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The Canadian government has designated Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, an international network that supports and advocates for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, as a terrorist entity.
The move came on Tuesday in coordination with the U.S. government, which listed Samidoun as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” and accused it of being a fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine(PFLP), the largest leftist political party in Palestine.
While both the Canadian and U.S. designation emphasize financing of terrorism, there is no indication that fundraising constitutes a significant part of Samidoun's work.
Other than a “donate now” tab on the organization's website, the content is overwhelmingly concerned with coverage of Palestinian prisoners' issues, political protests against the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and profiles of prominent Palestinian and Arab resistance leaders.
In an interview with North Star, Hanna Kawas, Chairperson of the Canada Palestine Association questioned the designation and its motivations: “The objective of putting Samidoun on the terrorist list is to silence support for the Palestinian cause, because they were really shocked with the immense support across Canada for Palestine.”
“We've seen that through statements from Trudeau, from David Eby, from the mayor of Vancouver, Sims. So it's clear that their objective from the beginning is to put a chill on the solidarity work and the support group,” he adds.
Since 7 October 2023, Samidoun sections and affiliates in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and several U.S. cities have organized demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinians. These demonstrations were denouncing the Israeli genocide in Gaza and voicing support for the right to resist the invader.
Kawas criticized the Canadian designation, highlighting a double standard: “The Canadian government position is hypocritical, and not just that, it carries in it anti-Palestinianism.”
While Samidoun has come under scrutiny for allegedly raising funds for the PFLP, the HESEG Foundation, a Canadian organization with charitable tax status, awards cash scholarships to former Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldiers. It was established by Scotiabank and Indigo director, Gerry Schwarts and Indigo’s founder and CEO, Heather Reisman.
They provide the largest grants given to “to recognize and honour the contribution of Lone Soldiers to Israel”, according to the foundation's website. But the scholarship may also act as an incentive to join the Israeli army.
The HESEG Foundation is a major contributor to the IDF, spending just below $8 million in donations in 2022. It has had no calls to be listed as a terrorist entity by Canadian politicians, even though it is contributing directly to the instability in the Middle East.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rules state “Supporting the armed forces of another country is not" a charitable cause. Listing “NGO-military ties” as an ethical issue in Foreign Activities, in the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP).
At the same time, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), which has been lobbying for Samidoun's designation for several years, is actively organizing support for Israel, which is currently engaged in what the International Criminal Court has described as ‘plausible genocide’. Amnesty International and other human rights watchdogs have also described the country's activities as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
With the Conservatives in the House of Commons pushing to trigger a federal election by tabling non-confidence votes, both they and the Trudeau Liberals are attempting to gain the support of well-financed lobby groups and reassure Canadian oligarchs that their investments in Israel are secure by cracking down on Palestine solidarity organizations and labelling those protesting Israel's violence against Palestinians as anti-semitic.
“They think Palestinian blood is worth nothing,” Kawas says about this rhetoric. They are “equating what Israel and the Zionists are doing to the Palestinians with the Jewish people, which again, in itself, it's promoting anti-Semitism.”
Referring to the federal, provincial, and municipal governments' objectives to shut down support for Palestinians, Kawas stated in response that the movement will not be intimidated. “We're going to keep the solidarity work and the support work for Palestinian liberation and for Palestinian resistance organizations, whether they like it or not.”
Formed in 2011, prior to the start of the genocide, Samidoun was focused on exposing the plight of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. This issue is of grave concern to Palestinians living in Gaza and in the West Bank, since almost every family has a member who is or has been imprisoned by Israel.
Prior to October 7, 2023, there were some 4,500 Palestinian prisoners, a number which has more than doubled since then.
The designation of Samidoun as a terrorist entity came on a day when the Israeli military killed 61 people across the Gaza Strip including 10 members of one family, as well as 15 people, including three children in Lebanon.
In the last year, Israel has killed at least 42,000 Palestinians including at least 16,000 children in its bombing, invasion and occupation of Gaza.