This statement was issued on March 22, 2021 by the Canada Palestine Association and BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish. It highlights the efforts to silence Palestinian advocacy groups.
By BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish | Mondoweiss | Mar 23, 2021
There are no concrete charges against Samidoun, simply that it helps Palestinian prisoners and is involved in “anti-Israel propaganda efforts.”
On February 28, 2021, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz declared that he was adding the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network to Israel’s “terror list.” The designation was based on accusations that are both spurious and false. There has been a recent upsurge in the campaign by the Israeli government to thwart effective Palestinian civil society groups that refuse to be silenced or sanitized.
There are no concrete charges against Samidoun, simply that it helps Palestinian prisoners and is involved in “anti-Israel propaganda efforts.” Samidoun operates as a public and transparent prisoner advocacy group; it is independent and has no organizational connection or affiliation with any Palestinian party.
On February 3, 2021, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Advocacy CIJA called for Samidoun to be placed on Canada’s terror list. This was included in their statement responding to the announcement by Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, that Canada was adding 13 groups to Canada’s list of Terrorist Entities. Then, on February 28, 2021, the same day Israel stated they were designating Samidoun as a “terrorist” group, CIJA tweeted to Bill Blair saying that Canada should now follow Israel’s lead and do the same.
HolyLandJustice.org 
You must be logged in to post a comment.