Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church in Toronto has canceled a scheduled event honoring Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist Ghassan Kanafani, following a campaign by B’nai Brith Canada.
The “Ghassan Kanafani Resistance Arts Scholarship Launch” was organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), an international movement of young Palestinians calling for the liberation of Palestinian through armed resistance, violence and terrorism.
PYM receives funding from the Westchester-based “WESPAC Foundation,” which also funnels donations to other pro-BDS groups, such as National Students for Justice of Palestine, Adalah-N.Y. and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network.
The cancellation follows increased scrutiny of the youth movement over its open support for terrorists and terrorist actions.
On Friday, B’nai Brith’s Canada called on citizens to condemn the church’s refusal to call off the event and circulated a petition to that effect. Late on Friday night, B’nai Brith received a letter from the board of Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church informing the organization the board had elected to cancel the event.
“We are relieved that the church eventually came to the correct decision, to help prevent the shameful glorification of a terrorist,” said Michael Mostyn, chief executive officer of B’nai Brith Canada. “B’nai Brith thanks its supporters for their swift and effective response to our call to action.”