Federal Judge Blocks Anti-Israel Website That Imitates Indigo’s Branding

An Indigo bookstore in Laval, Que., on Nov. 4, 2020. The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz

A federal judge has blocked public access to an anti-Israel website at the request of Indigo Books and Music.

The reasons for the decision include trademark violation and potential defamation, according to the court documents.

The website, called Indigo Kills Kids (IKK), is run by Charlotte Kates, the court record said. Kates has been a vocal pro-Palestinian protester and is associated with the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

IKK called for a boycott of the bookstores and accused its CEO of funding the Israeli military.

“I agree with the Plaintiff that the apparent purpose of the IKK Platforms is to damage the Plaintiff’s business and reputation, including tarnishing the Indigo Marks and depreciating the value of the attendant goodwill, through the message inherent in the IKK Image and other content and messages on the IKK Platforms implicating the Indigo Marks,” Judge Janet Fuhrer said in the court order.

“In other words, the Defendants intentionally have attempted to attract the Plaintiff’s consumers to their own website for notoriety and in a manner likely to tarnish the goodwill attached to the Indigo Marks.”

Fuhrer said that an interim domain blocking order was “necessary and proportional” to limit the harm to Indigo until the court can hear the case.

“In itself, it is not an order that engages freedom of expression values or interferes with the principle of net-neutrality,” she wrote.

As a result of the order, companies including Telus, Rogers, and Bell are required to block visitors from accessing the website.

The court order follows nationwide protests of the bookstore, and coordinated protests were held after the order was issued.

“For the past year, Indigo has been the target of a sustained campaign of vandalism, violence and antisemitism, with masked protestors damaging our storefronts and the insides of stores,” Indigo said in a Sept. 27 news release.

Protests have allegedly “harassed customers” and defaced books with stickers, the release said.

“This week protestors negatively impacted dozens of stores across Canada in a coordinated campaign that further promoted their false narrative and mistruths,” Indigo said.

The company also denies that CEO Heather Reisman funds the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), saying it was “categorically untrue.”

Activists said they have already created a new website to continue their protest against the company and Reisman. The previous IKK website redirects visitors to the new website.

“Palestine solidarity groups are undeterred and have vowed to continue their boycott and public education campaign against Indigo, condemning the company’s financial ties to Israel’s military through CEO Heather Reisman’s leadership in the HESEG Foundation, which, through Canadian taxpayer subsidization, supports Israeli military ‘lone soldiers,’” says a media advisory calling for the boycott of Indigo.

The pro-Palestinian group alleges that Reisman supports the Israeli military through the HESEG Foundation. The foundation was established in 2005 and offers scholarships to “former lone soldiers,” according to LinkedIn.

Lone soldiers are those with no family in Israel to support them, new immigrants, or volunteers from abroad who serve in the IDF. According to the Lone Soldier Center, there are over 7,000 lone soldiers currently in the military.