Major Jewish advocacy groups in Canada are calling on the federal government to officially proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, JTA reported.
The demand follows the group’s publication of a global "target map" and a manual that encourages "direct action" against specific sites in Canada, the United States, and Europe.
The map identifies hundreds of addresses, including private residences and corporate offices, associated with Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense technology firm. Accompanying these coordinates is an "underground manual" that provides detailed instructions for the formation of "cells" to sabotage and vandalize targets.
The group’s manual explicitly instructs followers on how to damage property, block pipes, and break into facilities. It also includes strategies for evading police detection and destroying forensic evidence.
Richard Robertson, the director of research and advocacy for B’nai Brith Canada, expressed deep alarm over the group’s methods.
“The manual offers operational guidance for terroristic anarchy. By promoting this manual and identifying specific targets, Palestine Action is inciting its followers to commit criminal acts in furtherance of its radical ideology," noted Robertson.
Robertson further emphasized that the tactics employed by the group, such as circulating secret cell instructions and target lists, are "akin to the tactics of terrorist entities."
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) joined the call for a ban, warning that the group’s rhetoric poses a direct threat to national security and Canadian industry.
In a post on social media, CIJA stated, “Already banned in the UK as a terrorist group, we cannot allow extremists to threaten Canadian jobs or national security. We urge the Government of Canada to act proactively and add this group to the list of banned terrorist entities."
The push to ban the group in Canada follows similar moves in Europe. The United Kingdom designated Palestine Action-UK as a terrorist organization in July of last year under its Terrorism Act. This decision was prompted by an incident in which activists infiltrated a Royal Air Force base and vandalized military aircraft to protest British ties to Israel.
In February, London’s High Court determined that the proscription of the group was unlawful on the grounds that it improperly interfered with freedom of expression. However, the ban remains in effect while the government’s appeal is underway.
Just this week, a British court found four members of the group guilty of criminal damage regarding a 2024 break-in at an Israeli defense site. Canadian advocates argue that the transnational nature of this extremism requires the government to treat the group as a significant threat to public safety.
Palestine Action describes itself as a “direct action" network opposing what it calls British “complicity" with Israel, particularly in relation to arms sales.
An IDF soldier was severely injured, and three additional soldiers were lightly injured as a result of an explosive drone impact in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said.
The soldiers were evacuated to receive medical treatment at a hospital, and their families have been notified.
The group previously defaced a painting of Lord Balfour at Trinity College Cambridge, spraying the portrait with red paint and slashing it.
In another incident, Palestine Action members stole two busts of Israel’s first President, Chaim Weizmann, from a glass cabinet at Manchester University.