Canada abruptly revokes charitable status for JNF

By AJNews staff

(AJNews) – On August 10, the federal government announced that effective immediately, the charitable status of Jewish National Fund (JNF) has been revoked. The announcement was posted in the Canada Gazette, the government’s official newspaper.

In late June, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) had notified JNF that it planned to revoke the group’s charitable status in Canada. JNF announced that it was appealing the revocation and would be continuing to operate as usual until the appeal was complete. The August 10 announcement however, stated that “revocation of registration will be effective on the date of publication.”

In a letter to its supporters JNF Canada National President Nathan Disenhouse and CEO Lance Davis wrote, “JNF Canada was blindsided when it learned via a posting in the Canada Gazette that its charitable status has been revoked despite court proceedings currently underway. This was done in a manner contrary to the CRA’s standard practice. The norm is that the CRA would hold the revocation until the legal proceedings conclude and a decision is delivered from the court.

“This draconian and unjust action is consistent with the CRA’s attitude towards JNF since it informed us that it was intending to revoke our charitable status. We appealed while at the same time striving to reach an agreement with the CRA on a constructive path forward, while our overtures to have a dialogue in order to negotiate were consistently rebuffed.

“In the coming days we will be advising the court of the severe damage the CRA is causing us and asking for an application for judicial review until our case is heard on its merits.”

Disenhouse and Davis told JNF supporters that “while for the time being we are unable to issue charitable receipts, please rest assured that we remain steadfast in our commitment to building Israel’s charitable environmental and social service infrastructure for the benefit of all Israelis.”

They asked supporters to join them in calling on the Federal Minister of National Revenue responsible for CRA, Marie-Claude Bibeau, and other Members of Parliament, from all parties, to intervene on behalf of JNF Canada – to request that the government withdraw its revocation and allow JNF to pursue their legal right to appeal in court.

The CRA did not publicly cite a reason for the revocations, but the JNF lawsuit claims the 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 new revocation represents a major victory for pro-Palestinian groups in Canada, including the anti-Zionist Independent Jewish Voices Canada, that has 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.

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.

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.

JNF Canada remains deeply concerned with the CRA’s “wrong and unjustified” decision to revoke its charitable status and “its failure to provide a fair due process, thereby undermining a basic fundamental right for all Canadians.”

Disenhouse and Davis wrote, “We believe that arguably there is a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of the CRA. This evidence of bias comes from the CRA’s own records, which show that the public pressure on the CRA and the Minister of National Revenue to revoke JNF’s status was an important consideration within the chain of authority at the Charities Directorate. A review of the record would leave a reasonable person with the impression that this pressure resulted in a biased decision.”

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) has shown support for JNF and said there is a “compelling case to make light of a troubling experience with the CRA.”

“CIJA remains hopeful that JNF and CRA will ultimately identify a constructive resolution, permitting JNF to continue its important work ranging from relief from poverty to environmental reclamation,” CEO Shimon Koffler Fogel said in a statement.

Written with files from JTA.