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Honest Reporting Canada’s Mike Fegelman delivers Kanee Lecture
By BERNIE BELLAN Mike Fegelman is the executive director and editor-in-chief of Honest Reporting Canada. Honest Reporting was founded in 2000 in the United Kingdom. It describes its mission as “to ensure truth, integrity and fairness, and to combat ideological prejudice in journalism and the media, as it impacts Israel to ensure truth, integrity and fairness, and to combat ideological prejudice in journalism and the media, as it impacts Israel.”
On Sunday, April 7, Fegelman was the keynote speaker at the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada’s annual Sol & Florence Kanee Distinguished Lecture Series.
Fegelman told the audience of about 250 at the Adas Yeshurun-Herzlia Synagogue that, before he was hired as Honest Reporting Canada’s executive director, “I knew nothing about Israel. I was hired because I was objective.”
Honest Reporting Canada “monitors news media 24 hours a day,” Fegelman said. With only a staff of six (including Fegelman), he said that they field on average 600-700 inquiries a day about alleged instances of media bias within Canadian media.
When HRC sees instances of what it perceives to be instances of unfair or biased reporting about Israel, it attempts to contact the journalist responsible for that “misinformation” or, as was the case with a particularly odious cartoon in La Presse of Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu depicted as a vampire, the paper itself was contacted and asked to issue a retraction of that cartoon and apology. (The cartoon has since been removed from La Presse’s website and La Presse did issue an apology.)
While Honest Reporting Canada might make the claim that its mission is to monitor news media in Canada for bias toward Israel and what it would regard as “unfair reporting,” however, after listening to Fegelman’s 45-minute talk – and especially to some of the responses he gave to questions from the audience following his talk, one might question the degree to which he himself is as “objective” as he claimed to be.
One particular subject was mentioned several times: the reporting by the Gaza Health Ministry on how many Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its retaliatory war following the Hamas-led massacre of 240 Israelis on October 7.
At one point Fegelman said that “we have to point out the fact Hamas provides no evidence to corroborate their claims (as to how many Palestinians have been killed). Media should at least acknowledge Israel’s claim that 15,000 of those killed are terrorists.”
Various reports, however, have cited Israeli intelligence officials as confirming that the Israel Defence Forces actually accept the Gaza Health Ministry’s figures for the number of casualties in the ongoing conflict. For instance, there was this report about what was reported on a Hebrew-language website in Israel: “Two Israeli intelligence officials who spoke to the Hebrew-language Local Call news website said the health ministry is mostly ‘reliable’ and their main source of statistics on civilian deaths in Gaza.”
Fegelman said that when it is reported that “33,000 Palestinians have been killed,” as reported by the “Gaza Health Ministry,” that health ministry “doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.” Further, Fegelman asked: “Are some of the children killed actually child soldiers?” The problem is, absent any verifiable information from the IDF on this point, how do we know?
The problem, moreover, which Fegelman didn’t address, is absent any contradictory information coming from Israeli sources themselves about civilian deaths, what are media supposed to report?
So, when a questioner later said to Fegelman, “All people see on TV is dead babies. Can you give us some language to use in response?” Fegelman admitted “there isn’t an easy answer for the things Israel has had to do.”
My bringing this up is not to begin engaging in a series of “fact checks” on what Fegelman said during his talk. Rather, it is to show that “bias” and “unfair reporting” is something that can be continually argued – and perhaps by entering into a dissection of every instance of what Honest Reporting Canada might regard as anti-Israel bias, Fegelman – and the audience members who so strongly applauded his remarks, are all missing the larger picture, which is that Israel has, and is taking a terrible beating in world public opinion – not because of bias or distorted reporting, but because of the huge losses in both lives and property that Palestinians in Gaza have suffered – and the images that are there for the entire world to see.
One might argue that Israel had no choice: It had to deal such a severe blow to Hamas that the amount of destruction that has occurred in Gaza is justified, but to argue that “the war for public opinion is no less important than the war on the ground,” as Fegelman suggested at one point – well Mike, if that’s the case, then Israel has lost that war. The more honest assessment would be that, in an existential battle for survival, which is what some would argue is a fair description of the war in which Israel is currently engaged, then public opinion matters very little to Israeli decision makers.
Before entering into a more detailed description of what Fegelman had to say, I have to enter a particular objection toward what both he and several audience members had to say about the supposed “anti-Israel bias” exhibited by the Winnipeg Free Press. This subject has become one that has been raised quite a bit over the past few months within certain circles within the local Jewish community – especially after a controversial column by Jen Zoratti.
But, to say, as Fegelman did, that “the Free Press has an anti-Israel narrative on its op ed pages” – without providing any specific examples to warrant that accusation, is nothing more than an instance of Fegelman engaging in the kind of bias that Honest Reporting Canada accuses Canadian media outlets of exhibiting when it comes to reporting on Israel.
Still, in the interest of attempting to give readers the flavour of Fegelman’s talk, I will offer some of the remarks he made without entering into any further discussion whether what he had to say had merit.
Fegelman began by claiming that “media commentators are often parroting Hamas and are, in effect, becoming stenographers for this group.” He suggested we “need to challenge misinformation and disinformation.”
While Honest Reporting may have originated in the United Kingdom in 2000, “its genesis (in Canada) was just a few blocks away,” Fegelman explained. “We were founded (in Canada) by the late Izzy Asper,” he noted.
With specific reference to the Toronto Star, Fegelman suggested we have seen instances “of Canada’s largest paper calling for Israel’s annihilation” on its editorial pages by advocating for a one-state solution.
In reporting on the current Gaza war, Fegelman argued, “it’s increasingly difficult to tell who is the arsonist and who is the fire fighter?”
‘The media want to run with the most sensational story,” he said, “but part of our mandate is to educate journalists.”
“The sympathy for Israel following the October 7 massacre lasted all but a few minutes,” he suggested.
“This is a war between barbarism and civilization,” Fegelman said.
He referred to a famous remark made by Golda Meir with reference to the Yom Kippur War in 1973: “The world hates us when a Jew lashes out. The world loves us only when we are to be pitied.”
“The world is horribly indifferent to Jewish blood being spilled,” Fegelman observed.
We are making sure that when there are those who seek to libel the Jewish people, we have to fight back,” Fegelman said, “but knowing how to challenge disinformation is enormously difficult.”
Still, he argued, “We cannot let our opposition have a monopoly on discourse.”
“The war for public opinion is no less important than the war on the ground. If we lose, Israel will go down as the perceived villain.”
When it comes to civilian casualties, however, Fegelman claimed that “Israel deplores each and every innocent life that is taken.”
Saying that, in some ways, “Hamas is worse than ISIS,” Fegelman argued that “when hate becomes normalized, it becomes weaponized….We are in a genocidal propaganda war the likes of which we have never seen….Too many media outlets, whether it’s out of malice or of ignorance, have been spreading misinformation.”
When it comes to fighting back though, Fegelman argued, “We are not just passive victims – but like a muscle, if you do not use it, it becomes atrophied.”
Turning to the subject of social media, Fegelman observed that “Yesterday’s bigots used to be on the margins of mainstream social media; now they’re in the mainstream.”
“We cannot be afraid to tell the world what Hamas’s raison d’etre is – which is to seek an Islamic caliphate.”
But, what then “is the answer to media bias?” Fegelman asked. “We cannot rely on the old playbook,” he said.
Instead, he proposed five pillars of action:
- “We cannot project fear. We have to project resilience and instil Jewish pride.”
- “We must demand that we procure consistency” (from our elected representatives). Fegelman referred specifically to the recent resolution passed in the House of Commons when, among other things, Members of Parliament voted to restore funding to UNWRA.
- “We must demand that people speak up and speak out” against media when the media demonstrate indefensible behaviour. As an example, Fegelman pointed to the photograph of Hamas victim Shani Louk’s badly mutilated body in the back of a Hamas truck, which won a prestigious photography award. (It should be pointed out that Shani’s own father defended the photo as a “symbol” of an era.)
- “We have to make an alternative view impossible to ignore.”
- “We must avoid self-imposed limitations on our advocacy. We must not only project strength, we must possess it, too.”
As a result of “the obsessive magnifying glass being put on Israel,” Fegelman suggested, “terrorism is being accepted as a legitimate means of statecraft.”
Although many Jews may be in a state of despair these days, Fegelman told this story to illustrate how Israel has endured bleak situations before: When President Biden was a senator, he had occasion to visit Israel shortly before the Yom Kippur War, when he met with then-Prime Minister Golda Meir. After being shown maps which showed how precarious Israel’s security situation was, apparently Biden’s face showed how worried he was.
“Don’t look so worried,” Golda told Biden. “We have a secret weapon: We have no place else to go.”
In describing what Honest Reporting Canada has been able to accomplish, Fegelman said, “We have 60,000 subscribers.” (To subscribe to HRC’s reports, simply go to its website at https://honestreporting.ca and click on the “subscribe” button.) “We all have the power of agency,” he added.
“We may not see the elimination of antisemitism in our lifetimes,” he said, “but we have to push it to the margins.”
“If not now, when? The answer is now.”
Local News
Bright future for Israeli-born University of Manitoba Science student Erele Tzidon
By MYRON LOVE Erele Tzidon, a second year Science student at the University of Manitoba, seems to have a bright future ahead of her.
Rabinovich-Nikitin
The year before last, the Israeli-born graduate of Gray Academy received a University of Manitoba undergraduate research award, which allowed her to pursue research as a member of Dr. Inna Rabinovich-Nikitin’s research team at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, (ICS) researching the link between pregnancy complications and the risk for heart disease.
The world-renowned institute, directed by Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, studies heart disease and heart function with the goal of researching means to repair damaged heart cells and prevent heart failure.
This past November, Tzidon was presented with a second award – the Dr. James S. McGoey Student Award – based on the quality of her cardiovascular research at the ICS, which operates out of the St. Boniface Hospital’s Albrechchtsen Research Centre.
“We are very proud of Erele and her achievements,” says Dr. Inna Rabinovich-Nikitin. “We believe she has a promising future in medical research.”
Originally from Moshav Ginaton in central Israel, Tzidon came to Winnipeg in 2018 with her parents Ofer, formerly regional manager for a car rental agency in Israel and now an RBC branch Manager, and Sharon, an emotional therapist in Israel who is currently working as an educational assistant at Gray Academy. Tzidon also has three younger brothers.
The 19-year-od reports that it was through a connection she forged with Rabinovich-Nikitin at G ray Academy (where the latter has three children enrolled in the elementary program) that opened the door to a summer position at the ICS in 2023. She notes that she is at the ICS two days a week and at the U of M three days a week.
“I have always wanted to do research,” she says, “because I have an unlimited number of questions. And I love working with the great team at the ICS.”
One of the primary focuses at the ICS in recent years has been on women’s heart health. Three years ago Kirshenbaum created a new research program within St. Boniface Hospital specifically for the study of heart disease in women. Dr. Rabinovich-Nikitin was the first faculty member seconded to the new research program
In an earlier article I wrote about her in the Post (in 2021), I noted that she, like Erele Tzidon, is originally from Israel, having arrived in Winnipeg in 2016 with her husband Sergey, and their two children (a third child was born here) to further her scientific knowledge through working in Kirshenbaum’s lab.
Rabinovich-Nikitin is graduate of Tel Aviv University with a Ph.D. in biotechnology.
“I was always interested in science, how things work,” she notes. “I have a particular interest in women’s cardiac health.”
Four years ago she herself was presented with the Winnipeg Foundation’s Martha Donavan Leadership Development Award. The award is intended to provide leadership development opportunities for women in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Eligible applicants include women who are full-time or part-time academic faculty members, students of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, and students as well as post-doctoral trainees (including residents), presently enrolled in a program of study within the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.
In 2022 Rabinovich-Nikitin, was the winner of the Louis N. and Arnold M. Katz Basic Science Research Prize for Early Career Investigators awarded by the American heart Association (AHA). This award is the highest international recognition of research excellence for an early career investigator to receive, and Rabinovich-Nikitin is the first ever Canadian scientist to receive this award.
That same year she joined the University of Manitoba Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology as an assistant professor, studying heart disease in women. Rabinovich-Nikitin observes that heart disease in women presents itself in a different way than in men. She notes that one of the new lab’s initial findings was that there is one specific gene that leads to cardiovascular issues in some pregnant women that can point to heart disease later in life, and also have negative implications for the development of their children. Those children are smaller at birth and, as adults, are prone to hypertension, diabetes and obesity,
“We are looking into how that particular gene increases the risk of heart disease.” she says.
Rabinovich-Nikitin would like to invites readers who may be interested in learning more about women’s heart health to a free program the ICS is offering on Sunday, February 23 at the Wellness Institute at 1075 Leila Avenue from 1:00-4:00. The afternoon will feature speakers, children’s activities and Zumba sessions.
“I would encourage everyone who has questions and wants to learn about women’s heart health to attend,” she says.
You can find more about the event at https://megaheartevent.com/
Local News
Videographer/photographer Jeff Gordon looking forward to sharing his expertise through series of in-person classes
By MYRON LOVE Jeff Gordon is the epitome of a visionary and the trajectory of the local videographer/photographer has just gone into overdrive.
At the beginning of the year, the founder of JAG Videos and Photography inaugurated his brand new state-of-the-art studio in a new facility he built behind his north River Heights home. And, shortly after, he launched the first session of his new school for budding photographers and videographers.
“Up until now, the only options for anyone interested in learning the art of photography or making videos has been either Red River College or the University of Winnipeg,” Gordon points out. “I recognized a niche here and my goal is to fill this gap.”
The first of the 16-week sessions in his new studio began in mid-January. He reports that he is running three classes a week- one strictly for teenagers.
“The course exceeded my expectations. We sold out quickly and I have a waiting list,” he notes. “I have 16 students divided among the three classes. I am teaching the students everything I know about photographer and videography. The curriculum is easy to follow.
Increasingly, we are in a digital world,” he adds. “Businesses need staff who are adept at making videos and taking photographs. Companies need staff who are able to create videos for them to promote the business online.”
He envisages offering the program three times a year – with future sessions beginning in May and September.
Gordon’s curriculum is his own creation, based on his experience and a previous training manual he wrote years ago for an entirely different group of students – drummers.
Before Jeff Gordon discovered his passion for photography and videography, he was a musician – a drummer to be specific. The graduate of the Hebrew Bilingual program at Brock Corydon Elementary School and later, Shaftesbury High School, began playing drums in high school and started teaching others to play shortly after.
“I used to have as many as 40 students at a time,” he recalls.
Following graduation from Shaftesbury, he enrolled at the Los Angeles Music Academy. In 2006 he graduated from the jazz program at Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton. His professional credits include 16 years as a drummer with the Sarah Sommer Chai Folk Ensemble and five years as a member of a touring band called “Driver.”
It was while performing with “Driver” that he began doing videography. “I have always been fascinated by technology,” he says. “While on tour, I began making videos of our live concerts. I would set up four or five cameras to record the shows.”
In 2014 Gordon took the plunge and dove into photography and videography full time with the founding of JAG Videos and Photography. “I started with weddings and gradually started to develop a commercial and corporate clientele,” he says. “I do a lot of head shots for businesses. I have also done a number of TV spots for Global and Corus.”
In his new studio he has also been recording a weekly podcast for a client, he reports. “I have a chesterfield for the podcaster and her guests and provide a coffee table and coffee.”
And while the Covid lockdown proved to be disastrous for many, for Gordon it turned out to be very good for his business. “I was really busy,” he says. “Because of the lockdown, there was an increased demand from corporations and companies for videos.”
Previous to building his own studio, Gordon notes, he was renting space in the Exchange District. “I got the idea for building my own home studio while having renovations done in our kitchen,” he recounts. “It took about a year to build. It’s great having the studio. It feels like an extension of my home.”
(He adds that he is still going out on location when required.)
“I really enjoy teaching,” he says. “I love expounding on subjects I am passionate about.”
Jeff Gordon has bold plans for his school and curriculum. “I hope to be able to expand the number of students to the point where I need a larger space,” he says. “I envisage hiring other teachers and running multiple classes at the same time. I hope to create a digital version of the course and sell it widely online. I would also like to be able to license my program and sell it to schools and universities.”
Gordon feels that he is truly blessed to have been able to turn a hobby into a full time business.
As the same time, he hasn’t entirely given up the drums. “I still have my drum set in my basement,” he notes.”I am enjoying teaching my two daughters (both Brock Corydon students incidentally) to play the drums.”
Jeff Gordon’s website address is www.jagvideos.com.
Local News
Winnipegger featured in Apple commercial highlighting new adaptive technology
By MYRON LOVE The year just past has been a memorable one for Melissa Shapiro. In recent weeks she and her boyfriend moved into their new home in East Kildonan and – in September, the daughter of Cory and Goldelyn Shapiro – was one of the featured guests at Apple Headquarters in Las Vegas for the premiere of an advertisement – produced by the tech company – highlighting Apple’s newly developed adaptive technology.
“I was flown out to California by Apple’s PR team,” recalls the 26-year-old policy analyst with the Education and Early Childhood Learning Department. “The event was held at Apple Park. It was really exciting seeing all the newest products and features.”
Shapiro, who was born missing her left arm, came to the attention of Apple as a result of Instagram videos she made demonstrating her ability to work out as an adaptive athlete. Last May, Shapiro reviewed the Apple watch’s accessibility features in a video, and it caught Apple’s attention.
“I was contacted by a casting agency in July,” she reports. “Next thing I know, we are filming in Toronto in August. I was the only Canadian involved in filming the commercial.”
Shapiro has never let her disability define her life- thanks in part both to her parents and the War Amps of Canada Child Amputee program, which reached out to her family three weeks after she was born.
“We received a lot of support – financial, recreational and emotional – from the War Amps,” she says. “Through the program, my family was able to connect with other families with similar challenges.
As well, the War Amps helped me to integrate in school and participate in sports while I was growing up by providing me with different prosthetics paid for by donations to the program.
Over the years, Shapiro ha been able to give back to the non-profit organization by appearing in War Amps public service spots highlighting such tips as playing safe in order to avoid accidents that could result in amputations. She has also been featured n War Amps-organized seminars and media appearances promoting the work of the War Amps in helping to improve the quality of life for children like Shapiro who were born missing a limb or those who lost limbs due to an accident.
“I still enjoy doing ‘playsafe’ presentations and public events for the war Amps,” she says.
Readers who may be interested in supporting this worthwhile program can donate by phone (1800 250-3030) or go online (waramps.ca).
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