Payment provider Stripe processes donations in support of the PFLP proxy.
By JNS
An international coalition of Jewish and pro-Israel NGOs has urged U.S. payment provider Stripe to cut ties with an organization accused of sponsoring Palestinian terrorism.
The Arizona-based Alliance for Global Justice (AfGJ) acts as a “fiscal sponsor” for Samidoun, a Palestinian organization with close ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group, the Designate Samidoun Alliance charged in a letter made public on Sunday.
“Based on our research, we believe that donations made to Samidoun through AfGJ’s platform have provided support to designated terror organizations and specific terrorist activities throughout the world,” states the missive, signed by 11 organizations including StandWithUs, NGO Monitor and the Zachor Legal Institute.
“Given that AfGJ uses Stripe to process donations in support of Samidoun, we respectfully urge you to take this information into consideration when reviewing their account for compliance with the rules and laws applicable to your company,” the coalition continued, adding that it had reported the company to the IRS and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
A previous letter to Stripe from the Zachor Legal Institute went unanswered despite several other payment processors, including PayPal, having blocked AfGJ and Samidoun from using their services in recent years over the charity’s terrorist ties.
Then-Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz designated Samidoun a terrorist organization in February 2021 due to its links to the PFLP, which also is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, Israel and the European Union.
According to the Israeli National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing, Samidoun plays a leading role in the PFLP’s anti-Israel propaganda efforts, fundraising and activist recruitment.
Samidoun advocates for the release of terrorists, including Ahmad Sa’adat, who is serving a 30-year prison term in Israel for his involvement in planning the 2001 murder in Jerusalem of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi.
Several prominent members of Samidoun are also members of the PFLP. The chief coordinator of Samidoun, Khaled Barakat, is a senior member of the PFLP and the head of the PFLP abroad. Samidoun’s international coordinator, Charlotte Kates, is also a PFLP member.
“Since 9/11, financial institutions in the West have been committed to stopping the flow of funds to terrorist organizations,” said Robert Garson of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, one of the letter’s signatories. “We call upon Stripe to turn off the spigot to the AfGJ, which sponsors those committed to killing Israeli civilians.”
Zachor Legal Institute President Marc Greendorfer added, “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.”