The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has revoked the tax-exempt status of two Jewish charities, including the Jewish National Fund (JNF) of Montréal, known for its high-profile Negev Dinners that have hosted Canadian prime ministers for decades. Blacklock's Reporter says the CRA's decision has sparked controversy and legal action.On Saturday, the CRA announced that the JNF of Montréal and the Ne’eman Foundation Canada, based in Thornhill, Ontario, were deregistered for "failure to meet parts of the Income Tax Act." The agency did not provide further details in its brief legal notice.The Jewish National Fund, which has been a registered charity since 1967, criticized the CRA's decision and vowed to challenge it in the Federal Court of Appeal. "Our position is that it is unjust for the Revenue Agency to revoke a charity because a charitable object that it accepted almost 60 years ago is no longer considered to be valid," the JNF said in an earlier statement.The JNF has a long history of supporting various causes in Israel, transferring $11 million to affiliated charities there last year, according to tax filings. Its fundraising Negev Dinners have been a major event in the Canadian political landscape, with prime ministers like John Diefenbaker, Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney, and Stephen Harper attending. Harper, at a 2013 Negev Dinner, described Israel as "a light of freedom and democracy in what is otherwise a region of darkness."Critics of the JNF, including anti-Israel groups, have accused the charity of using donations to support the "colonization of Palestinian land" and "projects linked to the Israel military." Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, one such group, expressed approval of the CRA's decision, stating that it "applauds the Canada Revenue Agency" for revoking the charity's status.The CRA has previously advised charities operating in conflict zones like the Middle East to exercise caution. In a 2022 guide, Charities In The International Context, the agency emphasized the need for Canadian charities to navigate complex ethical questions when working in regions where terrorism and violence are prevalent, warning them to avoid inadvertently supporting political factions or prolonging conflicts.The revocations come against the backdrop of evolving rules around the political activities of charities. A 1985 regulation that limited charities to spending no more than 10 percent of their resources on political activities was struck down by an Ontario judge in 2018. Justice Edward Morgan of the Ontario Superior Court criticized the limitation as lacking a clear definition in the Income Tax Act. Parliament later repealed the "political activities" clause in a 2018 omnibus budget bill, allowing charities greater freedom to engage in public policy discussions.
