By Marion Kawas
On October 15, 2024, both the Canadian and US governments listed Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network as a “terrorist” group and ratified their years-long persecution of both the organization and its representatives. The banning of Samidoun, however, was not an isolated incident; rather, it falls into the broadening and still ongoing harassment of pro-Palestine advocates in many Western countries. Subsequently, in the US, Addameer is now banned as well.
From universities to media outlets to health agencies, there has been a concerted effort to squash the pro-liberation and pro-resistance Palestinian narrative. Just recently, Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada proposed sweeping new restrictions on university formations that will limit freedom of speech.
Meanwhile, mainstream media continues its biased reporting. Although they may occasionally run a piece to “balance” their image (cue CBC), their declared overall policy is still…No to Palestine. Even after the Canadian government’s performative recognition of a non-existent Palestinian state, still the media refuses to use the word Palestine in most instances.
But let’s return to Samidoun and how their being designated as “terrorist” has affected pro-Palestine advocacy here. We must recognize that it did have chilling repercussions and influenced the trajectory of what many activists are willing to include in their solidarity work.
The last year has seen an overemphasis on cultural aspects of Palestinian resistance and a downplaying of support for the armed resistance. Not that the cultural field isn’t important, it is, but not to the detriment of the underlying principles of the Palestinian struggle. Despite a lot of talk about “Centering the Thawabet”, there is little in the way of concrete implementation of most of its basic tenets.
However, it is enlightening (and heartening) that despite all their repression, the Zionist lobby and the Israeli media have admitted that the principles they targeted in Samidoun’s messaging are still being put forward today by other organizations. Multiple groups have accelerated their demands in recent months that the prisoners will always be the compass, and further, that they will not be silenced.
In an article earlier this year, I wrote the following:
“Even for those that felt they had political differences with Samidoun, once people are arrested and targeted, it is our duty to close ranks and defend them. This is the only response that can and will stem the violent repression currently underway, both in Palestine and globally.
Slogans are not enough, we must be willing to put those words into action. The only reason the Palestinian struggle is still alive is because of the bravery of generations of its fighters during the last century. We cannot shy away now from honouring that proud legacy of Sumoud and resistance, the Palestinian people deserve our last breath of courage and strength.”
And now with the phoney ceasefire and all that entails, we are entering a defining moment in Palestinian history. We must be clear that the Palestinian right to armed resistance is protected by UN Resolution A/RES/43/106 of Dec. 8, 1988 that “Reaffirms the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for their independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial domination, apartheid and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle”.
We must be clear that calling on the Palestinian resistance to “disarm”, something that the Israeli-US military aggression was unable to achieve in its two years of carpet bombing, is a non-starter. Why would anyone disarm while still under the mercy of an incredibly cruel and brutal genocide? While still being bombed daily and while the so-called ceasefire deal is being violated on all levels?
We must also resist the temptation to allow other voices to narrate and dominate the Palestinian viewpoint. It is positive to have elected officials or UN representatives support the struggle for Palestinian liberation, but they do not have the legitimacy nor the understanding to determine what is required at this stage.
In fact, the Palestinian Resistance organizations in Gaza have shown themselves to be highly effective and resourceful in their strategy over the last two years. In years to come, it will be studied in history books how these groups and the Gazan people managed to resist with so little and despite the overwhelming forces aligned against them. From the Western imperialist countries to the Zionist colony, to the rotten Arab regimes who were supporting this vicious attack over the last 2 years…Gaza has stood against all of them.
The will to survive and to resist demonstrated in Gaza should be an example for us all. If the Palestinians in Gaza are going back to destroyed homes and neighbourhoods, knowing what faces them, then the least we can do as solidarity activists is to honour that spirit. The spirit of a people that have resisted for over a century and plan to keeping on doing so, a spirit that will never surrender.