The Dutch Parliament has voted to designate Samidoun as a terrorist organization this week, according to Dutch politician Diederick van Dijk and the European Jewish Congress (EJC).
The motion, which was brought by van Dijk of the Reformed Political Party (SGP), passed 100 to 50.
Samidoun is a Canada-registered organization that purports to focus on issues related to indicted Palestinian terrorists serving time in Israeli prisons. In 2021, Israel designated Samidoun, which serves as a proxy for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), as a terror group. Germany joined them in 2023.
While the European Union has designated the PFLP a terrorist organization, Samidoun, as its front, is able to operate relatively freely in many European countries.
Following the announcement of the vote, van Dijk posted on X/Twitter, "We will continue fighting terrorism and Hamas propaganda."
Van Dijk told The Jerusalem Post that this was an important step to combat antisemitism and counter the glorification of terror.
"Samidoun is an antisemitic organization linked to the PFLP, which is on the European Terror List. Samidoun has already been banned in multiple countries. It's high time that the Netherlands acts accordingly."
His party - SGP - responded to the news by saying that "organizations like Samidoun, which spread antisemitism and glorify terror, do not belong in the Dutch rule of law."
Promotion of hate and antisemitism
SGP added that the adopted motion calls on the cabinet to place Samidoun on the national sanctions list of terrorism. Recently, Meta and YouTube have blocked some of the organization's online platforms, citing violations of their community guidelines.
The EJC commended the "decisive step" that would help curb the influence of groups that threaten democratic values.
"This decision sends a clear message: the promotion of violence and hate has no place in our society."
Organisaties als Samidoun, die antisemitisme verspreiden en terreur verheerlijken, horen niet thuis in de Nederlandse rechtsstaat. De aangenomen motie van SGP’er @djhvandijk en JA21 roept het kabinet op om Samidoun op de nationale sanctielijst terrorisme te plaatsen.1/3 pic.twitter.com/SUTOeEfwYk
— SGP (@SGPnieuws) October 8, 2024
In a letter following the motion, van Dijk wrote that "The government, in consultation with the Public Prosecution Service and the intelligence services, will push to ensure that organizations such as Samidoun are placed on the national terrorism sanctions list and the police counterterror registry," he concluded.
Van Dijk told the Post that he hoped this would stop the group from carrying out activities in public.
Presence in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, Samidoun has organized several protests, including a 2023 rally in Rotterdam where protesters held posters in support of Palestinian terrorists.
In May, it was discovered that various encampments at Dutch universities, some of which featured violent riots against Jewish and Israeli students, had received an honorary endorsement from Samidoun.
In its letter of endorsement, Samidoun accused Amsterdam universities of having “various ties to the genocidal apartheid state,” adding that “it’s high time that these ties are broken.”
Samidoun's leadership
Samidoun’s international coordinator, Charlotte Kates, was arrested in her hometown of Vancouver following terror-supporting remarks she gave during a protest where she celebrated the October 7 massacre.
Kates’s partner, Khaled Barakat, was named as a leader in the PFLP, which he admitted several times himself; and served as a prominent leader in Samidoun and its tributary group, Masar Badil.
Since 2019, various financial platforms and credit card companies, including American Express, PayPal, Donorbox, Plaid, and Discover, have reportedly stopped processing funding for Samidoun and their fiscal sponsor, the Alliance for Global Justice, citing fears of relations to terror activity.
Ohad Merlin contributed to this report.