B’nai Brith Canada alerted the City of Ottawa to the fact that an alleged leader of a designated terrorist entity was scheduled to speak at a city-owned community center.
Khaled Barakat in late April was exposed in the National Post as “a leader of a terrorist group who is running a Canadian charity” – with the terrorist organization in question, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, listed as a designated terrorist entity in Canada. He was scheduled to speak at the Fifth Assembly of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle in Canada (ILPS) at the Foster Farm Community Centre, a venue that is owned and operated by the City of Ottawa.
B’nai Brith send a complaint letter to the Ottawa government.
In response, the city said: “In light of the serious concerns that you raised in your letter, my staff have reviewed the bookings for the facilities identified and, in consultation with the city’s Legal Services Branch, the terms and conditions governing the rental of those facilities. These standard rental terms provide that the City may refuse to provide use of the spaces under its control to ‘an individual or group that supports or promotes views, ideas or presentations which promote or are likely to promote discrimination, contempt or hatred to any person on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, age, sex, marital status, family status, sexual preference, or disability, gratuitous sex and violence or denigration of the human condition.’”
The city said that they were in the process of contacting the event organizer to ask for their assurances that their meeting would not violate city policy.
B’nai Brith called on city officials to “act appropriate” and cancel Barakat’s appearance.
“The PFLP is a terrorist group that continues to commit violent terrorist attacks against Jews,” B’nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn said. “They have murdered innocent civilians, butchered rabbis in a synagogue, hijacked an aircraft and who knows what else?”
Mostyn urged the city to abide by their guidelines and prevent Barakat from speaking.
“Insofar as the City of Ottawa prohibits providing venues to groups that promote hatred and commit violence, we trust that it will follow its own policy and prevent [Barakat] from addressing anyone at the community centre,” he said. “We call on concerned citizens to contact City of Ottawa officials today and voice their concerns.”