Thanks to everyone who has pushed the "Israel for Canadians" funding campaign past the 10% mark. But there's still a steep hill to climb and less than 4 weeks to climb it. So if you want to help set the record straight on the dynamic, open, peace-loving Jewish homeland, the only democracy in the Middle East, and you haven't yet backed the project, please make a pledge today and share it on social media and elsewhere.

If you are a backer, thanks for the contribution and please keep helping spread the word so we can get to 25%, 50%, 75% and then by the April 2 deadline to 100% and maybe beyond.

As always there's a stretch goal; if we get significantly past our basic target I will also make an "Israel for North Americans" version and perhaps one for Australians and others. But first things first.

Let's get it funded.

My latest crowd-funded documentary project "Israel for Canadians" is now live on Kickstarter.

Too many Canadians have somehow acquired a mistaken impression of Israel as a regional bully, a fortress under siege, an intolerant, chauvinistic or even theocratic culture, or a colourful museum. I want to dispel all such illusions, showcasing its technological achievements, its contemporary culture, its environmental movement, its vigorous debates on everything from religion to security, its very real security challenges and its inhabitants' abiding desire for peace.

If you value the only democracy in the Middle East, a dynamic, open society, an ally of the West, the home of one great world religion and the birthplace of another, please visit Kickstarter and make a pledge.

Because as the late George Jonas once put it, "Truth unasserted is a lie unopposed."

"early on the 23rd, we left the bloodstained heights of the Alma – a name that will be ever memorable in history.

Nicholas Bentley, ed., Russell’s Dispatches from the Crimea

"In War: Resolution, In Defeat: Defiance, In Victory: Magnanimity, In Peace: Goodwill"

The moral of his The Second World War according to Winston Churchill

"Step 1. Get committed…. Step 2. Involve your spouse…. Step 3. Act as if the depression has already begun…. Step 4. Gather knowledge…. Step 5. Master compound interest…. Step 6. Stop shopping…. Step 7. Turn off the television…. Step 8. Connect more closely to family and neighbors…. Step 9. Do not be a victim…. Step 10. Watch the calendar, not the clock…. Step 11. Treasure your health…. Step 12. Don’t boast…. Step 13. Help others…. Step 14. Defend the open society…. Step 15. Tell your children."

Advice on being prepared for the long run and possible hard times, in James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg The Great Reckoning

"Winston Churchill once described the Balkans as a region that produced more history than it could consume."

Carol Off The Ghosts of Medak Pocket