Immediate release
August 27, 2024
CRA exposes Canadian subsidies for genocide
Just released documents detailing the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) rationale for revoking the charitable status of the Jewish National Fund of Canada (JNF) and Ne’eman Foundation offer a window into the large sums of Canadian subsidies to Israel. The CRA’s revocation rationale shows that the two organisations have assisted the Israeli military, explicitly racist organizations and illegal West Bank colonies.
“We know that there are dozens of registered Canadian charities assisting the Israeli military, racist organizations and West Bank colonies”, noted Karen Rodman with Just Peace Advocates. “It’s outrageous that all Canadians are made to subsidize Israeli violence and colonialism. Promoting genocide and apartheid isn’t charity.”
The revocation of the JNF and Ne’eman Foundation’s charitable status bolsters the growing campaign to pressure the CRA to apply its rules towards Israel-focused charities. As part of this effort, on September 5, International Day of Charity, there will be rallies at CRA offices across the country to tell the federal government that aiding apartheid and genocide should not be subsidized as charitable activity.
The CRA’s decision to revoke the JNF’s charitable status also has international implications. With fifty countries granting the JNF charitable status, the forced winding up of JNF Canada’s operations over the next year has boosted the global Stop the JNF campaign. British-based legal advocacy group the International Centre for Justice for Palestinians cited Canada’s decision in a recent letter urging the UK attorney general to revoke the charitable status of the UK branch of the JNF. In what should be of relevance to UK and other countries’ tax officials, the CRA decision against JNF Canada includes a discussion of the fraught relationship between JNF UK and the central organization in Israel.
In recent months there’s been significant campaigning on Israel-focused charities. At the start of June Gabor Maté, Yann Martel, Linda McQuaig, Roger Waters, Monia Mazigh, Desmond Cole, Libby Davies and others signed “Stop Subsidizing Genocide”. The public letter points out that “200+ registered Canadian charities funnel a quarter billion dollars a year to projects in Israel. Many of these groups finance projects that support the Israeli military, racist organizations and West Bank settlements in contravention of Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rules.”
In another challenge to Canada’s most significant contribution to Palestinian dispossession, NDP revenue critic Niki Ashton hosted a June 13 press conference at the parliamentary press gallery calling “on the Liberal government to investigate Canadian charities that allegedly funneled taxpayer money in support of Israeli military operations and illegal settlements in Palestine.” She also sponsored a parliamentary petition on the subject and sent a letter to Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau demanding the government investigate charities funding Israeli military operations in Gaza and illegal Israeli settlements. In a recent post on the subject Ashton declared, “not one cent of Canadian tax-dollars should be funding genocide.”
For more information:
Just Peace Advocates: info@justpeaceadvocates.ca
Canadian Foreign Policy Institute: info@foreignpolicy.ca
