One high-profile lawyer is taking the city of Montreal to court over its failure to uphold the rule of law amid two years of pro-Hamas rallies. Neil Oberman, a partner at the law firm of Spiegel Ryan, on behalf of private clients, is suing the city and its mayor, Valerie Plante, to make sure that they uphold their legal requirements to ensure public safety and order.
In this episode of The Honest Report, Oberman joins us to explain the legal basis for his action, how he is compelling the city of Montreal to do its job, and the bigger message that his litigation is sending.
After two years of extremist anti-Israel demonstrations, often found in downtown cores, many pro-Israel events have come to avoid those areas altogether, effectively ceding them.
Avi Attali was not prepared to make that happen. The Toronto resident, along with a group of volunteers, has planned and executed a number of rallies for Israel and to raise awareness for the hostages, primarily based in downtown Toronto, with some of these events attracting thousands of attendees.
Avi joins us this week to tell us why he thinks such events are so critical, what motivates him to put them together, and what the lesson is for all supporters of Israel.
Since starting operations in late May, in large part because of the widespread theft of aid that was currently taking place by terrorist groups inside Gaza, the American-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has delivered nearly 200 million meals into the territory, using an innovative approach.
But just as huge numbers of meals have been provided, there has been a widespread effort by the United Nations and other groups to delegitimize the GHF and portray it as the problem, rather than a solution.
To help us understand the complexity on the ground, we are joined by Chapin Fay, spokesperson for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Please note: This conversation took place before the current ceasefire agreement.
Tiferet Lapidot, a 23 year-old Canadian-Israeli, was known for her kindness and sensitivity, growing up in northern Israel.
On October 7, 2023, she was at the Nova festival in southern Israel, where she was murdered by Hamas terrorists. But even on that day, she put her life on the line to help others and protect them.
In this special podcast, we are joined by Tiferet's father Ohad, who tells us the story, both of who his daughter was, as well as what happened on that terrible day two years ago, but also the unexpected kindnesses that he experienced afterwards.
Welcome to The Honest Report podcast.
Sergio Karas is an immigration lawyer and a vocal supporter of Israel. So when he was called a genocide supporter - by a fellow lawyer, no less - he refused to take it sitting down.
Instead, he sued for defamation, and he won damages. Sergio joins us on our podcast this week to discuss his story, how and why he decided to litigate, and his advice for others, to help ensure that anti-Israel lies are not able to stand unchallenged.
News media outlets regularly claim that there is a famine or starvation in Gaza, and that Israel is refusing to allow food into the territory. But the actual evidence tells a very different story.
In recent weeks, Eitan Fischberger, an Israel-based open-source intelligence investigator, visited Gaza, where he saw first-hand the incredible amount of aid that Israel had permitted into Gaza, but was not being delivered by supposedly humanitarian organizations.
Eitan joins us this week to discuss what he saw, and what it says about the state of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
PART 2:
Most news media outlets have long given up on pretending to explain the truth of the Hamas-Israel war, and instead are doing little more than regurgitating Hamas claims of "genocide" without even a second thought.
But the truth is far different than sound bites.
In this podcast, we sit down with Dr Brian Cox for an in-depth discussion of how international law debunks "genocide" claims and shows the legality of Israel's counter-terrorism operations against Hamas in Gaza.
Dr. Cox is an adjunct professor of Law at Cornell University, where his expertise is international criminal law, the law involving armed conflict, comparative military justice and national security law. He spent 22 years as a military lawyer for the U.S. Army, and is currently enrolled as a graduate student at Carleton University's journalism school in Ottawa.
Most news media outlets have long given up on pretending to explain the truth of the Hamas-Israel war, and instead are doing little more than regurgitating Hamas claims of "genocide" without even a second thought.
But the truth is far different than sound bites.
In this podcast, we sit down with Dr Brian Cox for an in-depth discussion of how international law debunks "genocide" claims and shows the legality of Israel's counter-terrorism operations against Hamas in Gaza.
Dr. Cox is an adjunct professor of Law at Cornell University, where his expertise is international criminal law, the law involving armed conflict, comparative military justice and national security law. He spent 22 years as a military lawyer for the U.S. Army, and is currently enrolled as a graduate student at Carleton University's journalism school in Ottawa.
Adam Hummel is a Toronto immigration and estate lawyer by day, and opinion-maker by night, founding a substack called Catch, offering thoughtful commentary on issues related to Israel and Jewish causes.
In a recent manifesto, he laid out what he characterized as a much-needed overhaul in advocacy and activism. Less reactive, more proactive. Less apologetic, more demanding. Less meek, more vocal.
Adam is our guest this week where he discusses his vision for the future, and why he says so many obvious ideas are still yet to take root.
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.
In the first episode of our two-part series on the Nova Exhibition now in Canada, we spoke with Michal Ohana, a survivor of the Nova Festival massacre in southern Israel, who was shot in the leg by Hamas terrorists that day.
In today's episode, part two, we speak with Shalev Moshe. Shalev is not a survivor of the Nova massacre, but his 27 year-old brother Eden was murdered on that day. Eden was an electrical engineering student who was at the festival with four friends. All five were murdered.
We met with Shalev at the Nova Exhibition in Toronto, which he is also accompanying, and he recounted for us in harrowing detail his family's experiences on that dark day.