An alliance of 11 NGOs from the US, Canada, Europe, and Israel is urging American platform Stripe to terminate its donation services to the Alliance for Global Justice (AfGJ), a US-based organization.
AfGJ is the fiscal sponsor for a group called Samidoun, which has been widely recognized as a proxy front of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist organization in the US, Canada, the European Union, and Israel.
The alliance’s letter to Stripe states that relevant federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), have been informed that Stripe is now processing payments that may be directly funding foreign terrorist organizations.
How funds through Stripe may end up in the hands of terrorists
The alliance explained that “donations made to Samidoun through AfGJ’s platform have provided support to designated terrorist organizations and specific terrorist activities throughout the world. Therefore, as Samidoun’s fiscal sponsor, AfGJ appears to be providing material support to terrorism in violation of federal laws and in violation of the criminal and civil provisions of the United States Anti-Terrorism Act.”
Samidoun’s connections to terrorism are well documented, and the alliance provides several examples of these connections:
- Much of Samidoun’s leadership overlaps with members of the PFLP, with a number of Samidoun leaders being senior members of the PFLP.
- Khaled Barakat, Samidoun’s co-founder, has been explicitly referred to as a “PFLP leader” by the PFLP itself and has admitted to being a PFLP member on video.
- Mohammad Khatib, Samidoun coordinator in Europe, has been referred to by Palestinian media as a PFLP member.
- Mustapha Awad, Samidoun’s European representative, was imprisoned in Israel after he was sent by the PFLP to Lebanon, where he underwent military training by Hezbollah.
- Samidoun runs campaigns that support and/or glorify convicted terrorists and endorse violence, such as calling to free PFLP Secretary-General Ahmed Sa’adat from Israeli prison. In April 2023, Samidoun protesters chanted “death to Jews” on the streets of Berlin.
- In 2021, Samidoun itself was designated as a terrorist organization by Israel.
Stripe has failed to respond to an earlier letter sent by the Zachor Legal Institute on July 17, 2023, which described in length Samidoun’s clear connection to terrorism.
Unlike Stripe, upon learning of AfGJ’s relationship with Samidoun and their clear connection to terrorism, other US companies have terminated their service agreements. These include MasterCard, Visa, American Express, PayPal, Donorbox, Plaid, Discover, and most recently Salsa Labs.
Zachor Legal Institute president Marc Greendorfer said that “in light of the clear and detailed evidence presented to Stripe, it is obvious that their apparent inaction is not consistent with their legal and ethical obligations. We welcome any questions they have about our work.”
Robert Garson, president of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (AAJLJ), said that “since 9/11 financial institutions in the West have been committed to stopping the flow of funds to terrorist organizations. We call upon Stripe to turn off the spigot to the AfGJ which sponsors those committed to killing Israeli civilians.”