ACTION: Take a minute to support a formal complaint asking the Canada Revenue Agency to investigate whether the HESEG FOUNDATION and its main patron THE GERALD SCHWARTZ and HEATHER REISMAN FOUNDATION are violating rules for registered charities.
HESEG assists non-Israelis joining that country’s military even though CRA rules preclude assisting foreign militaries. As the genocide and destruction in Gaza caused by the Israeli military grows, it’s imperative that Canadian taxpayers are not subsidizing that violence in violation of CRA laws.
The HESEG board has included a handful of top former Israeli military officials. This includes Chief Commander of the Israeli military in Gaza and the West Bank, Yitzhak Eitan, Head of Mossad, Shabtai Shavi, and Commander of the IDF’s Southern Command, Doron Almog.
The Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Foundation, a charitable foundation began by the founders of HESEG, has provided over $43 million to HESEG over the last five years, and according to a recent ATIP, the Schwartz and Reisman Foundation provided about $185 million to HESEG over the years.
Essentially 100% of the donations to HESEG are from Foundation, with all but a few thousand dollars having being donated by the Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Foundation. There was an initial injection of close to $20 M by individuals when HESEG was initiated in 2007.
The request for investigation pointed out that the CRA public benefit test is quite clear in regard to supporting a foreign military. According to #4 Public Benefit test, CG-002 (November 27, 2020) CRA directives indicate that:
Under Canadian law, most activities that are charitable in Canada are also charitable abroad. However, the courts have stated that some activities that are charitable in Canada may not be charitable when carried on in a different country. For example, it is charitable to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of Canada’s armed forces, but it is not charitable to support the armed forces of another country.
Given the whole purpose of the HESEG Foundation would seem to be to support a foreign military, and THE GERALD SCHWARTZ & HEATHER REISMAN FOUNDATION is the main donor to the HESEG Foundation the complaints asked to look specifically at these organizations in regard to their support of the Israeli military.
It was noted that the Schwartz and Reisman foundation also provided charity donations to charities that have been reported to the CRA with rationale for investigation such as the Jewish National Fund, the Canadian Zionist Cultural Association (CZCA), Mizrachi Canada and others. The request was that these also be considered as part of the requested investigation.
The complaint requested that an investigation of both organizations be initiated immediately by the Canada Revenue Agency.
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians – Canada (“ICJP – Canada”) has provided* the Government of Canada with notice of intent to seek the prosecution of Canadian officials who are allegedly complicit in Israel’s war crimes. ICJP Canada is also considering expanding the scope of its initiative to pursue accountability of Canadian companies who are allegedly complicit in Israel’s war crimes. Like Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court applies to both state actors and private individuals. The latter makes it an offence to, “aid, abet or otherwise assist,” in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
