The official revocation notice of the Jewish National Fund of Canada’s charity status, published in the Canada Gazette on Aug. 10, caught many by surprise. Lance Davis, CEO of JNF Canada, says the venerable Jewish charity was “blindsided” by the Canada Revenue Agency’s move because it came so quickly, despite efforts to negotiate a solution. It also came only two weeks after JNF Canada said that, if no deal was reached, it would appeal the government’s “biased” findings to the Federal Court of Appeal.
Experts say losing the charitable status means JNF Canada can no longer issue tax receipts for donations; it has one year to wind down business, and dispose of all its financial assets or pay 100 percent tax on the millions in its accounts.
JNF Canada says it is now going to apply for an immediate judicial review to stop the clock on what its spokespeople call Ottawa’s “draconian” approach. Meanwhile opponents of the historic pro-Israel charity—including the NDP, the Green Party, Independent Jewish Voices and Just Peace Advocates—have been loudly proclaiming victory after years of complaints to the government that JNF’s Canadian donors have been illegally funding projects in the West Bank and also illegally helping the IDF. (JNF Canada says they stopped doing this in 2016.)
On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we ask Mark Blumberg, a Canadian tax lawyer and charity expert, whether JNF Canada was a victim of politics—or the author of its own misfortune.
What we talked about:
- Read why the CRA revoked the charitable status of the Jewish National Fund of Canada on Aug. 10, 2024.
- Read why the CRA revoked the charitable status of the Ne’eman Foundation of Canada on Aug. 10, 2024.
- Learn more about the start of JNF’s battle with the Canada Revenue Agency, from 2014 to today, in The CJN.
- Read about JNF’s financial reports on Mark Blumberg’s charity watchdog portal charitydata.ca.
Credits
- Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) [email protected]
- Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
- Music: Dov Beck-Levine
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