Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network Affiliated With U.S.-Designated Popular Front For The Liberation Of Palestine (PFLP) Funnels Donations Through Non-Profit Organization Based In Tucson, Arizona

Samidoun, a Palestinian prisoner solidary network which is affiliated with the U.S-designated Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), is circumventing obstacles to its financial services by funneling donations through a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Tucson, Arizona.

The Samidoun Network: A Brief Background

Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is a self-described "international network of organizers and activists," which seeks to "build solidarity with Palestinian prisoners" by organizing events, activities, and campaigns designed to "make political change and advocate" on their behalf.[1] According to its website, the organization, which was founded in 2012, maintains at least 20 chapters across 12 countries, including the United States, Canada, and France, among others. In the U.S., the organization has chapters in New York/New Jersey and Portland, Oregon.

Samidoun's logo

Samidoun is affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. Its international coordinator, Charlotte Kates, is the wife of Khaled Barakat, a former PFLP official and a fellow activist. In 2020, Germany banned Barakat from entering the country for four years, deeming him to be a "security risk" because "his beliefs and continuous talking about liberating Palestine from the river to the sea... working on a strategy to liberate Palestine" and "insisting that Israel has no right to exist" is antisemitic.[2]

In May 2024, Kates was arrested by Canadian police after she delivered a speech at a rally in Vancouver, British Columbia, during which she expressed support for Hamas, the PFLP, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Lebanese Hizbullah, and demanded that they be removed from Canada's terror list.[3]

In a statement, Germany's Federal Minister of the Interior, Nacy Faeser, described the organization as "disseminating anti-Israel and anti-Jewish propaganda while claiming to promote solidarity with prisoners in different countries." She noted: "Samidoun also supported and glorified various foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas". The Samidoun network itself has been subject to international sanctions. In November 2023, Germany also banned the organization and its local affiliate, Samidoun Deutschland.[4]

Samidoun has an active presence on social media, where it disseminates content glorifying U.S.-designated terrorist organizations. For example, on May 5, 2024, the organization interviewed Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official and U.S.-Specially Designated Global Terrorist. It advertised the interview in a post on its X account.[5]

Samidoun Shares Statement By Palestinian Student Movement In Gaza Calling For 'Comprehensive Escalation' Of 'Global Intifada' And Besieging The White House

On May 29, 2024, Samidoun published on its website, and posted on X[6], a statement issued by the Secretariat of Palestinian Student Frameworks titled, "It Is Time for Revolutionary Escalation of the Global Student Intifada for Palestine: A Call from the Palestinian Student Movement in the Gaza Strip." The statement expresses support for the campaign of student protests in the U.S. and other countries in support of the Palestinian cause and against Israel, urging them to begin "a new revolutionary phase of comprehensive escalation" by besieging the White House, and surrounding the headquarters of governments and corporations that support Israel. Samidoun frequently shares and posts similar calls for escalation across its platforms.

Samidoun's post on X

Samidoun Funnels Donations Through A Center In Tucson, Arizona, Owned By Alliance For Global Justice

According to its donations webpage,[7] Samidoun accepts paper checks addressed to the Alliance for Global Justice (AfGJ), a left-wing non-profit group and 501(c)(3) organization.[8]

Screenshots of the donations page on Samidoun's website.

Samidoun is a "fiscally sponsored project" of the AfGJ, which enables the organization to receive tax-deductible donations, given the AfGJ's 501(c)(3) status.[9] In addition to Samidoun, the AfGJ reportedly sponsors around 140 other organizations.

The AfGJ's fiscal sponsorship project has affected its ability to access financial services. On February 14, 2023, the AfGJ posted a statement on its website titled: "S.O.S. – This is an emergency!" which reported that the organization's credit card company had blocked the AfGJ – and its fiscally-sponsored projects, including Samidoun – from accepting credit card donations.[10] The organization directly associated the punitive action with its sponsorship of Samidoun, noting that a "far-right rag made false and dangerous accusations about AfGJ" in connection with its relations to Samidoun.

"AfGJ refuses to exceptionalize the Palestinian human rights movement, as these right-wing publications are desperately seeking to do," the AfGJ noted, adding: "If they come for Samidoun, AfGJ, they have come for all of us."

In response, the AfGJ issued a "call for solidarity." The organization noted that it would be "resorting to old-fashioned techniques," including accepting donations via paper checks, to be mailed to an address owned by the AfGJ in Tucson, Arizona.

The AfGJ's logo

The address is also the postal address currently listed on Samidoun's donations webpage. The location houses the Global Justice Center, a repurposed building owned by the AfGJ which aims to be "a community space for progressive movement work," according to the AfGJ's website.[11]

A Google Streetview photo of the Global Justice Center, dated April 2023, displays a welcome sign on the building which lists the AfGJ and eight of its fiscally sponsored projects, including: Coalición de Derechos Humanos, Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras, Pan Left Video Collective, No More Deaths, Tucson Peace Center, Culture of Peace Alliance, Scholarships AZ, and SOA Watch.

Samidoun is not listed on the Global Justice Center's welcome sign.

A Google Streetview photo of the Global Justice Center in Tucson, Arizona.

Close-up of the sign outside the Global Justice Center

Activist Fundraising: How To Defend Palestinian Resistance

Samidoun leverages its relations with left-wing activist organizations to raise funds. On February 4, 2024, for example, Samidoun partnered with the Bronx Antiwar Coalition to hold a virtual teach-in titled: "How to Defend Palestinian Resistance."[12] The teach-in, which was held on Zoom, featured Khalid Barakat and Charlotte Kates as speakers. The event was moderated by Saher Al Khamash and Marina Samuel of the Bronx Antiwar Coalition.

During the teach-in, the moderators displayed information on how to make donations to Samidoun. Samuel also urged viewers to support Samidoun, saying:

"Please consider also donating to Samidoun so they can continue raising awareness for Palestinian prisoner rights. They are currently accepting paper checks due to the Zionist forces working against them. So, please go on their website. You'll see all the instructions there."

The teach-in also featured a video glorifying the October 7 attack and lionizing Hamas fighters as "our heroes." Kates, in a comment about the relationship between Samidoun and other Middle Eastern actors, also praised Iran's support for Hamas, noting: "The Axis of Resistance is regional, not just Arab. And so, Iran has played a major role, and continues to play a major role, in supporting and standing with and serving as a bulwark against imperialist intervention and domination of the region."

A screenshot taken during the "How to Defend Palestinian Resistance" teach-in, held by Samidoun and the Bronx Antiwar Coalition on February 5, 2024.