(JNS) A group participating in the Women’s March in Chicago on Saturday held a banner featuring a member of the U.S.-designated terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who was involved in the hijacking of two planes 50 years ago. A banner held by members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation included a picture of Leila Khaled and the words: “A woman’s place is in the struggle! Fight imperialism!” The first female to hijack a plane, Khaled was part of the 1969 hijacking of TWA Flight 840 from Rome to Tel Aviv, as well as the hijacking the following year of El Al Flight 219 from Amsterdam to New York City. She was released in each case.

Women’s March Chicago co-organizer Harlene Ellin said that while she was insulted by the poster, freedom of expression should be respected. “As a Jewish organizer of the Women’s March Chicago, I find the poster personally offensive,” she said. “But I respect the right of the [people] carrying it to voice their opinion.”

NGO Monitor president Gerald Steinberg told JNS, “Leila Khaled is a terrorist – the attempt to portray her as a hero or women’s rights defender is ludicrous. She continues to be part of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group banned for its terror agenda in the United States, Canada and even Europe. Not long ago, this organization carried out the vicious murder of 17-year-old Rina Shnerb [in Israel].”

Shnerb was killed in an explosion in the West Bank in August that wounded her brother and her father.