korea. Both of those regimes widely abuse their citizen’s human rights, in contrast to Israel, a liberal democracy that guarantees its people’s rights.

In late June, Natural Resources Canada announced a major investment in an advanced earthquake detection system developed by Tel Aviv University, in partnership with SeismicAI, an Israeli hi-tech company. The Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system aims to provide advanced notice for Canadians in high-risk areas, so they can find safety before a large-scale earthquake strikes. This Canadian investment in Israeli know-how could potentially save countless lives should such a natural disaster take place in Canada. Although often covered by the news media when conflict takes place, Israel’s true impact is helping to make the world a better place.

On May 30, a Polish-Canadian historian of the Holocaust at the University of Ottawa, Jan Grabowski, was scheduled to deliver a lecture in Warsaw, Poland about Polish complicity in the Holocaust and the Polish government’s attempts to whitewash its history. But Grabowski was unable to deliver his lecture because a Polish politician with a history of making antisemitic comments, Grzegorz Braun, physically disrupted the event and prevented Grabowski from sharing his research. With the number of Holocaust survivors decreasing, the need has never been greater to preserve their memories accurately and not let the history of the Holocaust get whitewashed to benefit Nazi collaborators.

Recently, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, visited southern Lebanon and was within striking distance of Israel, where he proclaimed that recent events in the region “will lead to the collapse of the Zionist entity.” His words are more than just rhetoric; Iran’s regime is an active funder and supplier to Hezbollah, the Shiite Islamist terrorist group operating in southern Lebanon, which threatens Israel’s existence. It’s time the news media shine a light on Iran and Hezbollah’s genocidal aims.

Calgary’s Mount Royal University (MRU) is scheduled to present the “Calgary Peace Prize” on May 18 to Mohammed El-Kurd, one of the world’s most prominent anti-Israel activists. The prize claims to recognize El-Kurd’s “exemplary contribution toward peace and justice,” but El-Kurd is no human rights activist; he has frequently shared anti-Israel disinformation and even antisemitic propaganda with his large social media following and regularly glorifies Palestinian terrorists. Why is a publicly-funded institution presenting this prize to such an individual, and where is the media coverage?

In early June, residents in Ontario’s Kawartha region, known for its scenic natural beauty, received antisemitic flyers delivered to their homes. The flyers accused Jews of controlling the media, of “the Covid agenda,” “child grooming,” and more. But the flyers aren’t an isolated incident; a Florida-based hate group called Goyim Defense League (GDL) is behind the effort, and members of the organization have harassed Jews in multiple cities in the United States. While the news media may not be aware of this threat, it still must be taken seriously.

In mid-June, the British government introduced a bill which, if passed by Parliament, would ban local councils across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales from passing anti-Israel boycott resolutions. The bill has received support from the British government’s Jewish community, but is being actively opposed by anti-Israel groups, who are pressuring their local Members of Parliament (MPs) to oppose the legislation. Despite opposition, the legislation marks an important step in holding local councils accountable for anti-Israel campaigns, and is a step that Canada should follow.

This past week, Israel commemorated Yom Hazikaron, its annual day of remembrance and memorial for its fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. Since 1860, more than 24,000 Israelis and those visiting Israel have died as a result of attacks. On Yom Hazikaron, much of Israel comes to a complete standstill at 11 am local time, when sirens across the country blare for one minute in remembrance of those who fell. While the news media doesn’t always show, it's an image that tells the true story of Israel: persistence in the face of adversity and a solemn and powerful reminder of Israel’s sacrifices.

Jerusalem is more than just the capital of Israel, and the home to the holiest sites in Judaism, as well as locations of huge importance for Christianity and Islam. It is also a diverse, cosmopolitan city, but also deeply religiously conservative. Despite this, Jerusalem is also host to a large Pride Parade every year, attracting as many as 25,000 revelers. This year on June 1, Jerusalem’s Pride Parade is held, showcasing Israel’s commitment to tolerance and equal protection under the law for all its citizens.

In late July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a new proposal: a $35 billion dollar (CAD) high-speed train, which would travel from Kiryat Shmona in Israel’s north, all the way to the port city of Eilat, in southern Israel. The train, which would travel as fast as 250 kilometres per hour, could do more than connect Israel; it could also serve as a future link between the Jewish State and Saudi Arabia, should a bilateral agreement be signed establishing relations. Israel’s planning of a high-speed railway represents more than just a new train line; it also represents the country’s investment in the future.

It was less than 80 years ago that Germany’s Nazi party invaded Europe, targeting the continent’s Jews for mass murder. But today, Germany and Israel – the Jewish State – enjoy close relations in many areas, including economic, diplomatic, defence, and cultural. Recently, German’s parliament approved a large self-defence deal with Israel, and also released a strategic document, which placed major importance on Berlin’s ties with the Jewish State. In just a few decades, Germany has become an indispensable friend and ally of Israel – and the future looks even brighter.

On June 3, an Egyptian border police officer murdered three innocent Israeli soldiers in an unprovoked attack. The attack, though a rarity, highlights an uncomfortable truth in Egypt: despite the country’s 44-year-old peace treaty with Israel, hostility towards the Jewish State runs extremely high, and the vast majority of Egyptians oppose official ties with the country. True peace means more than just an absence of war; as shown with Israel’s recent ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it means a true embrace of coexistence between two peoples.

In early April, 23-year-old Zuhair al-Ghaleeth was shot and dumped into an unmarked grave outside the city of Nablus. According to Lion’s Den, a Palestinian terrorist group that claimed responsibility for his murder, he was a “collaborator” with Israel. Even after his death, his family refused to accept his body for burial, and all but disowned him. Where is the news media coverage when it comes to Palestinians murdered by their own?

At a recent United Nations conference on the “Nakba,” the Arabic word meaning "catastrophe", in regard to Israel’s independence in 1948, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas compared Israel to Nazi Germany, specifically Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. Only months after Abbas claimed that Israel had committed “50 Holocausts” against the Palestinians, it’s time for the news media – and the world at large – to hold the Palestinian leader to account for his false and inciting words.

In recent days, Iran and the United States announced a tentative deal, which would see both countries release a number of prisoners, and the United States would unfreeze billions in Iranian funds, locked due to sanctions. While the funds are officially to be used exclusively for humanitarian purposes, Tehran is already making clear it can spend the money however it wants, a chilling spectre, given the regime’s extensive funding for terrorist groups. As critics of the deal fear the agreement serves as a ransom that will incentivize and underwrite more terrorism and hostage-taking, it’s time that the news media shine a critical light on this tentative deal, and make sure that Iran is held to account.

In September 1993, Israel and the Palestinians signed what became known as the Oslo Accords, representing an interim agreement meant to help pave the way for longer-term peace negotiations. But over the last three decades, the Palestinian leadership has repeatedly violated the core tenets of the accords, undermining any realistic prospect of peace with Israel.

In early August, Hollywood actor Jamie Foxx shared a cryptic post on Instagram, saying “They killed this dude name Jesus,” and soon shared another user’s post which read, in part: “Judas showed His Self!!!” While Foxx soon apologized and deleted the posts, saying he meant no harm and that he was referring to one person in particular, he was tapping into centuries of antisemitic hate, particularly relating to claims of deicide (accusations that Jews killed Jesus, and bear a collective responsibility). Notwithstanding Foxx’s apology, his post was a reminder of the potent nature of how quickly antisemitic propaganda can spread online, and how even ancient messages can find receptive audiences in the modern era.

Israel’s diplomatic relations have expanded significantly in recent years, with new or expanded ties with Morocco, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and more. But other, more recent incidents have shown that anti-Israel hostility remains normalized in much of the Middle East. In August, an Iranian athlete was photographed shaking the hands of an Israeli competitor, and he was swiftly punished. Days earlier, it was revealed that Libya’s foreign minister met her Israeli counterpart in Rome, and she was immediately fired, and had to flee to Turkey. Peace between Israel and all its neighbours cannot take place until acceptance and tolerance, not rejectionism and hostility, are normalized.

More than two million Arabs live in Israel alongside its Jewish majority, but despite enjoying equal rights with their Jewish peers, Israeli Arabs earn lower wages and are beset by communal violence in many Arab towns. To help address these shortcomings, the Israeli government recently announced a major investment totaling close to $1.1 billion dollars (CAD) to help improve the quality of life for Israeli Arabs in eastern Jerusalem. Though Israel is often accused by the media of discriminating against its minority Arab population, the government’s announcement shows that the Jewish State is working hard to improve the standard of living for its Arab residents and citizens.

A recent archaeological find deep in the Judean Desert, announced in early September, was a boon for the archaeological profession: four well-preserved Roman swords dating from the second century CE. The swords, thought to have been hidden by Jewish rebels, potentially during the Bar Kochba Revolt, serve as a living history to the Jewish population in the region nearly two thousand years ago. Despite ongoing attempts to erase Jewish history, archaeological finds such as this one demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt the Jewish People’s ancient connection to the land of Israel.

In mid-September, Israeli customs authorities announced that, two months prior, they had seized 16 tonnes of ammonium chloride, originating from Turkey and on their way to the Gaza Strip. The chemical is a critical component in manufacturing rockets, and Hamas, the Islamist terrorist group which rules over Gaza, has fired thousands of rockets into Israel in recent years. It’s time the news media tell the world about this latest attempt to smuggle a deadly rocket ingredient into Gaza, and why Israel’s blockade of the Strip is as needed as ever.

In December, South Africa’s government formally accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, and filed a complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. But despite the widespread media coverage following the move, there is little to no basis for Pretoria’s allegations, which the news media must acknowledge.

Hamas’ theft of international humanitarian aid meant for Palestinian civilians is an open secret in Gaza. The group’s tunnels, built by concrete meant for Gaza’s infrastructure, is the most notable example of how the terrorist organization has put its own violent goals ahead of its people’s needs. And now, incredible footage purportedly showing Hamas terrorists commandeering aid as it enters Gaza, demonstrates once again the group’s theft of aid, but will the news media care?

Since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas, news media outlets around the world have uncritically repeated Hamas claims, including that Gaza has no fuel, that Israel has killed thousands of civilians, that the group wants “civilians to go home,” and more. But why does the news media so uncritically accept the claims of a genocidal terrorist group, rather than holding it accountable?