UChicago Student Groups Promote “Week of Action” for Leader of U.S.-Designated Terror Group PFLP
UChicago students mobilize to free the PFLP leader imprisoned for assassinating an Israeli minister, using propaganda from U.S.-designated terror group Samidoun
The University of Chicago’s student organizations UChicago United for Palestine and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Chicago are actively promoting an International Week of Action aimed at securing the release of Ahmad Sa’adat, the imprisoned general secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)—a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Sa’adat himself organized the August 2001 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi, an operation carried out by the PFLP’s military wing.
The student groups are disseminating promotional materials produced by Samidoun, designated as a terrorist entity by the United States and Israel for functioning as a “sham charity” and international fundraising apparatus for the PFLP. Sa’adat has been imprisoned since 2002 and is currently serving a 30-year sentence.
Terror Organization’s Campus Influence Deepens
The involvement of UChicago’s student organizations in promoting Samidoun material exemplifies a broader pattern of terrorist-aligned organizations leveraging American college campuses as organizing platforms. According to research from NGO Monitor, the PFLP and Samidoun have maintained substantial presence at university encampments and demonstrations across the country, with students documented displaying PFLP flags and distributing propaganda.
The PFLP itself publicly endorsed American campus activist movements in April 2024, declaring solidarity with Students for Justice in Palestine chapters at Columbia, Rutgers, Yale, and Stanford.
Samidoun’s Financial and Organizational Network
Samidoun operates through a sophisticated fundraising apparatus exploiting American charitable tax structures. The organization lacks financial transparency and refuses to publish accounting information, while the Alliance for Global Justice—an IRS-registered American charity—collects tax-deductible donations on Samidoun’s behalf, routing resources to the PFLP. This arrangement allows terrorist financing to proceed under the veneer of legitimate charitable activity while the organization coordinates propaganda campaigns on American campuses.
Systematic Radicalization Through Campus Events
University events organized with Samidoun assistance have explicitly promoted terrorist doctrine to students. At a March 2024 Columbia University event titled “Resistance 101,” PFLP member and Samidoun founder Khaled Barakat stated: “There is nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas, being a leader of Hamas, being a fighter in Hamas. These are the people that are on the front lines defending Palestine.”
In 2024, it was revealed that a Google Drive belonging to National Students for Justice in Palestine spokesperson Carrie Zaremba contained over 200 documents including pro-terrorism materials, tactical guidance on riots and building occupations, and PFLP literature authored by designated terrorists. The discovery highlighted how terrorist organizations have systematized their campus recruitment and radicalization efforts through ostensibly student-led initiatives.
