U.S. And Canada Say Nonprofit Linked To College Protests Is A Terrorist Front

The governments of the United States and Canada said this week that a group tied to the anti-Israel protests on college campuses nationwide is tied to a terrorist group.

U.S. Department of the Treasury stated in a press release on Tuesday that the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is a “sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization.” Treasury named Samidoun a terrorist entity in conjunction with Canada, a designation that makes it illegal for Americans to have a financial relationship with the group.

“Organizations like Samidoun masquerade as charitable actors that claim to provide humanitarian support to those in need, yet in reality divert funds for much-needed assistance to support terrorist groups,” Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith said.

The Department of the Treasury said the Vancouver-based Samidoun is a “front for the [PFLP] in countries where the PFLP is declared a terrorist organization. While the organization ostensibly supports Palestinian prisoners and their family members, in practice Samidoun provides financial support to the sanctioned PFLP.”

It said PFLP is “committed to terrorist activity through its armed apparatus, the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, and the group has been active in the Israel-Hamas conflict, to include participating in the horrific attacks against Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023.”

Samidoun co-founder Charlotte Kates told NBC earlier this month that “there’s nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas,” and was seen at a rally saying, “Long live October 7th.” She referenced “colonialism” — language that has become popular among U.S. left-wing activists on college campuses — more than 40 times in an interview with NBC.

Also on Tuesday, Canada specifically named Kates’ husband, Khaled Barakat, as a member of PFLP’s leadership. PFLP is a Marxist-Leninist group.

Samidoun used the Arizona-based Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ) as a financial pass-through in the United States. Last month, House Republicans asked the IRS to rescind the nonprofit status of the “anti-capitalist” Alliance, whose status is also put at risk by the Treasury designating Samidoun a terrorist group.

The Capital Research Center, which authored a report on the financial backing of the college campus protests last month, highlighted Samidoun as a key group. CRC researcher Ryan Mauro wrote Wednesday that “AFGJ supports virtually every anti-U.S. government, including North Korea. It is fully supportive of the Iran-backed dictatorship in Syria and defends Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

CRC said the group has been funded by the Democratic Party’s biggest players, including the Tides Center, which has given $6.5 million to AFGJ since 2019; the Tides Foundation, which has given $3.62 million since 2018; the New Venture Fund, which has given $750,000 since 2020; and George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, which has given AFGJ $250,000.

Among examples of AFGJ’s involvement in campus demonstrations, CRC pointed to Columbia University, where “In March, Kates, Barakat, and [Within Our Lifetime] leader Nerdeen Kiswani held a joint event for Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a pro-terrorism coalition of over 115 groups. The three spoke in support of terrorism, especially PFLP, with Barakat hailing airplane hijackings as “one of the most important tactics that the Palestinian resistance have engaged in.”

Related: Federal Judge Says University Must Let Anti-Israel Group Hold Oct. 7 Event