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Canada Revokes Charity Status of JNF-Canada
By SHIRYN GHERMEZIAN, Algemeiner (August 14, 2024) Canada on Sunday officially revoked the charitable status of two Jewish nonprofit organizations that allocate funds to support projects in Israel, including the Jewish National Fund Canada, a move that JNF Canada described as a “wrong and unjustified decision” allegedly influenced by antisemites.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) made the announcement regarding JNF and the Ne’eman Foundation Canada in notices posted in the Canada Gazette, the government’s official newspaper. CRA said the charities failed to meet parts of Canada’s Income Tax Act but did not elaborate further.
JNF announced in late July that it filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court of Appeal to contest the CRA decision, saying that the agency’s review process “was flawed and fundamentally unfair.” The Jewish group is also arguing that there is “reasonable apprehension of bias” in the audit that CRA conducted. They claim the CRA was pressured by antisemites and anti-Israel activists to revoke the group’s charitable status, and that it “was an important consideration” for the CRA when it decided to take action against the charity.
“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 nonprofit explained in a released statement. “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.”
JNF Canada said it has evidence that the Charities Directorate was monitoring campaigns and comments made by those who are opposed to the group’s support for the Jewish state, specifically the anti-Israel nonprofit organization Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV), which has been involved in four complaints against JNF Canada.
“Given the current environment, the CRA’s decision will be seen as a victory for anti-Israel and antisemitic movements and groups,” the pro-Israel group added.
In a Q&A shared on its website on Aug. 1, JNF Canada said CRA claims the Jewish group “has failed to exercise adequate direction and control” over its primary intermediary in Israel, which is Karen Kayemeth Le’Israel (KKL). The Israeli organization focuses on developing the land of Israel “for a sustainable future,” “strengthening the bond between the Jewish people and its homeland,” and “supporting Zionist and environmental education,” according to its website.
In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel, KKL-JNF provided support to communities impacted by the terrorist attack, raised funds, and bought ambulances and equipment for community emergency squads, The Jerusalem Post reported. KKL-JNF also established a special scholarship program that provided NIS 4,000 (roughly $1,075) to thousands of college students who were living in the Gaza border communities or Sderot at the time of the Oct. 7 attack.
JNF Canada explained that CRA usually takes certain measures, like negotiating compliance agreements or invoking sanctions, before drastically revoking an organization’s charitable status. But, in its dealing with JNF Canada, the CRA “not only skipped steps 1-3, it also refused to enter into a dialogue with us and to entertain our suggestions of new objects for our charity or to discuss a compliance agreement,” the Jewish group said. “We maintain that the CRA erred both in fact and in law and that the process was flawed and unfair, which is why we have ended up in court.”
JNF Canada also maintains that it has addressed CRA’s concerns about its work with KKL by taking steps such as reducing the number of its projects with the group and engaging in a compliant agreement with the Israeli charity.
“KKL works for JNF Canada, just like any other agent that we utilize. JNF Canada selects the projects we wish to support and we always have direction and control over all of the funds as we reimburse expenses upon receipt of valid expense reports. In short, we have addressed the CRA’s concerns.”
JNF Canada’s National President Nathan Disenhouse said in a released statement: “Similar to other charities that support the needs of children, workers, and vulnerable communities we would expect CRA to work with, not against, our charity. Our position is that it is unjust for CRA to revoke a charity because a charitable object that it accepted almost 60 years ago is now no longer considered to be a valid charitable object.”
“It is simply unjust to close a charity supported by over 100,000 Canadians based on reversing a decision the CRA made in 1967,” he continued. “Today’s legal appeal will allow JNF Canada’s concerns to be considered before an impartial legal process.”
Independent Jewish Voices Canada applauded the CRA’s revocation.
“It means Canadian tax money will no longer subsidize the JNF’s illegal support of Israeli apartheid,” the group said. It accused JNF of being compliant in “colonization, occupation and apartheid,” and added that while JNF will appeal the CRA’s decision, “we will again fight every step of the way to make sure they never use this loophole to finance Israeli crimes again.”
The Ne’eman Foundation did not respond to The Algemeiner‘s request for a comment about the CRA’s decision.
According to its website, the Ne’eman Foundation “supports projects that reduce or eliminate poverty, advance education, religion and quality of life, and promote charitable initiatives for community development in Israeli communities.” It provides a “secure financial link” between Israel and Canada and helps Israeli nonprofits build their donor bases in Canada.
With offices in Toronto and Israel, the foundation says it offers Canadians with a wide selection of tax-deductible projects in Israel “that are monitored to guarantee that allocated funds are used accordingly and comply with the requirements of Canadian tax legislation.”
The post Canada Revokes Charity Status of Jewish Nonprofits Supporting Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
On Wendesday, August 13, 2024 JNF Canada issued a call to its supporters to contact the Federal Minister of Revenue and oher Members of Parliament, “from all parties, to intervene on behalf of JNF Canada. We are requesting the government withdraw its revocation and allow JNF to pursue our legal right to appeal in court.”
Here is what was contained in the message issued by JNF Canada:
Dear JNF Canada Supporters,
This past Saturday, over Shabbat, the Jewish National Fund (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.
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.
We need your help now more than ever.
Please join us 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. We are requesting the government withdraw its revocation and allow JNF to pursue our legal right to appeal in court.
We will not be silent in the face of this attack on us as a charity. Join us in speaking up.
To go to the support page JNF-Canada has set up, click here: Stand with JNF-Canada
Local News
Jewish Child and Family Service helped over 1800 families in 2025
By BERNIE BELLAN Jewish Child and Family Service will be entering the 75th year of its existence in 2027.
With a budget over $4,300,000, JCFS is also the largest beneficiary of funding from the Jewish Federation of the 12 Winnipeg Jewish community agencies that are beneficiaries of the Federation. (To see a list of the 12 agencies go to Funding for Beneficiary Agencies.)
Its impact has grown over the years as JCFS has expanded its horizon, continually adding to the many services it provides. During the JCFS’s Annual General Meeting, held in the Seniors’ Lounge of the Asper Campus on Tuesday evening, June 23, the important role that JCFS plays in the lives of so many members of the Jewish community – also a significant number of non-Jews as well, various speakers cited the many ways in which JCFS has continued to have such a huge impact.
With total revenues of $4,325,160 in fiscal year 2025 (which ended March 31, 2026), but slightly fewer expenses, JCFS not only delivered a wide gamut of services, it managed to deliver those services without incurring a deficit in 2025, despite some significant financial challenges.
As outgoing Board Chair Elana Grinshteyn observed, JCFS had to navigate some major reductions in funding, including a cut in funding from the federal government to the tune of $100,000, plus the loss of funding from the Claims Conference, which had provided support for Holocaust survivors.
Yet, despite those setbacks in funding, Grinshtein reported, “Together, we insured that services remained intact.
“We increased access to interest free loans,” she noted, “doubling” the amount that had been allocated in 2024.
And, amidst the ever-increasing demand for services, “JCFS has continued to navigate space limitations,” Grinshteyn noted. (I should note that as far back as 2019 I reported in an interview I had conducted with JCFS CEO Al Benarroch about the JCFS’s dire need for more space. Here is an excerpt from what Benarroch had to say about the JCFS’s need for more room back in 2019: “…we’ve been looking for roughly 3,000 more square feet of space. We have a footprint right now of roughly 5,000 square feet for over 40 staff. We’ve given up a board room here. It’s been taken over by older adult service staff. We have a conference room which is adjacent to the board room; we’ve moved two staff in there.
“Yesterday I gave up my office for the entire morning so that staff could interview clients.
“We need to relieve the pressure we’re facing right now – yet alone plan for expanding and growing.
“Whatever space we’d be looking at would be temporary. It’s now 22 years that we’ve been in this facility. The campus has taken over squash courts, it’s taken over a museum – internally, to accommodate the growth in services. Maybe it’s time now to look at growing outside this building…”
As the saying goes: “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” (That’s me, trying to impress.)
While I tried to take notes during Al Benarroch’s CEO report, I realized following his remarks that there was so much important information conveyed, also a slew of statistics, that it might be more helpful to reprint a good portion of what he said verbatim, so I asked Al to send me a copy of his remarks. (That’s one of the nice things about writing on a website. There’s an infinite amount of room to print the kind of stuff that nerds like me pretend to read.)
During his CEO’s report, Benarroch enumerated the many challenges JCFS encountered in 2025.
Among those challenges, Benarroch noted, were:
• The rising and high cost of living
• Food insecurity
• Housing issues
• Our aging population demographics
• The complex needs of our newcomer families
• The increasingly complex needs in mental health & youth mental health
Yet, despite all those challenges, Benarroch said, “As always… we rose to meet those head on, and with the support of our community.”
In particular, Benarroch cited the support of the Jewish Federation, which contributed $948,800 to JCFS in 2025. (The largest portion of JCFS funding, by the way came from the Province: over $1,100,000.)
Fundraising also played a significant role in contributing to JCFS revenues, with almost $700,000 raised through that route, including direct donations of over $320,000 and bequests over $40,000.
As Benarroch noted, “Every year, we look forward with hope that it will be a quiet year.
“Well, if that’s the case, we are in the wrong business.
“We happen to be in the reflect, respond and pivot business.
“This is the nature of the human existence.”
Benarroch went on to add some more statistics about how JCFS played such a pivotal role in the lives of so many people. In 2025 JCFS:
• Served 1,800 client households – impacting almost 5,000 people.
• Assisted 15 foster children.
• Served 70 families in Child Welfare….
“But what is even more important is that we assisted 90 children that remained at home with their families,” Benarroch said.
The year 2025 also saw the inauguration of what is known as the “Asper Empowerment Program”, through which:
• 311 clients were assisted (including Passover Assistance)
• $80,000 was disbursed in financial assistance
• Over $20,000 was given out in interest-free loans.
• 6,500 kg of food were disbursed
In the area of mental health and counselling services, Benarroch noted that JCFS:
• Supported over 50 adults with mental health challenges
• Our Friday Mental Health Wellness Group participants took part in 22 group activities or outings
• We support some 20 individuals and families impacted by addictions through individual and group services.
• We delivered almost 1,100 counselling sessions, over half of which were subsidized on our sliding scale.
• We continued to support individuals, families, and partner Jewish organizations with the ongoing emotional impacts of the war in Israel and high levels of global antisemitism.
In the area of support for older adults, JCFS served over 250 seniors including:
• 70 newcomer seniors
• 50 seniors living with mental health differences
• 65 Holocaust Survivors (including celebrating “25 years of our Holocaust Survivor Drop-in Group, a partnership with the Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre.”)
In the area of settlement services, JCFS:
• Welcomed almost 80 new families
• Almost 50 families from Israel, seeking reprieve from the ongoing stresses and pressures of the war.
Benarroch noted that “These families are dealing with the deep trauma of displacement, having lived under constant stress, fear and the ensuing post-traumatic impact, family and parenting challenges as a result, emotional exhaustion, financial strain, and more.
“Thanks to the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, we hired a trained specialized support worker, with a background in therapy, to help these families cope, adjust, and receive much needed emotional supports.”
Benarroch went on to describe many more initiatives in which JCFS was engaged in 2025, but I want to return to the retirement of Elena Grinshteyn from the Board of JCFS after nine years serving on the Board, including the last two as Chair. Grinshteyn will be succeed by Bradley Abells, who has been on the Board since 2021. In his remarks, Abells noted that he is an actuary at Canada Life and that he first joined the Board when his particular expertise as an actuary proved extremely helpful in helping to solve a problem that had arisen, and he found the experience so rewarding he decided to remain on the Board ever since .
Also on the Board is Michael Schacter, who is returning as Treasurer and who looks the way you’d expect a finance guy to look.
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Jewish Foundation’s asset base surpasses $200 million for first time
By BERNIE BELLAN The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba continues to show stellar growth – having achieved total assets over $200 million in the 2025 fiscal year (a 7.4% increase from the 2024 fiscal year), also having distributed $8.2 million in grants during the year.
Those were among the highlights reported at the JFM’s Annual General Meeting, held Wednesday evening July 18, in the multipurpose room of the Asper Campus.
JFM CEO John Diamond noted that one of the most successful aspects of the year just past was the launch of what is known as “Fund Match II” which, he explained, is “building on the success of the original FundMatch project introduced in 2012.”
Under the terms of the new Fund Match program 18 initial organizations that created endowments with a combined value of $689,388 at the JFM benefitted from matching funds of $178,000 that were added to those endowments, with an additional four other organizations having joined in the program during the course of the year.
Other highlights (which can all be perused in the JFM’s annual report, available simply by going to the JFM website) include the JFM having “awarded 72 scholarships and academic awards totalling $230,759.”
JFM Board treasurer Bruce Caplan also spoke of some other notable achievements of the JFM in 2025, including a 12.64% return on investments and $4.27 million in new contributions.
The AGM also saw a number of changes to the composition of the board. Most notable among them is the retirement of Dan Blankstein as Board Chair – after having served two two-year terms, to be succeeded by Dafna Shore.
Also, the current longest-serving member of the board, Bonnie Cham, is retiring from the board after having served on it for 13 years, including three terms as Chair.
One other significant retirement announced at the AGM was that of Chief Financial Officer Ian Barnes – who will be retiring in December after 26 years as CFO During his remarks to the audience Barnes noted that “When I arrived at the Foundation, the assets were $29 million.” As noted, that figure has now grown to $200 million.
He also noted that “Since the Foundation was established in 1964, total grants and
distributions are $113.6 million.”
Barnes paid tribute to the three Chief Executive Officers with whom he worked: David Cohen, Marsha Cowan, and John Diamond. With regard to Marsha Cowan, Barnes said that “Marsha taught me about business – and how to dress!” (Barnes will be succeeded as CFO by Lynda Joyal.)
One of the annual customs of the JFM AGM is to thank the JFM staff – and to announce how many years each staff member has served at the JFM. While there are a number of individuals who have been with the JFM for a fairly long time, no one comes close to Patti Boorman, Director of Administration, who has been with the JFM for 37 years.
Among the largest new grants given by the JFM in 2025 were: a grant of $122,000 to the Asper Jewish Community Campus, Gray Academy of Jewish Education and Rady JCC to support the construction of a “new accessible outdoor play structure, ensuring safe, inclusive play for children and families; a grant of $150,000 to the Simkin Centre for the hiring a Volunteer Engagement Specialist – a three-year project to modernize volunteer programs and enhance resident, family, and intergenerational involvement.
Among the leading recipients of distributions from donor-recommend endowment funds – all of which had received grants in the past were:
The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada $149,618
Rady JCC 154,746
Gray Academy 168,535
Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University 163,488
Jewish Child & Family Service 447,471
Simkin Centre 858,654
Asper Campus 431,099
Combined Jewish Appeal 907,688
Jewish Federation of Winnipeg 531,076
Note: A number of the above organizations also received community impact grants – which are one-time grants given for special purposes.
