Charities aren’t allowed to assist foreign militaries but according to Zionists asking the revenue agency to apply its rules to the Israel Occupation Force amounts to “erasing Jewish life in Canada”. When you are used to preferential treatment, equality may feel like oppression.
Just Peace Advocates, Canadian Foreign Policy Institute and several other civil society groups recently submitted a sixty-page report to the Canada Revenue Agency calling for an investigation into 11 school charities assisting the Israeli military in probable violation of charity rules. The schools have hosted fundraisers to assist IOF projects and brought in current or former Israeli soldiers to speak to the kids. They’ve also facilitated the recruitment of hundreds of graduates into the IOF. One Toronto school, Bnei Akiva, boasted that “over 220 of our graduates have served in the IDF and Sherut Leumi [national service].” (A fraction as many of its graduates have likely joined Canada’s military.)
While I don’t believe schools that bring in war criminals to indoctrinate young kids or push them to join a murderous foreign military should exist, the report is simply asking for the application of existing laws. According to CRA rules for registered charities, “increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of Canada’s armed forces is charitable, but supporting the armed forces of another country is not.”
Still, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, B’nai Brith and other Zionists have vociferously denounced the submission. B’nai Brith released a statement “demanding that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) dismiss an unfounded, bigoted complaint raised against Jewish schools” while Beryl Wajsman penned a National Postcolumn headlined “CRA must reject attempts to weaponize charitable law against Jewish schools.” CIJA employed even more hyperbolic language. Their statement claimed:
“There is a coordinated campaign to erase Jewish life in Canada. And it is not only being waged through violence and intimidation. For months, a veritable witch hunt across various channels has targeted all Jewish community institutions with the goal of erasing Jewish life in this country. Today, this campaign, orchestrated by radical anti-Jewish and anti-Israel groups, has crossed a new threshold by attacking our community’s schools, with a clear and blatant intent to weaponize the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Fringe activists have filed malicious complaints targeting 11 of our schools across Canada, as well as members of our community. The goal is not transparency, but a blatant desire to paralyze and destroy Jewish community life in Canada.”
As a respondent on X correctly noted, “If ‘Jewish life’ revolves around using Canadian schools as recruitment grounds for a foreign genocidal military then good riddance.” But, in fact all that’s requested in the report to the CRA is for the agency to undertake an investigation that could end a specific type of public subsidy. (In another form of subsidy, Quebec’s education ministry provides $37 million annually in direct grants to Jewish schools.)
The CRA must ignore pressure from genocide advocates and apply its rules equally to all communities. No one should get special treatment. The complaints from Israel supporters illustrate the fact that when you’re used to special treatment, equality may feel like oppression. It’s not.
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