Created recently under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Sanhedrin Trail is designed for hikers, especially students, looking for Jewish archaeological sites in the Galilee from the first half of the first millennium CE. In February a group of such students discovered a solid-gold coin, which experts have now identified as dating to the reign of the emperor Theodosius II—who abolished the rabbinical high council for which the trail is named. Amanda Borschel-Dan writes:

Emperor Theodosius II (401-450) began his reign over Byzantium, the eastern part of the Roman empire whose capital was in Constantinople, at the age of seven. His name is enshrined in the Codex Theodosianus, . . . a set of laws published in 438 that collected and redacted the thousands of imperial laws of the sprawling empire.

Unfortunately for the Jews of the era, who had enjoyed relative freedom, the codex officially demoted their status. Although the coin depicts the goddess Victory, Theodosius was a defender of the Christian faith, which he promoted as the official religion of the empire. As such, the rights and privileges of Jews were circumscribed. They were barred from military and civil service—aside from the thankless profession of tax collector—and no new synagogues could be constructed.

In an even more resonant blow, the emperor’s codex also diverted the taxes paid to the head of the Sanhedrin, which led to [its] eventual abolishment. Gamaliel VI (400–425) was the final holder of the office of nasi [or president of the council].

Established in 2012 and maintaining branches in Europe, North America, and Iran, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Network claims its goal is merely to show “solidarity” for imprisoned Palestinians. The organization’s leader, however, has admitted to being a representative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a notorious terrorist group whose most recent accomplishments include murdering a seventeen-year-old girl. As Arsen Ostrovsky and Patricia Teitelbaum point out, Samidoun is just one example of how the European Union allows Iran-backed terrorists to operate in its midst:

The PFLP is a proxy of the Iranian regime, which provides the terror group with money, training, and weapons. Samidoun . . . has a branch in Tehran. It has even held events there, under the pretext of “cultural activity,” to elicit support for operations in Europe. Its leader, Khaled Barakat, is a regular on Iran’s state [channel] PressTV, calling for violence and lauding Iran’s involvement in the region. It is utterly incomprehensible, therefore, that the EU has not yet designated Samidoun a terror group.

According to the Council of the European Union, groups and/or individuals can be added to the EU terror list on the basis of “proposals submitted by member states based on a decision by a competent authority of a member state or a third country.” In this regard, there is already a standing designation by Israel of Samidoun as a terror group and a decision of a German court finding Barakat to be a senior PFLP operative.

Given the irrefutable axis-of-terror between Samidoun, PFLP, and the Iranian regime, the EU has a duty to put Samidoun and senior Samidoun leaders on the EU terror list. It should do this not as some favor to Israel, but because otherwise it continues to turn a blind eye to a group that presents a clear and present security threat to the European Union and EU citizens.