Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Samidoun was founded [p. 22] in 2012 in the wake of a hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, most of whom were PFLP members convicted of terrorism. The group describes itself as “an international network of organizers and activists working to build solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in their struggle for freedom.”

Samidoun’s three senior activists – Khaled Barakat, Mustapha Awad and Mohammed Khatib – are PFLP members [pp. 22-25].

The group is not registered as an official legal entity in the U.S. or Europe. On March 3, 2021, Samidoun was officially registered in Canada as a non-profit organization.

Samidoun characterizes convicted Palestinian terrorists as “political prisoners” and campaigns for their release. Among those for whom they organize is Ahmad Sa’adat, the secretary general of PFLP. The group organizes an annual “Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Political Prisoners” on April 17.

Samidoun also promotes the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and collaborates [p. 22] with other leading BDS and anti-Israel organizations around the world to form an international network of connections.

Khaled Barakat

Khaled Barakat has equated [00:21:14] Israelis with Nazis, glorified [00:01:08] terrorists and endorsed [00:23:20] terror. He has also spread [00:25:47] hatred of Zionism and demonized Israel. Barakat is an activist [00:22:54] in the BDS movement.

As of February 2019, Barakat was reportedly [p. 24] a member of the Central Committee of PFLP and the “Campaign Coordinator” at Samidoun.

In October 2022, Barakat was reportedly banned from entering the European Union and deported to Canada. In February 2020, he was reportedly deported from Germany and placed under a 4-year entry ban.

Charlotte Kates

Charlotte Kates, Khaled Barakat’s wife, has shown support for terrorists and terror organizations and called for an intifada. She has also spread hatred of Zionism and demonized Israel. She is a leader in the BDS movement.

As of July 2023, Kates served as the “International Coordinator” at Samidoun. According to Canadian government records, Kates is listed as the group’s “Director.”

In October 2022, Kates was reportedly banned from entering the European Union and deported to Canada.

According to its website, Samidoun is “a grassroots, unfunded organization.” The group does not disclose its financial information.

As of July 2023, Samidoun’s website states the organization is fiscally sponsored by the far-left Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ). Fiscal sponsorship allows an organization without charitable status to raise funds through an existing 501(c)(3) organization that “sponsors” it. This enables donors to take a tax deduction for their contributions to the sponsored organization.

On April 23, 2019, PayPal permanently shut down Samidoun’s account on its payment system due to the group’s alleged links to PFLP. In January 2020, Mastercard, Visa and American Express began blocking donations to Samidoun. In August 2021, Discover reportedly stopped processing all donations to AFGJ.

“Today, Palestinian refugees have to pay for Germany’s genocide of the Jewish people.”
Samidoun, Twitter, Jun 24 2021

“We reject all accords with the Zionists…We reject normalization in all of its forms.”
Samidoun, Twitter, Oct 19 2022

“The ethnic cleansing of Palestine is engineered by American non-profits.”
Samidoun, Twitter, Sep 26 2022

“Glory to the Intifada! The struggle continues!”
Samidoun, Twitter, Dec 8 2020

“Ghassan Kanafani was not part of the military resistance per se. He did not go and hijack an airplane like Leila [Khaled] did. And we’re very proud of her for doing that.”
Khaled Barakat, YouTube, Sep 19 2020

“As long as Israel exists, Palestinians will suffer.”
Khaled Barakat, YouTube, Sep 19 2020

“No Palestinians that respect himself or herself would sit with a Zionist or have a normal relationship with a racist Zionist regime or a party or individual.”
Khaled Barakat, YouTube, Aug 15 2013

“The Israelis and the Nazis are almost identical in term [sic] of the way they look at the victim.”
Khaled Barakat, YouTube, Aug 15 2013

“Israel is the project of colonization and imperialism.”
Khaled Barakat, YouTube, Jun 3 2022

“يا ريت داعش يقاتلوا الصهاينة ويوجهوا كل سلاحهم للعدو الصهيوني... [I wish ISIS would fight the Zionists and direct all their weapons to the Zionist enemy].”
Khaled Barakat, Twitter, Jan 9 2017

“Zionism…[is] a force in the region to control and divide Palestinians and the Arab region.”
Charlotte Kates, YouTube, Jan 28 2020

Samidoun advocates for the release of convicted terrorists and runs international campaigns on their behalf.

Samidoun campaigns for the release of PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Sa’adat.

Sa’adat was sentenced to 30 years in prison for terror activities, including his role in the 2001 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi. Under Sa’adat’s leadership, the PFLP perpetrated many suicide bombings against Israeli civilians during the second intifada.

Samidoun campaigns for the release of senior PFLP member Khalida Jarrar.

Jarrar is a senior PFLP member who was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2015 for calling to kidnap Israeli soldiers. She has reportedly been the head of the PFLP in the West Bank since 2016. Israel arrested Jarrar again in 2017 “on suspicion of involvement with terrorist activities and violent public disturbances.” In 2019, she was arrested by Israel with 50 other PFLP operatives following a deadly 2018 bombing attack.

Samidoun campaigns for the release of convicted Lebanese terrorist Georges Abdallah.

Abdallah is reportedly a PFLP member and co-founder of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF), which murdered an American military attaché and an Israeli diplomat in 1982.

Samidoun has also campaigned for the release of convicted terrorist Samer Issawi.

Samer Issawi is a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) who received a 26-year prison sentence in 2002. During the second intifada, Issawi manufactured and distributed pipe bombs and, in several incidents, fired indiscriminately on Israeli civilian vehicles.

Samidoun regards designated terror organizations as “resistance” or “human rights” groups and works to legitimize them with the international community and to have their terrorism designation removed.

Among Palestinians and anti-Israel activists, the term “resistance” can be a euphemism for nationalistic terror. It is often used to excuse or even glorify anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence.

Samidoun has collaborated with terrorist Leila Khaled and called [00:27:40] her a “Palestinian resistance icon.”

Leila Khaled is a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970. As of 2017, Khaled was a member of the PFLP's Political Bureau. Khaled has said that the second intifada failed because it was not violent enough, advocated [00:36:07] for the use of children in terror activities and compared Zionists to Nazis.

On December 17, 2022, Samidoun tweeted: “Free the Holy Land Five: Palestinian Prisoners in US Jails.”

The Holy Land Five (HL5) were five individuals associated with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) indicted for funneling funds to Hamas in the guise of humanitarian aid. The men were all convicted and sentenced in 2009 to federal prison terms ranging from 15 to 65 years.

On August 22, 2022, Samidoun tweeted: “The Palestinian people have the right to resist occupation and to be a part of political, social and armed movements in that resistance; this is not ‘terrorism’ but an essential right of people under occupation and colonization. #StandWithThe6.”

In October 2021, Israel’s Ministry of Defense declared six Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to be “terror organizations” operating “as an arm” of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group. The six NGOs were accused of funneling donor aid to militants and employing senior PFLP members, “including activists involved in terror activity.”

On May 14, 2021, Samidoun tweeted: “Condemning the crimes of the Zionist regime against Palestinian people, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vowed to support the Palestinian Resistance and intifada stronger than before…”

The State Department of the United States has listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. The IRGC has reportedly provided funding, training and weapons to other terror organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

On August 3, 2020, Samidoun referred to the terror group Hamas on Twitter as a “Gaza-based resistance movement.”

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, the European Union, Israel and other countries. Founded in 1987, it has killed thousands of Israeli civilians through mass shootings and suicide bombings. Hamas has also kidnapped children, families and the elderly and held them hostage in Gaza. It has desecrated [slide 2] dead bodies and launched numerous rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.

On January 6, 2020, Samidoun tweeted: “The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement announced on Friday that they will stand by Iran in fighting against the U.S. and the Zionist regime of Israel…”

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is a terror group “whose objective is the destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of a sovereign, Islamic Palestinian state.” PIJ is backed by Iran and has killed dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks.

On September 20, 2019, Samidoun tweeted: “‘Gaza has historically been responsible for the national project. Gaza gave birth to Yasser Arafat; Gaza created Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the first intifada. This is the role of Gaza…’”

Yasser Arafat was the former leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and is known by some as the “father of modern terrorism.” Under Arafat, the goal of the PLO was the violent destruction of Israel.

Samidoun systematically calls for a new intifada and celebrates past intifadas as heroic acts of Palestinian resistance.

On December 31, 2022, Samidoun posted on Facebook: “...Long live Palestine! Long live the Intifada! From the river to the sea, Palestine _will_ be free.”

The term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” carries the connotation of violence. Palestinian intifadas waged against Israel have been marked since 1987 by hundreds of hijackings, shootings, stabbings, bombings and suicide missions.

“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” is a chant calling to dismantle the State of Israel. It has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state.

On March 22, 2022, Samidoun tweeted: “Join @DSA_Palestine [Democratic Socialists of America] with Naila Ayesh and Emma Alpert for the national screening and panel discussion of ‘Naila and the Uprising,’ a film chronicling the Palestinian women leaders, like Naila, of the first Intifada…”

The first intifada lasted from 1987 to 1991 and resulted in over 120 Israeli civilian casualties. Palestinian gunmen hijacked multiple buses and carried out shooting, stabbing and bombing attacks against Israelis, including the bombing of the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem.

On September 15, 2021, Samidoun tweeted: “17 September, NYC: Globalize the Intifada – Free the Prisoners…”

“Globalize the Intifada” is an anti-Israel campaign launched by Within Our Lifetime (WOL) in the summer of 2021, intended as an “ongoing strike at the heart of empire [sic] with Palestine as its compass.” The movement seeks to “break free from the genocidal grip of U.S. imperialism and Zionism” and advocates “liberation by any means necessary.”

On December 17, 2020, Samidoun tweeted: “To understand the meaning of the Intifada and its current relevance, it has to be viewed as an active political event, constantly generating new meanings, as opposed to a historical event of little relevance to today’s realities…”

On December 8, 2020, Samidoun tweeted: “On the 33rd anniversary of the great Palestinian uprising: Glory to the Intifada! The struggle continues!...”

On October 21, 2020, Kates spoke at a webinar, where she said [00:01:14]: “Palestinians have called themselves the people of intifadas, the people of uprisings, because they have refused to…concede to colonialism.”

On October 5, 2020, Samidoun tweeted about the 1993 Oslo Accords, writing: “The Second Intifada proved that Palestinians rejected Oslo, refused to surrender and remained committed to resistance as the path to liberation…”

The second intifada took place from 2000 to 2005, where Palestinian terrorists carried out over 130 suicide bombings, murdering over 1,000 Israeli civilians and soldiers. Terrorists targeted city buses, shopping centers, dance clubs and cafes. Palestinian leadership encouraged children to carry out “martyrdom” operations against Israel.

On February 15, 2020, Samidoun tweeted: “77 percent of Palestinians favour a new intifada - an armed uprising against the Israeli occupation - while 84 percent believe in withdrawing Palestinian recognition of Israel.”

Samidoun spreads incitement to violence through its Twitter account.

On September 28, 2022, Samidoun tweeted: “Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the heavy protection of occupation forces. #SaveAlAqsa #AlAqsaUnderAttack.”

Palestinians and anti-Israel activists have historically described visits by Jews to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as “incursions” during which Jews purportedly “storm” the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Palestinians have also frequently used the mosque to stockpile stone slabs, fireworks and rocks, with which they attack Israeli security officers and non-Muslim visitors to the Temple Mount.

Allegations of Jews “threatening” to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque have been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews, predating the State of Israel.

Also on September 28, 2022, Samidoun tweeted: “‘Israeli’ settlers intruded into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of Al-Quds under the protection of the regime’s forces. #SaveAlAqsa #AlAqsaUnderAttack.”

On July 19, 2021, Samidoun tweeted: “The Israeli occupation municipality is seeking to implement a displacement plan and demolish 100 homes in the Al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. #SaveSilwan.”

Jewish ownership claims to lands in Silwan, a Jerusalem neighborhood also known as Shiloach, have been frequently met with Palestinian violence against Israelis who sought to reclaim their property rights.

On May 18, 2021, Samidoun tweeted: “‘As Jewish Israeli settler mobs and the Israeli state continue a campaign of violence against our people in Sheikh Jarrah and Gaza, we will continue our popular intifada until the liberation of our lands and people.’ #PalestineStrike…”

In May 2021, calls to “save” Sheikh Jarrah, a Jerusalem neighborhood at the center of a property dispute, led to violence against Israelis and were one of the leading factors in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza into Israel that month.

Samidoun promotes hatred of America and Canada in its activism. Samidoun is also a co-sponsor of the “International Peoples’ Tribunal on U.S. Imperialism: Sanctions, Blockades, and Economic Coercive Measures.”

Samidoun’s official website states: “The Canadian and U.S. governments are deeply complicit and directly implicated in the ongoing occupation of Palestine and the crimes of the Israeli state. Rather than standing for human rights, they enable, fund, and support occupation, apartheid, mass imprisonment, land confiscation, dispossession and settlement-building.”

On September 26, 2022, Samidoun tweeted: “The ethnic cleansing of Palestine is engineered by American non-profits. #DefundRacism.”

On June 30, 2022, Samidoun tweeted: “The United States organized a meeting with top military officials from apartheid Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain in order to conspire against Iran.”

On July 4, 2020, Samidoun tweeted: “U.S. Funds Palestinian Genocide; Florida is Furious – Join Statewide ‘Day of Rage’ on 5 July…”

On January 6, 2020, Samidoun tweeted: “The U.S. and Israel prefer ISIS to Iran…”

Samidoun spreads hatred of Zionism and sponsors events with leading anti-Zionist activists from around the world.

Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture.

On January 2, 2023, Samidoun tweeted: “‘There is no other way than to put an end to the Zionist project:’ Interview with Liliana Córdova Kaczerginski…”

Liliana Córdova Kaczerginski is an anti-Israel activist and co-founder of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN).

On December 15, 2022, Samidoun tweeted: “It is the responsibility of the entire anti-racist movement to take up this fight and to reaffirm its support for the Palestinian people and their resistance confronting occupation, apartheid, Zionism and colonialism.”

The tweet was referring to Samidoun’s opposition to the IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights multiple forms of contemporary anti-Semitism related to Israel, including “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” and “Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 other countries have adopted the definition as well.

On October 19, 2022, Samidoun tweeted: “...We reject all accords with the Zionists…We reject normalization in all of its forms.”

Proponents of the “anti-normalization” policy seek to police all interactions between Israelis and Palestinians and shut down all conversations and interactions perceived as being ideologically unaligned with their own agenda. They believe “liberal Zionist” dialogue with Palestinians “normalizes” entrenched power dynamics. This policy was originally dictated by the BDS National Committee (BNC), which prioritized the “Monitoring & Rapid Response” against interactions that recognize or cooperate with “Israel’s regime.”

On April 21, 2022, Samidoun tweeted, quoting an article on their website: “‘We call for confronting the Zionist movement and its institutions abroad, especially the so-called ‘Jewish National Fund’ and the Zionist organizations associated with the occupation embassies ... military, political, academic and economic institutions.’”

On March 17, 2022, Samidoun tweeted a flyer for an anti-Israel rally, writing: “March against Zionist settler groups, in support of the Palestinian resistance, and for the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea. #DefundRacism #DefendPalestine.”

Samidoun spreads hatred of Israel by disseminating anti-Israel and anti-Semitic content online.

On December 7, 2022, Samidoun tweeted: “Confronting the IHRA definition and the attack on the Palestine movement: Israel is a racist endeavour.” The tweet linked to an article of the same name on their website.

On May 25, 2022, Samidoun tweeted: “On Nakba Day 2022, thousands of people around the world marked the 74th anniversary of the ‘catastrophe’ of 1948 that saw nearly 800,000 Palestinians expelled from their homes as Zionists established the illegal state of Israel.”

The term “Nakba” is generally translated as “catastrophe” in Arabic, referring to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel by defining it as a catastrophe.

On February 1, 2022, Samidoun tweeted: “Palestinians experiencing the brutality of Israel’s repression have been calling for an understanding of Israel’s rule as apartheid for over two decades. #EndIsraeliApartheid.”

On September 19, 2021, Samidoun tweeted, quoting an article published on the Nation website: “‘We are defending ourselves and our lands against the [Israeli] settler gangs that came to steal them with the protection of the Occupation soldiers and their fascist state…’”

On June 24, 2021, Samidoun tweeted: “Today, Palestinian refugees have to pay for Germany’s genocide of the Jewish people…”

On May 7, 2020, Samidoun tweeted: “The siege on Gaza threatens Palestinians’ health. It’s time for the U.S. to stop its complicity in the deadly siege. #EndGazaBlockade…”

Israel and Egypt implemented a United Nations-approved [pp. 39–41] joint blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2011 to stop Hamas from acquiring more sophisticated rockets.

On August 4, 2014, during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) against Hamas, Samidoun tweeted: “Ongoing Protests around the world confronting Gaza genocide and massacres by the Israeli state…”

Israel commenced OPE in July 2014 to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.

On August 15, 2013, Khaled Barakat spoke at a Samidoun-sponsored event in Vancouver, where he said [00:21:14]: “...the Israelis and the Nazis are almost identical in terms of the way they look at the victim.”

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 countries have adopted the definition as well.