RSS
Jewish LGBTQ+ Group Reinvited to Join Montreal Pride Parade After Initial Exclusion Due to Israel War
The 2023 Pride Parade in Montreal. Photo: Francois Nadeau / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect
Organizers of Montreal’s 2025 Pride Parade reversed their decision to exclude two Jewish groups from the event on Sunday and apologized for banning their participation after receiving widespread condemnation.
In a statement on Tuesday, organizers expressed remorse “to the Jewish communities and specially to Jewish members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community,” for excluding them from the parade, which marks the conclusion of The Fierté Montréal Festival that started on July 31.
“Fierté Montréal has always stood firmly against all forms of violence inflicted on marginalized populations or groups, including antisemitism, and remains committed to doing so,” said Marlot Marleau, president of the Fierté Montréal Festival. “As 2SLGBTQIA+ rights continue to erode around the world, we have a responsibility to provide an inclusive and safe gathering space for all participants, regardless of their religious or cultural background. This is a commitment we will continue to uphold in collaboration with all organizations taking part in our events.”
Ga’ava (which in Hebrew means “pride”) is Canada’s oldest and largest Jewish LGBTQ+ group. It participated in the Montreal Pride Parade last year. Ga’ava and its partner organization, the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), said they were informed on July 31 that they were banned from attending the parade on Sunday.
Explaining the decision, but without mentioning the name of either group, festival organizers said they received complaints about statements made by the organizations that were perceived as “hateful.”
“To ensure that the Fierté Montréal Festival remains a safe and celebratory space for everyone, the Board of Directors of Fierté Montréal has made the decision to deny participation in the Pride Parade to organizations spreading hateful discourse,” they explained. “This measure is taken in the context of a complex geopolitical situation and stems from our commitment to preserving the emotional and physical safety of our communities. We refuse to allow the spaces of the Fierté Montréal to be instrumentalized in the context of a conflict that involves major violations of fundamental human rights.”
In the same statement, festival organizers condemned what they claimed is “genocide” taking place in the Gaza Strip. They also expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people “and their opposition to genocide.”
Ga’ava said Montreal Pride representatives received anonymous complaints by people who accused the Jewish group of making hateful comments during an interview about attempts to exclude pro-Israel groups from the annual pride parade. Ga’ava said “the terms ‘pro-terror’ or ‘pro-Hamas,’ which [Ga’ava] are accused of using, may offend those who have supported or celebrated terrorism, but they do not constitute hate speech.”
Carlos A. Godoy L., who has been the volunteer president of Ga’ava for a decade, said the “deeply discriminatory” decision to initially exclude them from the parade was based on “flimsy, politically motivated reasons decided behind closed doors under pressure from groups that hate Jews, deny Israel’s existence, and whose members celebrated the atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023.”
Eta Yudin, Quebec’s CIJA vice president, said, “Instead of standing together against hate, antisemitism, and homophobia, Montreal Pride has chosen to align with those who fuel hatred, seek to divide our society, and attack the shared Quebec values with this antisemitic decision.”
The parade’s ban against the Jewish groups resulted in resignations of a festival committee member – who called the decision “discriminatory and indefensible” — and its chairman of the board. An executive director of the festival took leave because of the decision, according to The Canadian Jewish News. The decision was additionally condemned by several Canadian politicians, including a group which penned a letter to festival organizers about the “unacceptable” move.
Elisabeth Prass, the Quebec Liberal Party’s only Jewish parliamentarian, said, “No discrimination of any kind should take place during an event meant to promote diversity and inclusion. Antisemitism has no place in the face of acceptance of Jewish members of the LGBTQ+ community.” Quebec’s Minister of International Relations Martine Biron called the move ” counterproductive to the mission of inclusion of Montreal Pride.”
On Tuesday, Fierté Montréal Festival organizers acknowledged that their actions were “perceived by the Jewish community in Québec (and especially by Jewish members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community) as a way to exclude them from its events.”
“This does not reflect the inclusive values that guide Fierté Montréal’s actions,” they added. “The organization is committed to improving its internal complaint management processes to ensure that a situation like this one does not happen again and that no communities feel left out from its future festivities. The organization has reached out to representatives of the Jewish community, including CIJA, to clarify the situation and to ensure a space that is inclusive and safe for everyone, especially for Jewish members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community who wish to take part in the Parade. These discussions have helped clarify each party’s stance and reaffirm a shared commitment to Fierté Montréal’s values of inclusion and respect.”
Festival organizers changed their decision about one month after the research division of the Combat Antisemitism Movement released a report detailing incidents of hate against Jews which took place in June during demonstrations in celebration of LGBTQ+ rights and identity.
Also in June, the nonprofit A Wider Bridge outlined in its own report how anti-Israel activists in the LGBTQ+ community are subjecting Zionist Jews to extreme levels of discrimination, including expulsions from major progressive groups and even physical assault.
RSS
US House Members Ask Marco Rubio to Bar Turkey From Rejoining F-35 Program
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
A bipartisan coalition of more than 40 US lawmakers is pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prevent Turkey from rejoining the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, citing ongoing national security concerns and violations of US law.
Members of Congress on Thursday warned that lifting existing sanctions or readmitting Turkey to the US F-35 fifth-generation fighter program would “jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems” and risk exposing sensitive US military technology to Russia. The letter pointed to Ankara’s 2017 purchase of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system, despite repeated US warnings, as the central reason Turkey was expelled from the multibillion-dollar fighter jet program in 2019.
“The S-400 poses a direct threat to US aircraft, including the F-16 and F-35,” the lawmakers wrote. “If operated alongside these platforms, it risks exposing sensitive military technology to Russian intelligence.”
The group of signatories, spanning both parties, stressed that Turkey still possesses the Russian weapons systems and has shown “no willingness to comply with US law.” They urged Rubio and the Trump administration to uphold the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and maintain Ankara’s exclusion from the F-35 program until the S-400s are fully removed.
The letter comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed during a NATO summit in June that Ankara and Washington have begun discussing Turkey’s readmission into the program.
Lawmakers argued that reversing course now would undermine both US credibility and allied confidence in American defense commitments. They also warned it could disrupt development of the next-generation fighter jet announced by the administration earlier this year.
“This is not a partisan issue,” the letter emphasized. “We must continue to hold allies and adversaries alike accountable when their actions threaten US interests.”
RSS
US Lawmakers Urge Treasury to Investigate Whether Irish Bill Targeting Israel Violates Anti-Boycott Law
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A group of US lawmakers is calling on the Treasury Department to investigate and potentially penalize Ireland over proposed legislation targeting Israeli goods, warning that the move could trigger sanctions under longstanding US anti-boycott laws.
In a letter sent on Thursday to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 16 Republican members of Congress expressed “serious concerns” about Ireland’s recent legislative push to ban trade with territories under Israeli administration, including the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
The letter, spearheaded by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), called for the US to “send a clear signal” that any attempts to economically isolate Israel will “carry consequences.”
The Irish measure, introduced by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris, seeks to prohibit the import of goods and services originating from what the legislation refers to as “occupied Palestinian territories,” including Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Supporters say the bill aligns with international law and human rights principles, while opponents, including the signatories of the letter, characterize it as a direct extension of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel as a step toward the destruction of the world’s lone Jewish state.
Some US lawmakers have also described the Irish bill as an example of “antisemitic hate” that could risk hurting relations between Dublin and Washington.
“Such policies not only promote economic discrimination but also create legal uncertainty for US companies operating in Ireland,” the lawmakers wrote in this week’s letter, urging Bessent to determine whether Ireland’s actions qualify as participation in an “unsanctioned international boycott” under Section 999 of the Internal Revenue Code, also known as the Ribicoff Amendment.
Under that statute, the Treasury Department is required to maintain a list of countries that pressure companies to comply with international boycotts not sanctioned by the US. Inclusion on the list carries tax-reporting burdens and possible penalties for American firms and individuals doing business in those nations.
“If the criteria are met, Ireland should be added to the boycott list,” the letter said, arguing that such a step would help protect US companies from legal exposure and reaffirm American opposition to economic efforts aimed at isolating Israel.
Legal experts have argued that if the Irish bill becomes law, it could chase American capital out of the country while also hurting companies that do business with Ireland. Under US law, it is illegal for American companies to participate in boycotts of Israel backed by foreign governments. Several US states have also gone beyond federal restrictions to pass separate measures that bar companies from receiving state contracts if they boycott Israel.
Ireland has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel on the international stage since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza, leading the Jewish state to shutter its embassy in Dublin.
Last year, Ireland officially recognized a Palestinian state, a decision that Israel described as a “reward for terrorism.”
RSS
US Families File Lawsuit Accusing UNRWA of Supporting Hamas, Hezbollah
A truck, marked with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) logo, crosses into Egypt from Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, Nov. 27, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
American families of victims of Hamas and Hezbollah attacks have filed a lawsuit against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, accusing the organization of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing material support to the Islamist terror groups behind the deadly assaults.
Last week, more than 200 families filed a lawsuit in a Washington, DC district court accusing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing funding and support to Hamas and Hezbollah, both designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
The lawsuit alleges that UNRWA employs staff with direct ties to the Iran-backed terror group, including individuals allegedly involved in carrying out attacks against the Jewish state.
However, UNRWA has firmly denied the allegations, labeling them as “baseless” and condemning the lawsuit as “meritless, absurd, dangerous, and morally reprehensible.”
According to the organization, the lawsuit is part of a wider campaign of “misinformation and lawfare” targeting its work in the Gaza Strip, where it says Palestinians are enduring “mass, deliberate and forced starvation.”
The UN agency reports that more than 150,000 donors across the United States have supported its programs providing food, medical aid, education, and trauma assistance in the war-torn enclave amid the ongoing conflict.
In a press release, UNRWA USA affirmed that it will continue its humanitarian efforts despite facing legal challenges aimed at undermining its work.
“Starvation does not pause for politics. Neither will we,” the statement read.
Last year, Israeli security documents revealed that of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in Gaza, 440 were actively involved in Hamas’s military operations, with 2,000 registered as Hamas operatives.
According to these documents, at least nine UNRWA employees took part directly in the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
Israeli officials also uncovered a large Hamas data center beneath UNRWA headquarters, with cables running through the facility above, and found that Hamas also stored weapons in other UNRWA sites.
The UN agency has also aligned with Hamas in efforts against the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli and US-backed program that delivers aid directly to Palestinians, blocking Hamas from diverting supplies for terror activities and selling them at inflated prices.
These Israeli intelligence documents also revealed that a senior Hamas leader, killed in an Israeli strike in September 2024, had served as the head of the UNRWA teachers’ union in Lebanon, where Lebanon is based,
UNRWA’s education programs have been found by IMPACT-se, an international organization that monitors global education, to contribute to the radicalization of younger generations of Palestinians.