The Honest Report HonestReporting Canada

For years, Israel has accused UNRWA, the disgraced United Nations agency, of ties to Palestinian terrorism and incitement and glorification of violence.

But only after the massacres of October 7 did the UN agency, officially tasked with providing aid to Palestinians, get into the larger spotlight.

Israel has accused - and provided evidence for - UNRWA staff of participating in Hamas' massacre, and has pointed to a huge Hamas data centre built directly underneath the agency's Gaza City headquarters, as well as satellite photos of schools built on top of Hamas bunkers, and much more.

Every year, UNRWA receives funding from international donors, including Canada, meaning Ottawa effectively is funding Hamas terrorism.

As a result, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) recently announced it was taking legal action against the Trudeau government, saying funding UNRWA contravenes Canadian anti-terrorism legislation.

Richard Marceau, CIJA's VP and General Counsel, joins us as a guest.

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Ian Ward is a Councillor in Colwood, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, a suburb of Victoria, population just under 20,000 people.

He has also become a leading voice of moral clarity, advocating for both Israel and the Jewish People, even though as an elected official in a municipality with a relatively small Jewish community, there is little electoral benefit in doing so.

Ian joins us as a guest on this week's podcast to discuss what prompted him to become so vocal, the feedback he has been getting from constituents, and why he thinks more municipal politicians need to stand up and make their voices heard.

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In the immediate aftermath of Hamas' invasion of southern Israel on October 7, it became evident that Israel lacked the ability to scale up its procurement of military and civilian gear, both for the IDF in its operations, and for Israeli civilians forced from their homes and displaced refugees in their own country.

In the face of fast-changing events, one Israeli man, Michael Freedman, saw an opportunity to help.

The Israel-based businessman quickly launched what became known as Project Shushan, a complex effort to deliver much-needed gear to Israel, working faster than official channels could provide. Michael joins us as our guest this week.

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It's a fact largely ignored by anti-Israel activists: that 20 percent of Israel's population are Arabs, largely Muslim. They enjoy the same democratic rights as Israeli Jews, can vote and stand for election, and hold citizenship as Israelis.



The Bedouin of Israel's south are part of this population, and they are unique in their own right, distinct from the Bedouin in Israel's north, the Druze community in Israel, and the Jewish majority.

In this week's podcast, we are joined by Ariel Viesel, the CO-CEO of Desert Stars, an Israeli organization that works to provide educational, vocational and other opportunities to members of Israel's Bedouin population in the country's south, and in so doing, help further integrate them into Israeli society, benefiting them, and Israel at large.



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It is very easy to consume news in a bubble. Human nature is to read, listen and watch information that fits our preconceived ideologies and ideas.

Breaking out of that bubble is easier said than done, and when it comes to the hundreds of millions of Arabic-speakers around the world, getting accurate information about Israel can be next to impossible.

Rawan Osman is looking to change that. Following October 7, the Syrian-born, Lebanese-raised commentator, now based in Germany, became an outspoken advocate for Israel and the Jewish people.

Through her active social media presence, including her accounts, Arabs Ask, Osman has used her native Arabic language to share the truth about Israel to audiences who rarely had the opportunity to get that perspective.

Osman joins us as our guest this week.

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October 7 was more than just a terrorist attack, or even the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

It represented, perhaps more than any other event, the truest opportunity to see the real face of Hamas, not just its rhetoric, but its actions.

Not only the rapes, murders, tortures, and kidnappings, but the gleeful manner in which they were carried out, filming it all for posterity and out of pride.

But October 7, now more than five months ago, seems like ancient history, certainly to much of the news media, which now has widely lost interest, including in the Israeli hostages still in Gaza.

Seeing the sites of Hamas' massacres first-hand help to bring the reality home, not just of what happened that day, but of the moral necessity in fighting Hamas.

In late January, Toronto businessman Larry Maher brought a group of Canadian journalists to Israel for a short visit, where they bore witness to what Hamas carried out, and he joins us to discuss why he brought these individuals, and what he wants such a visit to achieve.

Welcome to The Honest Report podcast.


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