Canada revokes charitable status from two Jewish nonprofits that work in Israel
The Jewish National Fund has sued after Canada’s tax authority revoked its charitable status and that of the Ne’eman Foundation
Sign for the Jewish National Fund defaced to protest the Israel activity in Gaza, in Toronto, Canada, on Oct. 9, 2008. (Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto)
(JTA) — Canada has revoked the charitable status of two Jewish nonprofits that direct donations to Israel, including the Jewish National Fund.
The country’s tax authority announced the decision to revoke the status of JNF and the Ne’eman Foundation on Sunday in notices posted in the Canada Gazette, the government’s official newspaper.
The Canada Revenue Agency did not publicly cite a reason for the revocations. But JNF disclosed two weeks ago that it was facing revocation and said the CRA determined that its mission was inconsistent with Canadian laws governing charitable activity. JNF has declined to release the CRA document explaining the revocation.
That CRA document and other details are expected to surface as part of a lawsuit recently filed by JNF against Canada’s minister of national revenue, who oversees the tax authority. Citing internal CRA files obtained through a public records request, the lawsuit claims the revocation decision was “flawed and fundamentally unfair.”
In a statement posted to its website, JNF blamed the CRA for caving to public pressure from campaigns by activist groups targeting JNF, calling those campaigns antisemitic.
“As a Zionist-inspired organization, JNF Canada has many vociferous antisemitic detractors who we believe have influenced the decision-making process in this matter,” the statement said.
The Ne’eman Foundation, which, like the JNF, funds philanthropic projects in Israel, did not announce that it was facing revocation and did not return a request for comment from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Its Canadian website is still accepting donations.
As in the United States, revoking a nonprofit’s charitable status for anything other than a technicality, such as failing to file paperwork, is rare in Canada. It’s not the first time, however, that a Canadian Jewish charity working in Israel has lost its status. In 2019, a CRA audit found that a major nonprofit called Beth Oloth violated the law by supporting the Israeli military.
The new revocations represent a major victory for pro-Palestinian groups in Canada, including the anti-Zionist Independent Jewish Voices Canada, that have repeatedly complained to the CRA about tax-deductible donations supporting infrastructure projects on Israeli military bases. The law in Canada, as in many other countries, prohibits nonprofits from supporting foreign militaries.
As the result of such complaints, the CRA audited JNF in 2014 and notified the group in 2019 that it intended to revoke its charitable status. It is unclear why the tax agency decided to act now, but anti-Zionist advocacy in Canada and attention to it has strengthened since the start of the Israel-Hamas War last October.
Many American charities make donations that support the Israeli military, including the purchasing of defensive combat equipment, JTA reporting has shown.
These donations may violate U.S. law, but the Internal Revenue Service and other government agencies are unlikely to crack down on such activity, according to Daniel Kurtz, a prominent lawyer for nonprofits and a former New York State assistant attorney general in charge of the charities division.
“Contributing to fighting a war directly is not charity — there’s no question about that,” Kurtz said in an interview. “You can’t buy tanks or machine guns for the IDF or the Russians or anybody. Buying gear for soldiers is also probably inconsistent with the law. Can you indirectly help? I think that’s done to some extent to — providing non-military support to soldiers such as recuperation, education opportunities. It’s murky. And, as a practical matter, there’s probably going to be little stomach for any agency to challenge it.”
JNF says it ceased building projects for soldiers on Israeli military bases in 2016 when the CRA gave notice that such activity was inconsistent with its charitable status.
The organization said it has offered to take additional steps to ensure its work adheres to Canadian law and that the CRA made its decision without offering a path toward compliance.
“As outlined on its web site, the CRA is committed to exploring compliance measures such as education letters, compliance agreements and sanctions before revoking an organization’s charitable status,” JNF said in a statement. “The CRA not only skipped steps 1-3, it also refused to enter into a dialogue with us and to entertain our suggestions of new objects for our charity or to discuss a compliance agreement.”
Independent Jewish Voices Canada, which has been involved in four complaints against JNF, praised the revocation.
“In a stunning but long overdue decision, a Canadian flagship Zionist organization’s charity status is being ended after decades of challenges by the Palestinian solidarity movement,” the group said in a press release.
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