On the evening of October 7, 2024, a well-known and frightening group of people gathered on the steps of Vancouver’s Robson Square, their faces obscured by masks and keffiyehs as they set a Canadian flag on fire while chanting “Death to Canada! Death to the United States! And Death to Israel!” and “We are Hezbollah and we are Hamas!”
That group is Samidoun, also known as the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, and they have a long history of incitement in Canada and abroad. They had been able to register themselves as a non-profit in Canada, but since this most recent stunt, calls increased not only to remove their non-profit status but also to list the group as a terrorist entity under Canadian law.
In partnership with the United States, the Canadian government finally took this action on October 15. Both countries listed Samidoun as a terrorist entity – a move that the Jewish community in both countries has welcomed. While Samidoun’s celebration of Hamas’ brutal attack in Vancouver shocked the Canadian public, the reasons behind listing them as a terrorist entity run deeper than just hateful protests.
It’s their direct ties to other terrorist organizations that had the Jewish community and organizations such as the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) sounding the alarm since 2020.
Samidoun is the International Arm of the PFLP
Samidoun made no secret that it was deeply tied to other terrorist groups. For years, it has flaunted its ties to the PFLP by sharing its writings, brandishing its symbols, and cheering on its terrorism. Samidoun calls for the destruction of Israel, violent “resistance,” and threats towards Canada’s Jewish community.
Samidoun has been listed as a terrorist group in Israel, banned in Germany, and had its funding frozen in the United States. Its leaders have been deported from – and barred from re-entering – the EU. Earlier this month, the Netherlands also moved to ban the group.
While their rhetoric and actions have always been concerning, since the October 7 massacre, Samidoun went into overdrive – shamelessly celebrating Hamas and Hezbollah, proudly spewing hateful vitriol against the Jewish state, and successfully soliciting donations to continue their propaganda campaigns. They were emboldened, and they felt untouchable.
One doesn’t need to be too creative to imagine what happens when a terrorism-supporting and terror-tied group feels confident while enjoying access to funds and close connections to a network of individuals with the knowledge and experience of planning and executing heinous acts against innocent people around the world.
Just look at one of Samidoun’s leaders, Charlotte Kates, who appeared in Tehran this August this August to receive a so-called human rights award from the IRGC – yes, the same group that was recently listed as a terrorist entity in
Canada and that supports Iran, a regime whose track record on human rights would make even ISIS uncomfortable. Kates is also facing potential hate speech charges in the Canadian courts while appearing on Iranian state TV and at other events around the world to celebrate attacks on Israel.
Despite all this, until a few days ago, Samidoun was almost the opposite of a listed terrorist entity – they enjoyed registered non-profit status, benefiting from the fundraising opportunities and tax reductions that come with that designation. CIJA has been advocating for adding Samidoun to the terror list since 2020, sharing evidence of terror connections and threats. However, the reluctance of the Canadian government to do so until a critical mass of public and media demands made it politically necessary only underscores a dangerous trend: the normalization of extremist narratives within Canadian borders.
If an organization can proudly and openly demonstrate its allegiance and support for other terrorist groups, call for violence, incite hate, and threaten the Jewish community, we’re left wondering: why did it take Canada so long to act?
Shimon Koffler Fogel is the President and CEO of Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) in Canada.
This op-ed is published in partnership with a coalition of organizations that fight antisemitism across the world. Read the previous article by Adam Milstein.