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Samidoun
Samidoun (Arabic: صامدون, romanized: Ṣāmidūn, lit. 'steadfast'—see sumud for the cultural context of this term), officially Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, is a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel advocacy group based in Canada. Samidoun was banned by Germany in November 2023 and was designated as a terrorist organization by Canada and sanctioned by the United States in October 2024. Since the October 7 attacks and ensuing Gaza war, Samidoun has organized Palestinian solidarity protests in the US and Canada.
Samidoun has been designated as a terrorist group by Israel and Canada for raising funds for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a political and militant group that the US, European Union, and several other countries designate as a terrorist organization. Samidoun has been described as "pro-Hamas". Samidoun founder Khaled Barakat was also designated as a terrorist in Canada, where he is a citizen, and as a "Specially Designated National" or SDN by the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in October 2024 for fundraising and operating on behalf of the PFLP.
Samidoun and its fiscal sponsor, the Arizona-based Alliance for Global Justice, have been de-platformed from a number of major financial platforms. Leaders of Samidoun have led "death to Canada, death to the United States and death to Israel" chants and have said that the chants accurately reflect the group's goal of destroying "colonial, capitalist states."
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Samidoun was founded in 2011 after a hunger strike in Israeli prisons organized by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Samidoun was incorporated as a federal not-for-profit agency in Canada in 2021.
Samidoun is led by Charlotte Kates, Dave Diewert, and Thomas Gerhard Hofland. Kates is a New Jersey native and Rutgers University graduate who is married to Samidoun founder, Khaled Barakat, who was born near Jerusalem. Barakat is considered to be a PFLP leader by the US government. He was deported from the United States in 2003.
In 2021, Israel's Defense Ministry designated the association as a terrorist organization, based on recommendations from the Shin Bet and the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing. The designation alleged that, although its official aim is to assist in securing prisoners' release, it effectively operates as a front for the PFLP abroad.
In November 2023, the association was banned by the Federal Ministry of the Interior of Germany for allegedly distributing candy to celebrate the October 7 attacks and allegedly supporting Hamas and endorsing an incitement of violence.
Kates was arrested in April 2024 after she led a chant of "Long live October 7" and referred to a number of designated terrorist organizations as heroes at a demonstration in Vancouver. Kates has said that Hamas and Hezbollah are "not engaging in terrorism" but are "engaging in a national liberation struggle." As of May 2025, the Canadian government had not decided whether to approve the hate crime charges against Kates. In August 2024, she travelled to Iran to accept an Islamic Human Rights and Human Dignity Award.
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Samidoun
Samidoun (Arabic: صامدون, romanized: Ṣāmidūn, lit. 'steadfast'—see sumud for the cultural context of this term), officially Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, is a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel advocacy group based in Canada. Samidoun was banned by Germany in November 2023 and was designated as a terrorist organization by Canada and sanctioned by the United States in October 2024. Since the October 7 attacks and ensuing Gaza war, Samidoun has organized Palestinian solidarity protests in the US and Canada.
Samidoun has been designated as a terrorist group by Israel and Canada for raising funds for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a political and militant group that the US, European Union, and several other countries designate as a terrorist organization. Samidoun has been described as "pro-Hamas". Samidoun founder Khaled Barakat was also designated as a terrorist in Canada, where he is a citizen, and as a "Specially Designated National" or SDN by the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in October 2024 for fundraising and operating on behalf of the PFLP.
Samidoun and its fiscal sponsor, the Arizona-based Alliance for Global Justice, have been de-platformed from a number of major financial platforms. Leaders of Samidoun have led "death to Canada, death to the United States and death to Israel" chants and have said that the chants accurately reflect the group's goal of destroying "colonial, capitalist states."
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Samidoun was founded in 2011 after a hunger strike in Israeli prisons organized by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Samidoun was incorporated as a federal not-for-profit agency in Canada in 2021.
Samidoun is led by Charlotte Kates, Dave Diewert, and Thomas Gerhard Hofland. Kates is a New Jersey native and Rutgers University graduate who is married to Samidoun founder, Khaled Barakat, who was born near Jerusalem. Barakat is considered to be a PFLP leader by the US government. He was deported from the United States in 2003.
In 2021, Israel's Defense Ministry designated the association as a terrorist organization, based on recommendations from the Shin Bet and the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing. The designation alleged that, although its official aim is to assist in securing prisoners' release, it effectively operates as a front for the PFLP abroad.
In November 2023, the association was banned by the Federal Ministry of the Interior of Germany for allegedly distributing candy to celebrate the October 7 attacks and allegedly supporting Hamas and endorsing an incitement of violence.
Kates was arrested in April 2024 after she led a chant of "Long live October 7" and referred to a number of designated terrorist organizations as heroes at a demonstration in Vancouver. Kates has said that Hamas and Hezbollah are "not engaging in terrorism" but are "engaging in a national liberation struggle." As of May 2025, the Canadian government had not decided whether to approve the hate crime charges against Kates. In August 2024, she travelled to Iran to accept an Islamic Human Rights and Human Dignity Award.