The leader of a group recently classified as terrorist by the federal government was invited to give a conference at a pro-Palestinian event last Friday in Montreal.
Charlotte Kates, international coordinator of the Samidoun group, was visiting the St-Pierre Center, located in the Village, on 1is November, on the occasion of the inaugural conference of the Palestine Coordination Council.
Samidoun was placed on the list of terrorist entities by Canada on October 15 due to its close ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), already considered terrorist by several Western countries.
Charlotte Kates, for her part, has already been arrested as part of a hate crime investigation in Vancouver, after declaring “long live October 7” and calling Hamas and Hezbollah fighters “heroes” during a demonstration last April.
Charlotte Kates.
Photo taken from the MIDDLE EAST MEDIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE website
Several media outlets have highlighted, in recent weeks, that no charges have yet been filed in this case.
They ironically condemn terrorism
According to the official event schedule, Mme Kates was scheduled to speak in a segment titled “Criminalization of Dissent.”
On its website, available only in English, the Palestine Coordinating Council describes itself as a collective promoting Palestinian rights and says it opposes “all forms of oppression”, including ironically “terrorism of ‘State”.
Its organizers did not respond to questions from Journal Sunday, at the time of putting this text online.
The presence of Charlotte Kates upset the special rapporteur of the United Nations (UN), Francesca Albanese, who decided to cancel a speech she was to give at the same conference on Saturday. Mme Albanese explained at a press conference on Sunday that he made this choice to avoid controversy and not cause distraction.
The St-Pierre Center not aware
For its part, the St-Pierre Center maintains that it was not aware of the presence of Mr.me Kates among the speakers. Its general director, Charles Fillion, explains that he shared his policy based on values of “dignity” and “respect” with the Palestine Coordination Council before renting its spaces to it.
“We are very vigilant, especially when it is a group for which it is the first location with us and we are doubly more vigilant with the Palestine file,” he argues, while specifying that it is “impossible » for the Center to carry out checks on each guest.
Mr. Fillion says he will discuss this situation with the group. He “does not rule out” banning Mme Kates of its premises.
The Advisory Center for Jewish and Israeli Relations (CIJA), for its part, condemned the invitation of Charlotte Kates.
“The fact that this ‘hate conference’ is providing a platform for him is yet another clear example of the dangerous alignment between the pro-Hamas movement and far-left extremists. This direct threat to our common values demands universal condemnation,” the organization wrote on X.
– With Zoé Arcand
