A List Of Journalists Who’ve Taken Sponsored Israel Trips

Jan 27

from https://www.readthemaple.com/a-list-of-journalists-whove-taken-sponsored-israel-trips/?ref=maple-digest-news-newsletter

These Canadian media figures went on trips sponsored by the Exigent Foundation, a pro-Israel organization

Media Resources International

by Davide Mastracci

January 26, 2026 ∙ 20 min read

The Exigent Foundation (EF) is a pro-Israel organization that has taken dozens of Canadian journalists and others on sponsored trips since 2024.

EF was co-founded in March 2024 by Larry Maher, Georganne Burke and Vivian Bercovici.

Maher describes himself as “an entrepreneur in the construction and real estate industries.” He is listed as the president of Maher Construction.

Burke is a senior vice-president at the Pathway Group consulting firm, where she is describedas “a seasoned veteran of political activities in the United States and Canada” who “spent the past ten years in a variety of roles with the Conservative Party of Canada, and in the offices of ministers and MPs” and is “the Chapter Lead for Republicans Overseas in Canada.”

Bercovici is a former Canadian ambassador to Israel who went on to work for Black Cube, a private Israeli intelligence firm described by the CBC as “a controversial private sector company composed of ex-members of the Mossad and other Israeli intelligence agencies.” Bercovici stepped down as an EF director in November 2024.

The purpose of EF, according to its incorporation document as a non-profit, is, “To promote good race relations in Canada by public education campaigns fighting racial discrimination.”

EF has taken at least eight delegations of Canadians to Israel. These trips have also included time in the West Bank, referred to by Maher as “Judea and Sameria,” the “borders of Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan” and the illegally occupied Golan Heights. Participants have also met with Israeli government officials, including the deputy minister of foreign affairs.

The majority of the media figures who attended these trips have published content on their experience, including articles, videos and podcasts. Examples include articles titled, “Israel must get on with it and finish the job by flattening Gaza,” “What I, a Muslim, did not know about Israel,” and, “My fellow progressives — you’ve been lied to about Israel.”

The Maple reached out to EF through the contact form on their website to ask how many people they’ve taken on these trips, if they cover the costs of the trips in their entirety, how much they’ve spent on them and where they get their money from. We did not receive a response.

Here’s a list of 27 media figures who have gone on the trip, with details about who they are, where they work and what they published about the trip. This list should not be considered comprehensive. It will be updated going forward.

Joe Adam George

Bio: “Joe Adam George is the research lead for Islamist threats in Canada at the Middle East Forum. Based in Ottawa, he is also a foreign policy and national security analyst with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, covering Islamist extremism in the West, terror financing, and geopolitical developments in the Middle East and South Asia and their impact on Canada and the U.S. Joe previously worked in the Parliament of Canada as press secretary and advisor to the leader of the opposition party, and as a research intern at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Political-Military Analysis.” - Middle East Forum

Employers/Affiliations: Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Middle East Forum

Year of trip: 2025

Content from trip:

Opinion: If RCMP is probing Israel for war crimes, it has no morality

Should the target of the investigation be the state of Israel, it would expose a moral blindness so profound it borders on the obscene

National PostSpecial to National Post

Beth Baisch

Bio: “Toronto-based photojournalist nature photographer qualified Animal Health Technologist experienced wildlife carer and volunteer educator.” - The Post Millennial

Employer/Affiliation: The Post Millennial

Year of trip: 2024

Content from trip:

The Post Millennial: “Israeli medical doctor laments effects of war on patient care for Israelis and Palestinians”

The Post Millennial: “‘This whole place is managed by God’: Brothers see Israeli rest stop serving IDF soldiers as holy mission”

Adrienne Batra

Bio: “Adrienne Batra is Editor in Chief of the Toronto Sun.” - Toronto Sun

Employer/Affiliation: Toronto Sun

Year of trip: 2024

Melanie Bennet

Bio: “Investigative journalist with True North covering how ideology reshapes education, policy, and culture. I report the stories legacy media won’t.” - Substack

Employer/Affiliation: True North

Year of trip: 2025

Content from trip:

Raised on hate

Two men from Gaza, born under the same sky and taught the same hatred, now live on opposite sides of a moral divide. One risked his life to become Jewish. The other defends Hamas.

Melanie Bennet, True North.Substack

Keean Bexte

Bio: “Keean Bexte is an award-winning journalist based in Canada. Bexte has broke stories worldwide, from Hong Kong to the White House. After leaving Rebel News, Bexte now runs his show independently at The Counter Signal.” - YouTube

Employers/Affiliations: The Counter Signal, Juno News

Year of trip: 2025

Harrison Faulkner

Bio: “I am a Canadian journalist, content producer, political commentator and podcast host with over four years of experience in the journalism industry. I was the host of Ratio’d on True North and The Faulkner Show podcast which had over 16 million total views on YouTube. I have interviewed politicians, business leaders, former senior military officers and political activists and I have reported on global events and politcal [sic] issues in three continents. I appear frequently on global news platforms to provide opinion and commentary including on GB News America, CNN-News18 and WION News.” - Portfolio website

Employer/Affiliation: Independent journalist

Year of trip: 2025

Content from trip:

Visegrad24

Jen Gerson

Bio: “Jen Gerson is co-founder of The Line, www.readtheline.ca. She is a Canadian journalist who has contributed to the CBC, the National Post, Maclean’s, Walrus, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.” - Substack

Employer/Affiliation: The Line

Year of trip: 2024

Content from trip:

Jen Gerson: In the burned kibbutzim, black flags mark where the dead were found

The Line’s Jen Gerson from Israel, on the war still raging more than a year after the Oct. 7 attacks.

The LineJen Gerson

Jen Gerson: The killing bowl

In her second piece from Israel, Jen Gerson on how journalists cover the war, on power and agency, and the most heartbreaking thing she saw near the frontlines.

The LineJen Gerson

Terry Glavin

Bio: “Author, journalist. Ottawa Citizen & National Post columnist. Contributing editor, Maclean’s magazine. Senior Fellow, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.” - Substack

Employers/Affiliations: National Post, Ottawa Citizen

Year of trip: 2024

Content from trip:

Through the darkness, some light is getting in.

At last, the world’s attention turns to the fountainhead of the Israeli-Palestinian agony. Right there, all this time: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

The Real StoryTerry Glavin

Israel in the hours before an uncertain dawn.

Home again. Much to report. In the shadows, faint glimpses of what may be light.

The Real StoryTerry Glavin

Warren Kinsella

Bio: “Warren Kinsella is the president of Daisy. Previously, he was a partner at the law firm of McMillan Binch, in its Public Policy Group, and has also worked as a consultant, journalist and political Chief of Staff. Warren received a Bachelor of Journalism (Honours) from Carleton University and his law degree from the University of Calgary; he has also completed executive education courses at Harvard’s law school and its school of business. [...] Warren has been a columnist with the Ottawa Citizen, National Post, Hill Times and nationally with the Postmedia media chain.” - Daisy Group

Employer/Affiliation: Toronto Sun

Year of trip: 2024

Content from trip:

KINSELLA: Many in Israel disgusted by pro-Hamas university protests

They haven’t missed it. They’ve seen what’s happening on our campuses.

Toronto SunWarren Kinsella

KINSELLA: Massive crime scene at Israeli kibbutz should be wake-up call to protesters

‘We don’t understand what the students are talking about. They need to see what happened here.’

Toronto SunWarren Kinsella

KINSELLA: Israel won’t stop Rafah advance until goals of war are met, ex-military commander says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no choice, says retired Israeli Brigadier General Amir Avivi

Toronto SunWarren Kinsella

KINSELLA: Israel concerned about ‘hidden hand’ involved in West protests

Israel believes what is happening abroad isn’t organic or spontaneous, says a spokesman for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Toronto SunWarren Kinsella

KINSELLA: Israel feels more like an open wound than a country these days

One of the first things you notice about Jerusalem, when you come here, is the people. Not the beautiful sights, so much, these days.

Toronto SunWarren Kinsella

KINSELLA: Israel’s fate obscured by clouds of war

It is clear what protesting students want: they favour wiping away the Jewish state and the Jews and handing all of it over to a death cult.

Toronto SunWarren Kinsella

Dahlia Kurtz

Bio: “Jew. Grandchild of Holocaust survivors. Investigative journalist. Columnist. Speaker.” - Instagram

Employer/Affiliation: Independent journalist

Year of trip: 2024

Brian Lilley

Bio: “Brian Lilley is a political columnist with the Toronto Sun. A veteran of radio, TV, print and online, Brian cut his teeth covering courts, crime and everything else as a junior reporter in Montreal. Since 2002 he’s spent most of his time focused on politics including working from 2005 through 2010 as the Ottawa Bureau Chief for Newstalk 1010 in Toronto and CJAD 800 in Montreal. In 2010, Brian joined the Sun to help with the launch of Sun News Network, hosting the popular nightly show Byline while also writing weekly columns for the paper. Now based in Toronto, Brian writes daily columns on politics covering all levels of government and is regularly heard commenting on issues on talk radio stations across the country.” - Toronto Sun

Employer/Affiliation: Toronto Sun

Year of trip: 2024

Content from trip:

LILLEY: Those lecturing Israel should walk a mile in a kibbutz

Seeing the devastation of the October 7 terrorist attacks first hand is far different than reading about it a world away.

Toronto SunBrian Lilley

LILLEY: Canadians need a new and better perspective on Israel

Turning to simple slogans won’t solve a conflict where one side wants peace with their neighbours and the other side doesn’t want neighbours

Toronto SunBrian Lilley

LILLEY: Israel’s fight against Hamas rightly will go on after ICJ ruling

The ICJ has ruled that Israel can continue that fight, within the confines of international law, which the country was already adhering to.

Toronto SunBrian Lilley