“The first casualty of war is truth.”—Aeschylus
On October 15, the US government sanctioned the Palestinian prisoner support network, Samidoun, and declared it a “sham charity” that fundraises for a “foreign terrorist organization” — the People’s Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a political organization that resists the Zionist occupation. At the same time, the Canadian government listed Samidoun as a “terrorist entity” under its criminal code.
The PFLP has been fighting the Zionist occupation since its founding in 1967. It took part in the justified breakout of Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Samidoun and many others in the Palestinian solidarity movement have expressed their vocal support for the PFLP and the broader resistance — as they should and as is their right. Firebrand too has expressed our unconditional, critical support for Palestinian armed resistance.
The announcement was made a week after a Vancouver rally organized by Samidoun commemorating October 7 and al-Aqsa Flood. Protesters there burned a Canadian flag and chanted of “We are Hezbollah and we are Hamas” and “Death to Canada, death to the United States, and death to Israel.” These political expressions are entirely justifiable and legal, yet they seem to have provoked the repression of Samidoun.
The attack on Samidoun is an attack on the entire Palestinian liberation movement. It is another intensification of the repression of the movement by the state, the police, university administrators, and both major political parties. The ruling class and its representatives are so committed to Zionism that they no longer even pretend to abide by the official norms of free speech and free association. They have fired professors, expelled students, doxxed activists, and arrested thousands. They have tried to ban expressions of support for equal rights for Palestinians and their right to return to their homeland. They have passed laws against Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS).
Why should the general public be prevented from financially supporting liberatory struggle when the state is free to aid genocide and state terrorism with its vast resources?
They have criminalized political expression.
Supporters of Palestine have political positions that should be publicly debated. Instead, those in power declare these positions out of bounds. They try to proscribe “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as anti-semitic. They label the call for equality a form of oppression against Zionist settlers. True anti-semites have discovered a new-found love of Jewish people — but only if those Jews agree to engage in Zionist oppression of Palestinians. Jewish pro-Palestine activists such as Jewish Voice for Peace have rejected the conflation of Judaism, a religion, and Zionism, a settler-colonial political movement.
The US ruling class and their Zionist and imperialist allies are on the wrong side of history. The vast majority of people around the world support an end to the Zionist genocide against Palestine. Millions have taken to the streets to make this demand, putting themselves in direct conflict with their governments. Over 75 percent of UN member states now recognize the state of Palestine, but most of them also recognize, trade with, and give military and financial support to Israel.
This is especially true of the US, the world’s leading imperialist power. The US government sees the Zionist state as necessary to its continued dominance of the Middle East and its vast oil resources. It will not give up its ally without a much stronger international movement against Zionism.
The Palestinian liberation movement must take the attack against Samidoun seriously. We must defend Samidoun from these bogus charges and the repression that goes along with them. If the government is able to repress Samidoun, the whole movement is at even greater risk. If Samidoun is prevented from aiding political prisoners in Palestine, the movement in Palestine will suffer even more losses.
The time to mount a campaign in defense of Samidoun is now! Everyone in the Palestinian liberation movement — and indeed anyone who supports freedom of speech and association — needs to rush to Samidoun’s political defense.
Refuting the arguments against Samidoun
1. “Samidoun sends money to the PFLP.”
As usual, the government has provided no evidence that this is even true — and doesn’t have to under this system. Those in power feel that if they declare it, it is true. It is not just Trump who creates “alternative facts.” Samidoun’s purpose is to aid political prisoners in Palestine —hostages of the Zionist entity, jailed for resisting apartheid and occupation. They deserve support, not condemnation or vilification!
2. “It is wrong for US activists to aid foreign organizations.”
One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter. If people in Palestine need financial help to liberate themselves, why should it be illegal for people anywhere in the world to send them aid? Individual contributions to Zionism are tax-exempt. Why should the government, which only serves the rich, get to decide who is worthy of financial support?
3. “Only US military intervention is legitimate.”
US hypocrisy continues to reach new heights. The government claims that money sent to the PFLP supports terrorism, but its $18 billion in military aid to genocide in the last year is somehow legitimate! The whole world has seen who the real terrorists are. Without US military and financial aid, the Zionist entity would not have been able to slaughter an estimated 300,000 Palestinians in the last year.
Even in the face of the Zionist invasion and bombing of Lebanon, the US has not backed off. The Democrats only promise to reevaluate US aid to Israel after the election. Who believes that? Why should the general public be prevented from financially supporting liberatory struggle when the state is free to aid genocide and state terrorism with its vast resources?
4. “The US government is defending democracy.”
The Zionist state is inherently undemocratic. It militarily occupies Palestine and deprives Palestinians of basic rights, including democratic participation in elections and the right to return. Even Palestinians in the pre-1948 boundaries are second-class citizens.
US military aid to the Zionist entity is not an expression of the democratic will of the people. In attacking Samidoun, the government is saying, “While we send billions of your tax dollars to fund genocide, against your will, you can’t send your own money to aid Palestinians.” Why should anyone accept this undemocratic position from the US ruling class?
Stand with Samidoun! Expose imperialist and Zionist hypocrisy!
Down with the repression of the Palestinian liberation movement!
