Samidoun has officially been designated a terrorist group in the U.S. and Canada.
Since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks, Samidoun has emerged as a major organizer of anti-Israel protests and events in Canada and around the world. It has been targeted by other national governments. Despite calls from Jewish advocacy groups and the Conservative party to do so, Canada did not sanction the group until Tuesday. The announcement was made around a week after a Canadian flag was burned at a Samidoun event marking the one-year anniversary of October 7 that also featured chants of “Death to Canada.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the Vancouver-based anti-Israel organization.
What is Samidoun?
Prior to the October 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel, many may not have heard of Samidoun, although it has existed for more than a decade.
Samidoun was founded in 2011, around the time of a hunger strike in Israeli prisons that was organized by a terrorist group, the Popular Front For the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Samidoun’s avowed purpose is to support and raise awareness of Palestinian prisoners. More broadly, Samidoun is an activist organization that supports Palestinians and criticizes Israel, and organizes rallies and other events.
It has chapters in countries around the world.
“Samidoun seeks to achieve justice for Palestinian prisoners through events, activities, resources, delegations, research and information-sharing, as well as building bridges with the prisoners’ movement in Palestine,” the group says on its website.
Germany’s minister of the interior said this isn’t the group’s true purpose.
“Samidoun is an international network which disseminates anti-Israel and anti-Jewish propaganda while claiming to promote solidarity with prisoners in different countries,” said Nancy Faeser, when Germany banned the group in November 2023.
It’s unknown how many members the organization has. It organizes various events, including the annual Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Political Prisoners.
Who is in charge of it?
Charlotte Kates is the international co-ordinator and one of the most public-facing members of Samidoun. She made headlines following rallies at which she praised the Hamas attack of October 7. More recently, she was feted in Iran for her activism. Kates has been investigated by the Vancouver Police Department for hate speech, although charges have not been laid.
Another director of the group is Dave Diewert, a Vancouver activist. Both are listed in Canada’s not-for-profit registry as Samidoun’s directors.
Khaled Barakat, Kates’s husband, is a frequent speaker at Samidoun events, although it’s unclear if he has a formal role with the organization. Barakat, according to the U.S. government, is a senior member of the terrorist group PFLP.
What have other countries done?
In 2021, Israel designated Samidoun a terrorist entity, arguing that it is a front group for PFLP.
In Germany, Samidoun was banned after October 7.
“Banning the activity of HAMAS and Samidoun, and dissolving Samidoun Deutschland, will put a stop to such demonstrations of hate in Germany,” Fraser said at the time.
The Dutch parliament also voted this month to designate Samidoun a terrorist organization.
What are the allegations the U.S. and Canada have made?
Samidoun has officially been designated a terrorist group in Canada, while the United States has declared it a “sham” charity that operates as a fundraising organ for a terrorist organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
“Samidoun serves as a front for the group in countries where the PFLP is declared a terrorist organization. While the organization ostensibly supports Palestinian prisoners and their family members, in practice Samidoun provides financial support to the sanctioned PFLP,” the U.S. Treasury department said Tuesday in a press release.
What has Samidoun said about its designation in Canada?
In a statement posted to its website on Wednesday, Samidoun denied the allegations made by the Canadian and U.S. governments.
“Samidoun does not have any material or organizational ties to entities listed on the terrorist lists of the United States, Canada or the European Union,” the group said.
The group has also argued that the terrorist entity designation is a “sign of strength for the Palestinian movement.”
“It has united millions of people from across the world, and it has united virtually all social movements in every country for the Palestinian liberation struggle,” Samidoun said.
What is the PFLP?
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Marxist-Leninist organization founded by George Habash in 1967. It gained notoriety for airline hijackings in the 1970s and opposes the existence of Israel, preferring a single, secular government in the region.
It also makes up a large component of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, alongside Fatah, the political party to which Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian National Authority, belongs. Additionally, the PFLP is responsible for a number of terror attacks in Israel and the assassination of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi in 2001.
Canada designated the PFLP a terrorist organization in 2003.
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