{"id":45259,"date":"2024-10-25T01:59:25","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T08:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=45259"},"modified":"2024-10-24T15:24:08","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T22:24:08","slug":"samidoun-on-terrorist-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2024\/10\/25\/samidoun-on-terrorist-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Samidoun on terrorist list"},"content":{"rendered":"

Samidoun was an organizer of an Oct. 7 rally celebrating Hamas\u2019s terror attacks on Israel a\u00a0 <\/span>year earlier. Protesters tried to burn the Canadian flag while shouting that Israel should burn. They also chanted \u201cdeath to\u201d Canada, the United States and Israel. <\/i>(screenshot Global News)<\/i><\/p>\n

Last week, the Government of Canada designated Samidoun, a not-for-profit corporation based in Canada, as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code. At the same time, the United States Department of the Treasury announced Samidoun is now a \u201cspecially designated global terrorist group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also known as the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Samidoun has close ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which has been designated by Canada and other countries as a terrorist group for many years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At rallies in Vancouver and throughout Canada, Samidoun\u2019s international coordinator, Charlotte Kates, has expressed open support for the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. On the one-year anniversary of the attacks, she led a rally where chants of \u201cdeath to Canada, death to the United States and death to Israel\u201d were heard. Videos show rally participants setting fire to the Canadian flag, while shouting \u201cIsrael, burn, burn,\u201d among other things.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very thankful for today\u2019s decision by the Government of Canada to designate Samidoun as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code,\u201d said Nico Slobinsky, vice-president, Pacific Region, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). \u201cFor the past year, they\u2019ve organized some of the most vicious protests in Canada, openly and explicitly celebrating the Oct. 7 attacks and, just last week, they were chanting \u2018we are Hamas, we are Hezbollah\u2019 at their rally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kates was arrested after an April 26 rally, at which she called the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks \u201cheroic and brave\u201d and led chants of \u201cLong live Oct. 7.\u201d The conditions of her release order \u2013 which prohibited her participation or attendance at any protests, rallies or assemblies for a period of six months \u2013 expired Oct. 8 because the Crown had yet to file charges against her.<\/p>\n

Slobinsky said CIJA called for the BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) to charge Kates under hate speech laws four months ago, so that she face the full consequences of her actions for glorifying terrorism. But just how long it will take for the BCPS to make a decision is unknown.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Damienne Darby, communications counsel for the BCPS, confirmed that the BCPS had received a Report to Crown Counsel in relation to Kates. \u201cWe are reviewing it for charge assessment, and I am unable to provide a timeline for completion,\u201d she wrote in an email, declining to provide further comment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a statement, Shimon Koffler Fogel, president and chief executive officer of CIJA, said, \u201cListing the group as a terrorist entity means they will no longer be able to use our streets as a platform to incite hate and division against the Jewish community; this is a significant step toward ensuring the safety and security of Canada\u2019s Jews.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But, while the designation as a terrorist group will affect Samidoun\u2019s ability to fundraise, recruit and travel, it is unclear whether it will affect their ability to hold rallies and further promulgate hatred.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

CIJA has asked the federal government to re-examine whether Kates and her husband, Khaled Barakat, obtained Canadian citizenship fraudulently by failing to fully disclose their affiliation with the PFLP. The United States has put Barakat on a terrorism watch list for his connections with the PFLP.<\/p>\n

Public Safety Canada notes that one of the consequences of being listed as a terrorist organization is that the entity\u2019s property can be seized or forfeited. Banks and brokerages are required to report that entity\u2019s property and cannot allow the entity to access their property. It\u2019s an offence for people to knowingly participate in or contribute to the activity of a terrorist group.\u00a0Including Samidoun, there are now 78 terrorist entities listed under the Criminal Code, according to Public Safety Canada.<\/p>\n

This terrorist designation is long overdue, said Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, chair of the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver. \u201cTo have an organization that creates chaos, hatred and threatens the Jewish community operating freely in Vancouver and Canada was terrible,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen Samidoun burned the Canadian flag and called for the destruction of the US and Canada on Oct. 7, they demonstrated who they truly are. I hope this decision will give the Canadian government and the police the ability to prevent Samidoun from operating in the manner they have and to prosecute.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lauren Kramer<\/b>, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.<\/i><\/p>\n

(Editor\u2019s Note: For the <\/i><\/b>CJN Daily podcast host Ellin Bessner\u2019s conversation with NGO Monitor\u2019s Gerald Steinberg about Samidoun\u2019s terror links and more, click here<\/a>.)<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Samidoun was an organizer of an Oct. 7 rally celebrating Hamas\u2019s terror attacks on Israel a\u00a0 year earlier. Protesters tried to burn the Canadian flag while shouting that Israel should burn. They also chanted \u201cdeath to\u201d Canada, the United States and Israel. (screenshot Global News) Last week, the Government of Canada designated Samidoun, a not-for-profit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[801,305,23203,458,23577,1025,23578,2251,5285,22725,23515,7281,1774],"class_list":["post-45259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","category-national","tag-antisemitism","tag-centre-for-israel-and-jewish-affairs","tag-charlotte-kates","tag-cija","tag-damienne-darby","tag-jonathan-infeld","tag-khaled-barakat","tag-law","tag-nico-slobinsky","tag-oct-7","tag-samidoun","tag-shimon-koffler-fogel","tag-terrorism"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}