Briefly: NDP leader David Eby’s Feb. 5 firing of Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills Selina Robinson came after a pressure campaign co-organized by a group deemed terrorist on Oct. 15 by the Canadian and U.S. governments.
Robinson left the NDP caucus the next month and accused former colleagues of antisemitism. She is finishing a memoir.
Bob Mackin
Former B.C. NDP cabinet minister Selina Robinson said that there was a “collective Jewish sigh throughout Canada” on Oct. 15 when the anti-Israel Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and Khaled Barakat were declared terrorists by the governments of Canada and the United States.
B.C. NDP finance minister Selina Robinson tables the 2021-22 budget on April 20 (BC Gov)
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control described the Vancouver-based group — run by Barakat and wife Charlotte Kates — as a “sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization.”
Samidoun has organized, promoted and/or supported every major anti-Israel protest in Metro Vancouver since the day after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 240, sparking war with Israel.
It also co-sponsored an Action Network online petition that succeeded in convincing Premier David Eby to remove prominent Jewish politician Robinson from cabinet after she called pre-1948 Israel a “crappy piece of land” during a Jan. 30 B’nai Brith Canada online forum.
Robinson, who represented Coquitlam-Maillardville for 11 years, issued two apologies and pledged to make amends with the Muslim community. Eby bowed to the pressure campaign and fired her from the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills on Feb. 5.
“Week after week after week, these hateful protests,” Robinson said in an interview with theBreaker.news. “They are not peace rallies, they are not even rallies. They are designed to stir-up animosity towards a group of people, and that’s not okay.”
Nobody from Samidoun has responded for comment.
Samidon international director Charlotte Kates accepting an award in Iran in August 2024 (Samidoun.net)
Samidoun incorporated as a Canadian not-for-profit in 2021 by directors Kates, Dave Diewert of Surrey and Thomas Gerhard Hofland of Amsterdam. The Canadian terrorist listing said Samidoun emerged in 2011, maintains 20 chapters in a dozen countries and advocates for the release of Palestinian prisoners who are often tied to terrorism, assassinations and attacks on Israel.
“Samidoun’s ideology revolves exclusively around the worldview that Israel and Zionism are the greatest danger to the Middle East and the world,” said the Canadian listing. “Their main goals are the destruction of Israel and establishing a Palestinian state in its place. To achieve this goal, Samidoun advocates all kinds of activities, including violence.”
On Feb. 7, the PFLP’s Central Media Office issued a statement on Telegram celebrating Robinson’s downfall as “an important precedent” and saluted those who participated in the campaign.
Robinson quit the NDP caucus the next month and accused several former colleagues of antisemitism. She is not running for re-election, but finishing a memoir for November publication.
Robinson said none of the Samidoun actions are going to help people suffering in Gaza.
Khaled Barakat at a Samidoun protest in Vancouver (Instagram)
“All it does is it makes the world so unsafe for Canadians who live here and, some argue, it actually becomes a barrier to doing anything that will bring peace to the [Middle East] region, because it distracts from that important work,” Robinson said. “And so I hope people who participated [in Samidoun protests] think long and hard about that.”
Peter German, chair of the Vancouver Anti-Corruption Institute, suggested the terrorist listing could bring the end of Samidoun. He said it has been known for decades that terrorist organizations use front groups to raise money where they cannot do so directly.
“Countries with large ethnic diasporas, such as Canada, are prime targets for these funding efforts,” German said. “Once listed and sanctioned, severe restrictions are placed on the ability of entities, such as Samidoun, to raise funds, deal in property, and recruit members. Typically, they will dissolve, move their activities elsewhere, or rebrand.”
The announcement came a week after Kates was scheduled to appear in Vancouver Provincial Court after her April arrest by Vancouver Police for allegedly inciting or promoting hatred at a downtown rally. B.C. Prosecution Service did not proceed with charges, so Kates did not have to attend court and was free to return to attending protests.
“This government has refused to prosecute, refused to move forward with it,” said Conservative leader John Rustad, who had called for Samidoun to be banned. “That speaks volumes in terms of why we are seeing so much disruption, so much hate. Why we see mobs on the steps of the art gallery, burning the Canadian flag and saying death to Canadians.”
After the announcement, Eby posted on X, formerly Twitter, to say that he agreed with the federal terrorist designation.
“There is no place in British Columbia for groups inciting and glorifying violence,” said the Eby post.
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