Samidoun (Arabic: صامدون, romanized: Ṣāmidūn, lit. 'steadfast'—see sumud for the cultural context of this term), officially Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, is an international pro-Palestinian advocacy group, founded in 2011. It describes itself as a "network of organizers and activists working to build solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in their struggle for freedom."[1][2] It has chapters in the United States, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Palestine, and Lebanon.[1] Since the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and ensuing Israel-Hamas war, Samidoun has been a prominent organizer of Palestinian solidarity protests in the U.S. and Canada.[3]
Samidoun is led by Charlotte Lynn Kates, Dave Diewert and Thomas Gerhard Hofland. Kates is a New Jersey native and Rutgers University graduate, married to Samidoun founder, Khaled Barakat, who was born near Jerusalem. Barakat is considered to be a PFLP leader by the US government. He was deported from the United States in 2003.[9][10][3] The couple are banned from entering the European Union.[11] Kates was arrested in April 2024 after she allegedly praised the 7 October attacks and referred to a number of designated terrorist organizations as heroes at a demonstration in Vancouver.[12] She travelled to Iran to accept an Islamic Human Rights and Human Dignity Award in August 2024. B'nai Brith Canada is petitioning the Canadian government to deport both Kates and Barakat.[13][14]
In 2021, Israel's Defense Ministry designated the association as a terrorist organization, based on recommendations from the Shin Bet and the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing. The designation alleged that, although its official aim is to assist in securing prisoners' release, it effectively operates as a front for the PFLP abroad.[5]
On 1 October 2024, the Parliament of the Netherlands voted to recommend that Samidoun be designated as a terrorist organization.[16] Upon that vote, international reports claimed that the Netherlands had actually placed Samidoun on the state's list of terrorist organizations.[17] As of November 2024[update], Samidoun does not appear on the country's list.[18]
Meta Platforms and YouTube have blocked certain online platforms of the organization, citing breaches of their community guidelines.[17]
On the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks, a speaker at a rally in Vancouver organized by Samidoun identified themselves with Hezbollah and Hamas and called for death to the United States, Canada, and Israel. Participants at the same event were seen burning a Canadian flag.[19] Samidoun confirmed and defended the actions, saying they accurately reflected its goal of "destroying the colonialist, capitalist state of Canada" and stand by the "death to Canada" phrase "as the call to action that it is".[20][21]
^The SDN status is distinct from the Foreign Terrorist Organization status; that is, the United States did not designate Samidoun a terrorist organization. The United States sanctioned Samidoun for alleged association with terrorist organizations, calling Samidoun a "sham charity." Samidoun is on the SDN list under the Specially Designated Global Terrorist program, which includes both organizations considered capable of terrorism and their alleged associates.
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