Should ‘Samidoun’ be Banned in Canada?

Since the October 7th terrorist attacks and the subsequent renewal of conflict in Gaza, there has been an increasing amount of oversight and review of Jewish and Muslim organizations in Canada. However, one group has managed to slip under the radar and face little to no backlash apart from the occasional article denouncing their rhetoric: the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

The Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, otherwise known as ‘Samidoun’, is a not-for-profit advocacy group, purportedly “working to build solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in their struggle for freedom.” On Samidoun’s website, they describe their mission as follows:

“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. We seek to amplify the voices of Palestinian prisoners, former prisoners, prisoners’ families, and Palestinian advocates for justice and human rights by translating, sharing and distributing news, interviews and materials from Palestine.” –Samidoun.net

TERRORIST CONNECTIONS:

The organization was founded in 2012 in response to a 2011 hunger strike led by Palestinian prisoners. However, Samidoun has been heavily scrutinized for how it conducts its activities.

They have repeatedly been accused of being a de-facto propaganda apparatchik of Palestinian terrorist groups such as HAMAS.

Samidoun has also been called a ‘front group’ for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The PFLP is a revolutionary communist organization with its own paramilitary wing. They are proponents of a one-state solution and the erasure of Israel through violent means. The PFLP is a proscribed terrorist organization in many countries due to its involvement in numerous terrorist atrocities, including bombings and aircraft hijackings.

In Canada, the organization has been on the list of ‘terrorist entities’ under Canada’s Criminal Code since 2003, and in 2014 the UK also proscribed the group. Other countries that have prescribed the group include Japan and the USA. Therefore, due to the PFLP’s history of terrorism, the connection (or at the least, the perceived connection) between Samidoun and the PFLP is highly disturbing and merits further investigation to determine the validity of these accusations.

However, the Samidoun network is doing itself no PR favors to dispel such heavy accusations.

Despite trying to frame its image as a peaceful protest movement, behind closed doors, Samidoun tacitly supports and advocates on behalf of the militant policies of the PFLP. In fact, their own website links to a downloadable PDF of the PFLP’s 1969 manifesto: Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine.

Lacking the time, room, or stomach to fully display the horrors of this text, I will show you one quotation which I believe to be of particular importance, not because of its uniqueness, but because Samidoun proudly and publicly released a photo of them studying the following verse:

“The only weapon left to the masses in order to restore history and progress and truly defeat enemies and potential enemies, in the long run, is revolutionary violence in confronting Zionist violence and reaction.”

Clearly, this is not a message of unity and peace, nor does it advocate the release of Palestinian prisoners, which is Samidoun’s supposed raison d’etre. Therefore, it is increasingly evident that Samidoun has been less than candid about its activities, goals, and affiliates.

In addition, Samidoun does not fully disclose its financial records. This lack of transparency undermines the legitimacy of the group, adding to the aura of distrust and increasing speculation that something untoward is happening behind closed doors.

Indeed, over the decade of its existence, Samidoun’s activities, the actions of their leaders, and their voluntary association with proscribed terrorist organizations were suspicious enough to warrant investigation by numerous countries. Yet, as of writing, the group has only been banned in two countries: Israel & Germany.

CRACKDOWN ABROAD:

Israel called Samidoun a “terror entity” in February 2021. Specifically, the Israeli Ministry of Defense designated Samidoun a terrorist organization and “a subsidiary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).”

In 2023, shortly after the October 7th terrorist attacks, Germany began to follow suit, cracking down on pro-HAMAS affiliates.

In particular, Samidoun’s response to the terrorist attacks in Israel sparked outrage in Germany, spurring government action against the group. Disgustingly, without tact or decency, Samidoun had, on October 7th, begun handing out sweets on the streets of Berlin, celebrating the massacre of roughly 1,200 people. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser quickly denounced their actions: “Holding spontaneous ‘jubilant celebrations’ here in Germany in response to Hamas’s terrible terrorist attacks against Israel demonstrates Samidoun’s antisemitic, inhuman worldview in a particularly sickening way.”

Shortly after that, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on October 12th that HAMAS and Samidoun would be banned in the country. Confronting the vile antisemitic hate head-on, their government didn’t just mouth platitudes to appease the Jewish community (like other governments have been prone to doing). They acted quickly and decisively.

Indeed, it would take under a month for Chancellor Scholz’s promises to materialize, with the government dissolving the organization in the process of banning any HAMAS affiliated groups. On November 2nd, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said, “With Hamas, I have today completely banned the activities of a terrorist organization whose aim is to destroy the state of Israel.” In conjunction, Nancy Faeser also banned and dissolved the German branch of Samidoun’s international network, which she accused of supporting HAMAS.

SAMIDOUN IN CANADA:

In Canada, the Samidoun branch of the network has conducted similar actions to those denounced in Germany: celebrating the October 7th terrorist attacks, calling for violence, and spreading antisemitic rhetoric.

For example, in May of this year, two individuals, Masir Badil (a leader of the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement) and his accomplice, Khaled Barakat (who is an alleged PFLP operative), were partly responsible for organizing a Pro-Palestinian rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery. At the rally, Charollete Kates (the International Coordinator for Samidoun) is recorded yelling, “We demand a free Palestine from the River to the Sea. And we stand with the Palestinian resistance and their heroic and brave actions on October 7.” Afterwards, she helped lead the crowd in chanting, “Long live October 7th!”

The protest also called for violent action across the world in response to the war in Gaza. Khaled Barakat was recorded proudly proclaiming, “What happened on October 7th was the beginning of the great intifada!”

Nevertheless, Samidoun has so far been able to operate freely in Canada despite facing a wave of renewed scrutiny since the war began.

For years, Canada has been perceived as a relatively safe haven in the Western World, where Samidoun could operate (largely) with impunity. This is made evident by the fact that (to our country’s great shame) many of Samidoun’s leaders reside in Canada. Moreover, several influential members were deported back to Canada from Germany in 2019 and again deported from the EU in 2022 when they were denied entry.

AWARD IN TEHRAN:

A shocking news development has recently brought Samidoun back into the Canadian news. On August 4th, the Iranian government hosted Canadian Charlotte Kates, where they presented her with a Human Rights Award. The “Eighth Annual Islamic Human Rights And Human Dignity Award,” as it was dubbed, was presented in Tehran to Charlotte Kates and 8 other honorees. Shown below, this list includes terrorists -a truly fitting company to exemplify Samidoun’s ‘moderate’ credentials.

The three special honorees:

1. Ismail Haniyeh, the chair of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement
2. Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the 13th Iranian Foreign Minister
3. Mohammed Reza Zahedi, Major General of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

The six awardees:

1. Ziyad Nakhaleh, the General Secretary of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (PIJ)
2. Siraj al-Haq, the former chair of the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JIP)
3. Jaime Ermida, Permanent Representative of Nicaragua to the United Nations
4. Charlotte Kates, international coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
5. Gilles Devers, French lawyer and human rights advocate
6. Asadollah Asadi, the freed former Iranian diplomat.

After receiving her award, Charlotte Kates went on to Iranian television to recount a heavily distorted series of events. There, she presented herself as a political martyr, being unduly persecuted and arrested by Canadian police for merely speaking. Never mind her calls for global intifada and dog whistles for genocide; those are Zionist lies!

Thankfully, some infinitesimal amount of common sense seems to exist, and Charlotte Kates now faces ‘Hate Speech’ charges in Canada due to her vile rhetoric.

FOREIGN INTERFERENCE:

All this information can be extremely depressing. Beyond spewing the typical antisemitic bile across Canada, Samidoun also represents another, arguably far greater (and growing) problem: foreign interference in Canadian politics. Recall, for those who read the interview last edition with MLA Dominic Cardy, that he believed foreign interference to be a prime motivator behind much of the unrest seen on Canadian streets and Universities. In contrast to the apparent timidity of the federal government to act and address the issue, Mr. Cardy and many others have called for a greater clampdown.

Perhaps some cosmic justice will materialize in the future. Previously, Samidoun and other Pro-Palestine organizations in Canada openly celebrated the audit of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the subsequent removal of their charitable status. Yet, Samidoun could now face a similar fate. There have been repeated allegations of money laundering on behalf of HAMAS and PIJ, using Samidoun to raise funds in Canada and across the world. Indeed, allegations have been legitimate enough for PayPal, DonorBox, and Plaid to all shut down online donations to Samidoun.

So, the ‘straw which breaks the camel’s back’, so to speak for Samidoun, may be financial auditing.