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."

In my latest National Post column I say Israelis should be proud, and others impressed, that a bribery scandal proves no one in Israel including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is above the law, in stark contrast to its unhappy neighbours.

In my latest National Post column I say Donald Trump recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel isn't just morally and historically right, it's common sense in terms of genuine negotiations.

“No one is better placed to resist pressure than the person who knows he can’t give in to it.”

Conor Cruise O’Brien The Siege

In my latest National Post column I say the bombing of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester should remind everyone, including progressives, that Islamist fanatics do not hate our open society for being repressive or for defending itself. They hate it because it is tolerant. They hate our permissiveness. They hate us for who we are not what we do. And there is nothing we can do to appease them that would not be a fundamental betrayal of ourselves and our ideals.