Trudeau government unfairly targets two Jewish charities

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In Trudeau’s Canada, some charities seem to be more equal than others.

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That’s the only conclusion that can be drawn from the shocking notices posted this week on the Canada Gazette, which is where Ottawa publishes all of its official bulletins.  Whenever a regulation, treaty, proclamation or the like is passed by the government — usually the cabinet — it gets published on the Canada Gazette.

And, this week, the Trudeau Liberal government published notices revoking the charitable status of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the Ne’eman Foundation.

The JNF has branches in the United States and the United Kingdom, and has been active in Canada for 123 years.  Among other things, it plants trees in Israel, builds infrastructure like dams and reservoirs, and creates parks.  Its Canadian chapter helped build a 1,700-acre park in Israel, for instance, one that is used by Jews and non-Jews alike. As parks are.

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The Ne’eman Foundation, meanwhile, is focused on reducing and eliminating poverty, helping firefighters and paramedics, and funding educational and health initiatives — particularly accident victims and cancer patients.

And, this week, the Trudeau government essentially posted death notices for both charities in Canada, without any explanation.  On the Canada Gazette, Sharmila Khare, head of the “charities directorate,” wrote that “notice is hereby given” that the JNF and Ne’eman Foundation were getting their charitable status revoked for violating obscure sections of the Income Tax Act, which governs charities in Canada.

The JNF revocation wasn’t entirely news — two weeks ago, they announced they were suing the minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Marie-Claude Bibeau, for acting in a way that was “flawed and fundamentally unfair.”

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The Ne’eman revocation was news, however.  And it confirmed rumours that have been flying in the charitable sector that Trudeau’s government was on a campaign to kill off pro-Israel and pro-Jewish charities.

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What prompted the Trudeau regime to go after such revered institutions? They’re not saying.

But the union that represents many CRA bureaucrats last week posted this on X: “As the union representing over 17,000 CRA professionals, and an organization that will always stand for human rights, we commend CRA’s decision to revoke the Jewish National Fund’s charitable status.”

n another post, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada declared: “No organization that uses tax-deductible donations to support war or genocidal efforts in an occupied territory should be able to benefit from Canadian charitable status.”

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On that, we can all agree.  Except the JNF and Ne’eman weren’t supporting “genocide.” They were planting trees and reducing poverty.

Ottawa’s decision is made all the more shocking by their willingness to give charitable status to organizations which are pro-Palestinian and, in many cases, aggressively anti-Israel.  As The Toronto Sun revealed in a report this week, several charities approved by Ottawa are possibly funding – or have possible links to – Palestinian extremist or militant groups.

All of the “pro-Palestinian” charities have been accepted as legitimate by Trudeau’s government. All have the ability to provide tax receipts for donations, which together add up to millions. And all have been sending large amounts to Gaza and the West Bank, for years.

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In one case, a Trudeau-approved charity reportedly sent thousands to a university in the Northern West Bank that Hamas itself calls “a greenhouse for martyrs.”  In another case, a Trudeau-certified charity supported two Gaza hospitals used by Hamas for military operations and to hide Israeli hostages taken on Oct. 7.  B’nai Brith has called on Ottawa to investigate the Sun’s report, saying it “warrants immediate action” from CRA and Bibeau.

Canadian Jews are stunned by the decision to go after the JNF and the Ne’eman Foundation.

For this writer — who, full disclosure, has assisted Jewish causes — it is unfair, unreasonable and unwarranted.  But it is not unexpected.  Since Oct. 7, the Trudeau government has revealed itself to be no friend of Israel or the Jewish community.

Its attack on two respected Jewish charities is the sort of parlour-room anti-Semitism for which it has become known.

Can the charity revocations be overturned? Perhaps, but the process will be expensive and time-consuming.

In the meantime, the Trudeau government lets pro-Palestinian charities essentially do whatever they want.

And Jewish charities? They get cancelled.

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