The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, in a joint action with Canada’s Public Safety Ministry, officially designated the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, or “Samidoun,” as a foreign terrorist organization—and you’d never guess why.

The Toronto Star ran a story on October 15, 2024, citing Canadian officials accusing the organization of spreading hate. Seriously? The U.S.’s reason was that Samidoun acts as a sham charity that serves as a fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Again, zero evidence. I’ll get to that in a minute!

Who is Samidoun?

Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is an international network of organizers and activists working to build solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in their struggle for freedom. Samidoun developed out of the September-October 2011 hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, seeing a need for a dedicated network to support Palestinian prisoners.

Its goal is to raise awareness and provide resources about Palestinian political prisoners, their conditions, their demands, and their work for freedom for themselves and their fellow prisoners, according to Samidoun's website. Samidoun, based in Vancouver, is a registered Canadian not-for-profit organization since 2012.

After Israel designated Samidoun as a terror group in 2022, Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO and National Director of the ADL, who acts as a second Israeli ambassador to the U.S., lobbied the U.S., Canada, and the EU to designate Samidoun as a terror group.

The Apartheid Defense League revealed on its website that it has shared intelligence about Samidoun’s activities with Congress and the Administration multiple times, encouraging the government to take action against them. Samidoun has chapters in the U.S., Canada, and other Western countries. Why does the expression "Squeaky wheel gets the oil" spring to mind?

I would like to share the following story from 2012 as it directly relates to the issue of terrorism and how it is treated by our public officials when the perpetrator is not an Arab or Muslim:

On January 26, 2012, I contacted the offices of my state and U.S. representatives by phone to express my concerns about the suggestion by Andrew Adler, the owner and publisher of The Atlanta Jewish Times, that the Israeli Mossad should assassinate President Barack Obama. I wanted to ask officials to publicly condemn the editor's remarks. ADL never condemned the death threat, and its head at the time joked that the editor was crazy. However, here is the feedback I received from my calls:

1. U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi [R]: "Will pass your message."
2. U.S. Sen. Rob Portman [R]: "The president gets threats all the time. The Secret Service will pursue it. The senator will contact you."
3. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown [D]: "Unaware of the story! 'This is international news!' Will pass your concern along and get a written statement." I am not holding my breath!
4. Ohio Governor John Kasich [R]: Got a voicemail. Left a message. This is like dancing in the dark—no one sees you, and you do not enjoy it.
5. Department of Homeland Security: "They are aware of it! It is being investigated by the Secret Service." In response to my question, "As of today, the man has not been arrested or questioned by the FBI or DHS. Why?" the answer was, "Things take time!"

I should add that my Army veteran friend, Marc Daniele, called his two U.S. senators from the state of Montana, and DHS gave him the same treatment too. Like it or not, when it comes to terrorism, America has two standards: one for Jews and the other for non-Jews.

Neither Canada nor the U.S. has produced any evidence that Samidoun has provided funds to the PFLP or any other Palestinian groups. But let's assume Samidoun did defend Palestinian prisoners affiliated with the PFLP, Hamas, Jihad, or Abbas. How is this a crime or funding? Does Israeli law extend to Canada and the U.S.? I know Samidoun has adopted high-profile prisoners' cases, such as Abdullah Ibrahim, Khalida Jarar, Samir Issawi, and Ahmad Sa’adat.

- Georges Abdullah is a Christian Lebanese prisoner held in France, having completed the minimum portion of his life sentence in 1999, yet multiple parole requests have been denied. In 2003, the court granted him parole, but the U.S. Department of State objected to the court decision. Georges is the longest-held prisoner in Europe, with parole refused over five times.

- Khalida Jarrar is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). She was charged and convicted of "incitement" by an Israeli military court, sentenced to 15 months in prison, of which she served six months before release under international pressure. Khalida was arrested several times since 2015 by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), with one of those arrests leading to detention under the Administrative Detention Act.

- Ahmad Sa'adat is the secretary-general of the PFLP. He was abducted by the IOF in 2006 from a Palestinian Authority Security prison in Jericho, where he was held since 2002 under an agreement with Israel, the U.S., and Britain. The agreement stipulated he would be protected by U.S. and British guards. His kidnapping and imprisonment were internationally condemned, except by Canada and the U.S.

Haaretz confirmed that the IOF forced Palestinian prisoners to march naked, tortured, raped some, and murdered a few (Credit: Yossi Zeliger/Reuters).

Like many of the 12,000 Palestinian prisoners currently held by Israel, 7,000 are under ADA (Administrative Detention Act)—a procedure allowing the Israeli military to hold prisoners indefinitely on secret evidence without charging or allowing them to stand trial, renewable every six months. After all, since when does Israeli law extend to Canada and the U.S., and why are both countries bending over backward to accommodate Israel?

When a 34-year-old Boston attorney made the difficult decision in 1770 to represent British soldiers accused of murdering American patriots in an incident that helped spark the Revolution, no one accused John Adams—who later became the second U.S. president—of being a traitor or breaking the law.

Adams said he took the case because he believed everyone was entitled to a defense. In America, we believe in the presumption of innocence and that you are innocent until proven guilty, with no guilt by association. Samidoun is targeted only because it exposes Israeli and U.S. lies and defends Palestinian prisoners' rights to freedom.

According to a New York Times story on October 15, 2024, Jonathan Greenblatt and his Apartheid Defense League (ADL) were celebrating the action against Samidoun by the U.S. and Canada. If ADL truly believes in free speech and the safety and security of our country, they should:

• Stop attempting to silence free speech or any criticism of Israel.
• Stop spying on Arab/Muslim Americans.
• Stop labeling Palestine-solidarity groups like Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) as extremist.
• Quit calling Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) a pro-Hamas group.
• Quit labeling the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a pro-terror group.
• Provide proof that Samidoun has raised funds for the PFLP or remain silent.
• Before badmouthing other pro-Palestinian groups, ADL should first register as a foreign lobbying group as required by U.S. law.

Could we do the same with all U.S. and Canadian tax-exempt charities that fund settlements in occupied territories? These are criminals under international law as expressed by the ICJ in 2012 and 2024, not to mention a recent UNGA resolution.

Given the current Israeli genocide in Gaza, the U.S. and Canadian governments should also treat anyone who enlists in the IOF and takes part in the war against Palestinians and Lebanese as we treat Americans and Canadians who join groups in the Middle East to fight against U.S. and NATO occupation forces—terrorists. Just a thought!

I ask Allah Almighty to take away all the pain and suffering of all Palestinian prisoners that Samidoun tries to alleviate and give it to Attorney General Merrick Garland, head of the U.S. Department of Justice, Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, and Jason Greenblatt, head of the Apartheid Defense League (ADL).

I stand by Samidoun because it is a human rights organization, not a terror group!

Mahmoud El-Yousseph is a Palestinian freelancer for Islamicity.com and ColumbusFreePress.com. He can be reached at [email protected].