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August 24, 2001/Elul 5, 5761, Vol. 53, No.46
Canada investigates terror Web sites
BILL GLADSTONE
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
TORONTO - Acting on a complaint from B'nai Brith Canada, Canadian police and government intelligence officials are investigating one Web site operated by Islamic terrorist groups in Toronto and another in Montreal that encourages violence against Jewish targets.
The Toronto Web site is registered to Islamic Jihad, one of the main groups responsible for terror attacks against Israel.
The site contains "statements from Palestinian terrorists taking credit for bombing attacks against Israeli civilians and threats of further violence," the National Post newspaper reported in a recent front-page story, after translating some of the content on the site from the original Arabic.
An "invitation to jihad" and other incitements to violence have been posted on Islamway.com, the Montreal-registered Web site, the newspaper reported.
"These sites are obscene and an affront to the sensibilities of all Canadians," said Rochelle Wilner, president of B'nai Brith Canada. "That Canada should be used to recruit killers is unacceptable. It is imperative that the Canadian public understand that the threat of creating terrorist cells in this country is now a reality."
In a press release issued last week, Islamway disclaimed responsibility for the violent messages on its site, saying they were posted by private individuals on an English-language discussion board similar to those operated by CNN.com and Yahoo.
The revelations about the Web sites are only the latest indications that some terrorist groups have long regarded Canada as a safe haven from which to conduct their deadly activities.
The issue exploded into Canadian public awareness in 1985, when Sikh militants bombed an Air India jet flying out of Vancouver, killing all 329 aboard.
Sixteen years later, officials of Jewish and other groups targeted by terrorists remain dissatisfied because lawmakers have yet to enact tough counter-terrorism legislation.
In a May 2000 report, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service indicated it was watching 50 organizations and 350 individuals connected with international terrorism, and identified "transnational Islamic extremism" as the "leading threat to Canada's national security."
Canada hasn't ratified its support of an international convention for the suppression of terrorist financing that both the United States and Britain already have turned into law.
While the United States has buttressed its anti-terrorism legislation with the death penalty, there is no Canadian law that specifically outlaws terrorist activities. Terrorist acts are treated like ordinary crimes in Canada.
So far, the Liberal government has brought forward only one limited piece of legislation. The proposed bill would make it a crime to raise funds for terrorist organizations such as Hamas or Hezbollah, but critics say it doesn't go nearly far enough.
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