October 7, 2024
TORONTO – On the one-year anniversary of the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, B’nai Brith Canada is strongly supporting Canadians who were victimized by the terror attack in Israel and who are turning to the Ontario Superior Court for justice.
In a new claim issued today, plaintiffs are seeking $250-million in compensation from the Palestinian Authority, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Syria and Samidoun, a Vancouver-based not-for-profit corporation. The lawsuit alleges in part that, by funding a “pay-for-slay” program that rewards Palestinians who carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis, the Palestinian Authority is liable under Canada’s Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act. Ironically, the lawsuit comes on the heels of a House of Commons committee trying to push forward the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state by Canada.
The plaintiffs are represented by lawyers from Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Gardiner Roberts LLP and the Human Rights Action Group. The allegations in the statement of claim issued today have not yet been tested in court.
“B’nai Brith stands unequivocally with the families of the victims of the Oct. 7 terror attacks in their quest for justice,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “By the same token, it is tragic that victims’ families have had to take matters into their own hands after being failed by Canadian institutions. It is unconscionable that Canada would continue to maintain diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority, which has the blood of Canadian citizens on its hands.”
B’nai Brith also has a long history of advocating for Samidoun to have its corporate status revoked. As previously highlighted by B’nai Brith, Samidoun is widely considered to be a proxy of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist entity in Canada. Khaled Barakat, the husband of Samidoun’s International Coordinator, Charlotte Kates, is a self-admitted senior member of the PFLP.
