Khaled Barakat, a senior leader of the Canada and US-designated terror group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has been residing sporadically in Canada over the last 20 years. Like many terrorists and terror-linked operatives, he uses a "civilian front," called Samidoun to promote his agenda. Over the last few years, B'nai Brith has been warning Canadian officials about Barakat's activity to no avail.
Last week, a front-page story on Barakat was released in a leading Canadian newspaper. This exposé will hopefully enlighten Canadian citizens and Canada's law enforcement agencies that a terrorist is living in Canada and eliciting support for violence, his soapbox the shores of a democratic country that considers his organization a banned terrorist group.
Barakat, who is currently residing in Vancouver, is not a mere functionary in the PFLP but serves in a leadership role at the upper echelons of the terrorist organization and is variously cited by the PFLP itself as a leader or member of the governing central committee.
Canada and the US are not alone in listing the PFLP as a terrorist organization. In fact, the European Union, Japan, and Australia recognize the PFLP as such in their respective jurisdictions.
In 2019, Barakat's actions attracted the attention of the German authorities, who decided not to extend his visa, in part due to his violent antisemitic rhetoric.
Meanwhile, in Canada, Barakat's wife, Charlotte Kates – also a PFLP member – is listed as the director of the registered Canadian corporation, Samidoun. Considered by Israeli authorities as a proxy for the PFLP, Samidoun is closely linked to the PFLP and is accused of raising funds that support terrorist causes.
Fueled by a toxic combination of Pan-Arabism and Marxist-Leninism, the PFLP advocates for the destruction of the Jewish State. Supported by Bashar Al-Asaad's Syria and Iran's Ayatollahs, the terror organization is responsible for murdering civilians across the world. In 2014, the terror group massacred six civilians, including a Canadian, at a Jerusalem synagogue.
We at B'nai Brith documented Barakat's activities in Canada. We've written extensively in this regard to the Government, including various ministers, security officials, and even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, questioning Barakat's presence in our country. We've received no response to date.
Barakat's personal history stands in contrast with the Canadian values we cherish. A terror ringleader who has faced deportation from the United States, as well as Germany, certainly should find no safe haven in Canada to continue propagating the ideology of a banned terrorist group.
Supporters of Barakat, including Samidoun, led by his wife, continue to argue that the rising outrage over the safe harbor afforded to Barakat is motivated by some "Zionist lobby" plot. Alongside antisemitic tropes of Jews influencing media stories, importantly, often Barakat's supporters fail to deny any of the serious accusations against him.
Indeed, there is no logical argument why Canada should give any form of legal status to a foreign-born terrorist organizer to roam free on its soil. Barakat is no resistance hero, he is no advocate for peace, but rather a man who leads an antisemitic terror organization that murders Jews in Israel and around the world.
Now that this issue has once again been raised in the public square, what should the Government of Canada do? In order to restore the public's confidence in its ability to fight terrorism and antisemitism, Barakat must be immediately deported from Canada. The next logical step is the immediate dissolution of Samidoun – the evidence of its collaboration with the PFLP is simply too great to justify allowing it to continue as a Canadian corporation.
To that end, B'nai Brith Canada has launched a public campaign demanding the deportation of Barakat from Canada and the decertification of Samidoun.
Whatever the circumstances that led to Barakat's admission into Canada, the Canadian Government and its various agencies now have complete transparency as to the true nature of his identity. To maintain the rule of law, the Canadian Government must enforce its laws for the protection of its own citizens.
Michael Mostyn is the Chief Executive Officer of B'nai Brith Canada.
This op-ed is published in partnership with a coalition of organizations that fight antisemitism across the world. Read the previous article by Angel Mas.