Local News
Self-deprecating Ted Lyons to be this year’s Negev Gala honouree
By BERNIE BELLAN This year’s Jewish National Fund Negev Gala, on Monday, May 31, will be special for many reasons:
It will be the first Negev Gala here conducted entirely online.
It will be the first Negev Gala in Winnipeg in two years. (Last year’s had to be postponed because of Covid.)
It will be the first Negev Gala held in Winnipeg at which a medical physician will be honoured. (In 2018 the Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity was honoured as a collectivity.)
With all that in mind, it’s a special pleasure for me to be able to write about this year’s Negev Gala honouree, Dr. Ted Lyons – especially considering that he was supposed to have been honoured last year, but was unfortunately put in the position of having to wait an entire extra year to be honoured.
Ted Lyons is one of those rare individuals who has had a role in so many different areas of life, including many different aspects of medicine, to prominent leadership roles within our own Jewish community.
But, for anyone who has met Ted Lyons, despite his many accomplishments, his modesty and self-effacing manner come through immediately. As a matter of fact, in reading a short bio that he sent me I was often left laughing at the degree to which he was willing to admit his own rather extensive lack of success as a student before – and even while he was in university, until that is, he made it into medicine (on his second try).
It was when he was admitted into medical school here that Ted began to display a tremendous talent for being able to understand aspects of human anatomy that led him to be a pacesetter in the field of radiology with a worldwide reputation in the area of advanced ultrasound imagery.
But, just to give a taste of how much Ted Lyons hasn’t led success give him a swelled head, just read this excerpt from his bio when he discusses how close he was to being thrown out of Kelvin High School in Grade 12:
“I was in Miss Margaret Jean Thompson’s class for grade 12 and again was a very average student. I did not participate in any school activities but was active in AZA. I remember Reading Gullivers’ Travels and saying to a classmate as I walked into the classroom, that this was a child’s book. Miss Thompson began the class saying that this could either be taken as a child’s book or as a commentary on England in the 1800s. I felt stupid.
“At Christmas time Miss Thompson called me in into her office and said that I would never amount to anything and that I should leave school and go to get a job. I was flabbergasted as I had been a very average student but had never been a problem. I went home and told my parents what had happened. They came with me down to the school to meet with Mr. Fyles and with Miss Thompson. Mr. Fyles’ son was the dean of the medical school and my father knew him. The three of us sat across the desk with me in the corner. Part of the discussion, I remember, was me saying, “Why not let me come back? No one else will be using my seat.” They agreed to let me return after Christmas break. This must of had a profound effect on me but I still remained an average student for the end of grade 12.”
I told Ted that there was really so much rich material in his life story that it would be difficult to know what to include in this article. For the sake of brevity I’m leaving out other equally entertaining stories about Ted’s childhood. Suffice to say that it was a happy one – especially his many summers spent at the family cottage in Gimli, where Ted became an expert swimmer – and eventually a swimming instructor himself.
Moving on to Ted’s university years, once again he failed to demonstrate any apparent ability that might have suggested he was going to become a fabulously successful physician. Here’s what he has to say about his first attempt to get into medicine:
“I took three years of university in Science and got a BSc Bachelor of Science degree. I applied to Medicine, but my marks were not high enough, so I was not accepted. The average needed to be over 68.
“My dad suggested that I speak to the head of Medicine, Dr. John Gemmel, for his advice. He suggested I take Physiological Psych, a difficult course that would help me once I got into Med school. I decided to do a pre-masters in Zoology and apply again next year. One of my professors was Dr. Harvey Wiseman. I asked him the same question: ‘What should I take in order to get into Medicine?’ His answer was if you take physiologic psych you’ll never get in but rather you should take a bunch of half courses – which I did. They were amongst the best courses I had in university and served me well when I was in Medicine. One course was the History of Music where the professor said, ‘Don’t take any notes, just listen to the music and listen through my lectures. The exam will be the same as it was over the last three years. Get old exam questions and study them and you’ll pass.’ “
As events transpired, Ted did apply himself fully in Medicine. It was also during his time in medical school that he married Harriet Jacob, who went on to fashion her own career as a teacher and more recently, as a successful potter. Ted notes that Harriet “hand made all of the Mezzuzot for the Simkin Centre rooms and for the Gray Academy.”
Now, while reading about a doctor’s career is something that might not always make for the most scintillating reading, in Ted’s case he was at the forefront of so many breakthroughs in ultrasound technology that I would be remiss not to mention some of his achievements.
Again, here’s an excerpt from Ted’s bio: “In 1969 I entered radiology as a first-year resident and as a section head of Diagnostic Ultrasound. I continued in that role for 25 years. I introduced ultrasound in all Manitoba hospitals. I was the consultant to Manitoba Health on the orderly expansion of ultrasound. In other provinces there was less of a structured rollout of ultrasound services. There was also a rapid expansion of private practice ultrasound in other provinces but none in Manitoba. This made for a higher quality ultrasound service in Manitoba. I introduced all aspects of ultrasound examinations of the head, chest, heart, abdomen, pelvis and limbs.”
In 1996 Ted also began working with General Electric on the development of a new ultrasound machine that GE’s CEO at the time, Jack Welch, wanted to market – with the aim of making GE a world leader in the production of ultrasound machines. Ted was already a leading member of the RSNA (Radiology Society of North America), so when he decided to work with GE on the development of its ultrasound machines, he was able to convince the RSNA to have all its images come through the ultrasound department at the Health Sciences Centre, which had recently acquired 13 brand new ultrasound machines altogether for only $1 million.
(In 1996 the HSC purchased 13 of the new GE ultrasound scanners for only $1 million. Ted worked with GE to help improve and market their equipment, explaining that “They put a specialist in our department for 6 weeks and at the RSNA convention for the next 5 years all of the GE images came from our dept. Each year the GE Ultrasound CEO, myself and one other physician travelled around the world lecturing in at least a dozen cities.”)
Eventually, as is usually the case with any individual who has had an outstanding career in a rarefied field, the honours started to flow in for Ted Lyons.
In 2008, for instance, he was given the Order of Canada for Health Care while, in 2012, he was given the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal.
In 2014 he was given the Saul Kanee Distinguished Community Service award by the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.
In 2016 he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the University of Manitoba.
It was with his assuming the presidency of Shaarey Zedek Congregation in 1999 though, that Ted began a period of very active involvement in the Jewish community here that has continued unabated ever since.
At various times within the past 30 years Ted has served on the boards of: Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg (including a stint as president, from 2005-2007), United Israel Appeal Federations Canada, Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, Asper Jewish Community Campus, the Conservative Yeshiva Rabbinical School of Canada and, most recently, the board of the Simkin Centre.
It was during his period of involvement at the Simkin Centre, in particular, that Ted Lyons’ administrative skills were brought into play at a crucial time during what was a very troubling period for the Simkin Centre. Together with Jonathan Kroft, Ted was able to initiate a thorough review of every aspect of how the Simkin Centre was run, which led to a complete overhaul of systems management in every respect. In speaking of that period Ted pays great tribute to the contribution made by Elaine (Meller) Todres in coming up with the recommendations that paved the way for the management system that is now in place at the Simkin Centre.
When I spoke with Ted though, what I wanted to hear from him in particular was his affinity for Israel and the reason that the project for which funds from this year’s Negev Gala will go is of such special significance to both him and Harriet.
The project is titled “The Bervin JNF Canada House of Excellence”. To be built in Sderot, which is the community that has always been the most immediate target of missiles launched over the years from the Gaza Strip, this particular facility is intended to “serve as an after-school education, empowerment, and enrichment centre for high school students from Sderot and its surroundings, who will be provided with the necessary tools and skills for personal and scholastic success.”
Ted mentioned to me that this year, all JNF Galas across Canada are combining to allocate funds to this particular project. Of the overall cost of $4 million to build the Bervin House, over half will be coming from JNF Canada. And – of that amount, over $1.3 million has already been raised from Winnipeg donors.
In an email to me, JNF Manitoba-Saskatchewan Executive Director David Greaves, offered that the naming of the project “Bervin” is in honour of the late Berdie and Irvin Cohen, for which someone has donated $1 million (but who wishes to remain anonymous).
As to how Ted and Harriet became acquainted first hand with the Sderot project, Ted explains that, in the fall of 2019 he and Harriet were on a visit to Israel for their granddaughter’s bat mitzvah when they were taken by JNF on a visit to a similar project in Nof Hagalil. They were so impressed with what they saw going on at that project, Ted says, they decided that a similar project would be something with which they wanted to be involved.
I asked David Greaves whether the JNF is involved in similar projects around Israel? He responded: “Yes, Beit KKL as they are known generically. Ted and Harriet visited the first one at Nof HaGalil in 2019. The success of that one prompted KKL to commit to building a number of them in the periphery of Israel. The next one slated is the one that JNF Canada committed to partner with and which is now named Bervin JNF Canada House of Excellence.”
What excited Ted about the Bervin House project was that it will offer “kids in Sderot the extra schooling that will help them get into a better unit in the army or to get into university” – opportunities that are normally available only to kids in large urban centres in Israel.
Apparently it was when Russian immigrants to Israel began arriving en masse during the 1990s that the idea of setting up after school programs to offer students extra training, especially in subjects like math and science, and the idea of these special after-schools programs took hold.
Toward the end of my conversation with Ted Lyons I remarked upon the close friendships he has maintained over the years with a group of boys with whom he grew up, of whom some were: Michael Nozick, Elliot Rodin, Gerry Posner, Sheldon Gillman, Larry Booke, Arnold Popeski and Irv Tessler. (Ted also mentioned quite a few other names at various times as we talked. He said that he still maintains close friendships with almost everyone whom he was friends with when they were youngsters and that what he values most are the friendships he made while he was in AZA Toppers.)
“It was a small Jewish community – and our mothers were all friends,” Ted notes. “So we grew up together, we played together, we went to clubs together. In fact, six of us go together to Palm Springs in March (not last year or this year, he points out). We’ve all stayed friends over the years. We grew up in a special time – when you developed friends, and you stayed friends.”
As much as Ted Lyons has achieved well-deserved recognition for his many accomplishments, his attachment to Winnipeg and the friends with whom he grew up have kept him totally level-headed. He says that he had the opportunity to move to Toronto (as well as other cities in Canada and the US) and assume a very important position there, but in the end, he and Harriet realized that “family was important to us. I could do all the things I wanted to do career-wise here – and also get involved with the Jewish community here.”
“We are fortunate to have our children (Mara (Sheldon) and Sami (Rose)) and our five grandchildren in Winnipeg with us,” he adds.
As I came to the end of our conversation, I said to Ted that his story is such an interesting one – and he’s not afraid to poke fun at himself in telling it, that he ought to consider writing a memoir. I’m betting there would be a huge interest in reading the story of someone who has contributed so much to our community – all the while being able to look back with amusement at how unlikely a prospect that would have been when he was younger. If you’re younger – and thinking that there’s no hope for you to amount to anything of substance, take heart from Ted Lyons’ story. All that it took was avoiding taking a course in Physiological Psych in favour of some easy half courses – where the professor told you not to bother taking notes. If only I had known!
Local News
Acclaimed rabbi steps to the pulpit of Toronto’s dynamic, downtown Reform congregation
(Toronto, Ont.) – City Shul (cityshul.com) is proud to welcome its new spiritual leader, Rabbi Stephanie Crawley, who began leading the 250-member synagogue in late July and will head the downtown congregation’s 2025 High Holiday services later this month. City Shul has been hailed by the Union for Reform Judaism’s leader, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, as “unique in North America” for its merger of traditional Jewish knowledge with modern Reform values. It was founded in 2011 by Rabbi Emerita Elyse Goldstein, Toronto’s first female rabbi and a pioneering feminist scholar.
Why would a successful and beloved associate rabbi from a large, prominent synagogue relocate to Toronto to head City Shul, a small, upstart congregation?
“I wasn’t looking for just any congregation,” says Rabbi Crawley, an award-winning scholar from 800-member Temple Micah in Washington, D.C. “I was looking for the right congregation.
“I had learned that City Shul was a vibrant, forward-thinking and committed congregation. Since my husband, Rabbi Jesse Paikin, grew up in the Greater Toronto Area, it also sounded like the perfect opportunity to be closer to our extended family.”
Rabbi Crawley’s inaugural Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services will offer the wider Toronto Jewish community a chance to experience her love for Judaism and her thoughtful interpretation of its depth and breadth.
“My dream is that when people think and speak of City Shul, they will know that it is a place where Judaism is celebrated joyously,” says Rabbi Crawley. “I believe a synagogue should be a living, vibrant home for Jewish life, where ritual is profound and transformative, where we are called to be and do our best for each other and the world.
“I’m excited to continue the dynamism and experimentation that is such a deep part of City Shul’s culture, and continue to innovate and grow this warm community.”
City Shul conducted an extensive international search to find a new rabbi. The search committee interviewed more than a dozen candidates, but when they met Rabbi Crawley, the connection was instantaneous.
Rabbi Crawley has begun her tenure at City Shul by leading Shabbat services and getting to know her congregants. Her arrival marks not just a new chapter for the synagogue, but a renewed invitation to explore, celebrate, and shape Jewish life together—with joy, meaning, and a bold spirit of possibility.
ABOUT RABBI CRAWLEY:
Rabbi Stephanie Crawley received her undergraduate education at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland in 2010 and earned a Master of Hebrew Studies and rabbinic ordination through Hebrew Union College/The Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City and Jerusalem. She graduated in 2018 with numerous prizes and academic distinctions, including the Rabbi Solomon Goldman Memorial Prize in Liturgy and the Edith Robers Memorial Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement. Her rabbinic thesis, Out of the Box and onto the Page: Elevated Voices of Female Biblical Characters in Midrash Sefer ha-Yashar, reflected her egalitarian outlook.
As an Associate Rabbi at Temple Micah in Washington, D.C., Rabbi Crawley was involved in all aspects of the congregation, including education, long-term planning, music, outreach, pastoral care, prayer, spirituality and social justice. During her rabbinic studies and afterward, she received numerous fellowships to enhance her learning or assist her in her endeavours, such as the North America-wide Bonnie and Daniel Tisch Rabbinic Fellowship, which focused on congregational leadership and innovative thinking, and the Rukin Rabbinic Fellowship, designed to increase knowledge of interfaith inclusion issues and create communities of belonging for couples and families. In addition, she is a talented poet and musician.
ABOUT CITY SHUL:
City Shul is a downtown Reform Jewish congregation founded in 2011 by internationally renowned Rabbi Emerita Elyse Goldstein with a group of committed laypeople, including academics and Canadian Jewish leaders.
Local News
Premier Wab Kinew wows an audience of seniors at the Gwen Secter Centre
By BERNIE BELLAN (Sept. 11, 2025) There was a mood of heightened expectancy the afternoon of Wednesday, September 10, at the Gwen Secter Centre. The premier of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, was scheduled to arrive at approximately 1:30 pm to speak to a large audience of over 60 seniors (including this writer).
(Seniors are able to come to the Gwen Secter Centre every Wednesday for a delicious lunch, followed either by entertainment or a speaker.)
But Premier Kinew had been scheduled to come to the Gwen Secter Centre a couple of months prior to this particular day – but was forced to cancel due to something unexpected that had come up in his busy schedule, as things are wont to do when you’re the premier.
This time though, three other NDP MLAs arrived prior to the premier and – because none of them looked like a senior – although I didn’t have a clue who any of them were, I assumed that they weren’t there simply for no reason at all, so I asked one of them, who happened to be a nice, young woman: “Is the premier going to show or is he going to bail again?”
I don’t think she particularly liked the tone of my question (Obviously she didn’t know who I was either, otherwise she wouldn’t have been surprised at my cheekiness), but she responded quite warmly, reassuring me that he was on his way. She also asked me what I was doing there – because I was standing outside the auditorium when everyone else was seated by that point, so I said: “Hey, I’m a senior – so I’m entitled to be here, but I’m also a very annoying reporter – and I’m here to cover this.”
But where was the security detail that one would normally expect to see in advance of a VIP as important as the premier? I wondered.
It turns out there was one lonely security guy – in a suit, but not wearing an earpiece. (I asked him if he was security because he was dressed too nicely for the Gwen Secter Centre – and he wasn’t talking with anyone.) He admitted that he was security, but when I said that I thought there would be more like him considering it was the premier of Manitoba who was coming, he answered that they consider the kind of audience that will be at an event when planning security for the premier – and no one thought that audience that day was going to be overly dangerous. Also, the premier was scheduled to arrive after everyone in the audience had had lunch; he was wise not to arrive before lunch because seniors, especially Jewish seniors, generally don’t care who it is they’re going to hear from – all they want to know is whether the food is going to be served on time!
As it was, Premier Kinew was only a few minutes late and, after mingling with the Gwen Secter staff for a few minutes, made his way directly to the microphone situated at one end of the auditorium. There was no grand entrance accompanied by a phalanx of minders – only the premier, who had a big smile on his face as he navigated the tables of seniors. (Clearly he hadn’t been advised that every Jewish event starts late and that no one as important as a premier simply walks in unaccompanied by a large retinue of self-important toadies.)
Dan Saidman, who is program coordinator at Gwen Secter, introduced the premier with a few brief remarks. Thereupon Premier Kinew stood in front of the auditorium and, being a polished speaker whom we’ve all learned is totally comfortable in front of a mic, spent about 20 minutes talking about what his government has done.
There wasn’t much that anyone who follows Manitoba politics wouldn’t have heard before, but unlike so many other politicians, the premier seemed to be totally at ease and engaged as he spoke.
Now, ordinarily one might have thought that, after all, it was the premier of Manitoba, so how much time would he have had to spend at the Gwen Secter Centre in the midst of a weekday afternoon?
But, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the premier, following his remarks, say: “I’m willing to take any questions if anyone has them.” Okay, I thought, a few minutes maybe, but I was amazed to watch the premier of Manitoba listen to question after question, and answer them all thoughtfully – for over 45 minutes.
The questions covered quite a wide range of issues. Two questioners asked about the security situation at the Health Sciences Centre and one of those questioners struck a particular chord when he began his question by saying that he has two daughters who work as nurses at HSC – and they’re frightened to walk to their cars at night when they leave.
I had thought before I even rode my bike to Gwen Secter Centre (which I like to do because I’m a thrill seeker and riding a bike in Winnipeg is nothing if not thrillingly dangerous) that, if I had the opportunity to ask the premier a question, I was going to ask him about renewable energy.
So, when Dan Saidman handed me the mic, I did ask him a question along those lines, but I began by saying to the premier that the impact he made upon the Jewish community in October 2023 – and this was shortly after the NDP had won the election, when he spoke at the massive rally that was held at the Asper Campus, and touched anyone who was there by the support he showed for the Jewish community and how heartfelt he was, was very much appreciated.
But, I went on to say, we all know that the health file is an almost impossible challenge, that crime is another almost impossible challenge – so is homelessness but, for gosh sakes, he’s an NDP premier and the government seems to have given up on renewable energy as a goal.
The premier responded that, in fact, the government is engaged in quite a massive build-out of wind power which ultimately, will end up adding 600 megawatts to Manitoba’s total energy supply – amounting to “ten percent” of Manitoba’s total energy capacity when all is said and done.
He went on to describe in some detail three different projects, each of which will add approximately 200 megawatts to our energy capacity.
I admit I was quite surprised to hear the premier’s answer because there have been so many letters to the editor and opinion columns in the Winnipeg Free Press decrying Manitoba’s almost total reliance on hydro power, also the construction of a new natural gas energy plant. I’m not expert enough to know whether Premier Kinew’s answer was based on real, hard commitments or not, but he seemed to be thoroughly acquainted with the details of the plan to add a massive amount of wind power to the infrastructure we already have. When all three components of the wind power plan are implemented, Premier Kinew said, it will quadruple the amount of wind power we presently have in Manitoba.
As he stood there, fielding question after question, listening patiently and always answering thoughtfully, even though it’s not the first time I’ve been in an audience when Wab Kinew has spoken, I thought to myself: He genuinely likes people. I’ve met a lot of politicians in my day, but the only other politician who I also thought honestly seemed to enjoy meeting people was Justin Trudeau, but that was before he became prime minister. I remember Justin Trudeau attending Shalom Square in 2015, accompanied by Jim Carr, and watching him climb over chairs in the Rady JCC gym to shake hands with people, to get hugged by oodles of women, all the time with a big smile on his face.
Of course, as Charles Adler once remarked on his radio show, “Once you can fake sincerity, the rest is easy,” so who’s to know what people like Wab Kinew and Justin Trudeau really would be thinking when they were working an audience?.
But, when he finished answering all the questions that anyone had, Dan Saidman asked the premier one more: “Who were the people whom he admired most in life?”
Kinew’s answer was: “His mother and his father.” He told a particularly poignant story about his father, who had been a chief during his lifetime. When his father lay dying in a hospital, Wab said he would go visit him every day. He hadn’t been all that close to his father until that time, he said, but after spending those final days with his father, he realized that not only was his father his father, he was his “best friend.”
And, following that final remark, the premier of the province said that he was going to stick around and chat with anyone who wanted to talk to him – which he proceeded to do for another half hour.
As Gerry Posner might say: “What a mensch!”
Local News
JNF Canada says a new charity called “Friends of JNF Canada” will be able to issue tax receipts to donors
By BERNIE BELLAN (Sept. 11, 2025) It’s a complicated – and very confusing story – and it goes back to an earth-shaking decision issued by the Canada Revenue Agency on August 10, 2024. That decision, which was published in the Canada Gazette (which is where an announcenment about any charity whose charitable status has been revoked is published) was to revoke the Jewish National Fund Canada’s charitable status.
To give you an idea how important charitable donations have been to JNF Canada, according to the most recent audited financial statements that are available, “In 2023, JNF Canada received $20.2 million in donations and had a total revenue of $22.2 million.”
We’ve written numerous times about what led up to CRA’s decision to revoke JNF Canada’s charitable status and the resulting aftermath – in which JNF Canada was thrown into disarray.
Much of the reporting on this story was done by Ellen Bessner, writing for the Canadian Jewish News. Bessner was stolid in her research and although a good portion of what she wrote laid the blame for what happened to JNF Canada at the feet of JNF Canada itself, she provided exhausting detail about what lay behind CRA’s decision. If you want to read past articles that follow the chronology of events following that August 10, 2024 decision by CRA, you can simply enter JNF in the search engine on jewishpostandnews.ca, and you’ll find a great many stories about not only what led up to CRA’s decision to remove JNF Canada’s charitable status, but what steps JNF Canada took subsequent to that momentous decision.
During the past 13 months though, JNF Canada has been embroiled in a legal battle against CRA on different levels – in two different courts: The Federal Court and the Federal Court of Canada. You’ll have to read an article posted on June 17 this year on jewishpostandnews.ca to understand the difference between the two courts. For the purpose of this article, however, it is only important to note that JNF Canada’s appeal to the Federal Court was turned down by that court – for technical reasons, i.e., the Federal Court ruled that it was not the proper court to hear the particular matter that JNF Canada had brought forward; however, the appeal to the Federal Court of Canada is still underway. It may take quite some time before that court issues a decision and, if it also goes against JNF Canada, there is a strong likelihood JNF Canada will take its case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. The upshot is that it may be years before the legal battle JNF Canada has been waging with CRA may be resolved.
In the meantime though, JNF Canada had been working to come up with a solution to the challenge of its having been deregistered by CRA as a charity able to issue tax receipts.
On September 2, JNF Canada sent out an email to its supporters in which it gave a preview of what was about to happen. That email noted: “This past year has been challenging for JNF Canada and for Jewish communities across the country.
“Even without charitable status and amid an ongoing legal dispute with the CRA JNF Canada has remained committed to its mission… The absence of our charitable status has limited our ability to operate effectively and our supporters have told us they want their donations to have the full impact, including the ability to receive charitable receipts… In response wonderful friends stepped forward to dedicate their charity to caring out similar work and have appropriately renamed it “Friends of JNF Canada” (emphasis mine).
What did that mean? I wondered. The email also noted that “JNF Canada will continue to operate as it fights its legal battle against the CRA, for its right to fair treatment.”
So, JNF Canada is still alive as an organization called JNF Canada – but it has now managed to find a way to issue tax receipts to its supporters. The September 2 email didn’t go into any detail as to what “Friends of JNF Canada” was – and how it had come about.
But, in a story issued by the CJN on September 4, it was noted that “JNF Canada, whose charitable tax status was revoked by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in 2024, has created a new charitable entity linked to the organization. The new charity, Friends of JNF Canada, officially launches on Sept. 8.”
“A new charitable entity?” I wondered. What did that mean?
The CJN story, written by Jonathan Rothman, went on to note that “Friends of JNF Canada will have the ability to issue charitable tax receipts, (Nathan) Disenhouse (National President, JNF Canada) told the National Post in an interview, saying the new organization’s fundraising for Israel would be done ‘in a similar way that JNF Canada did, but with the ability to issue tax receipts.’
My reaction upon reading Rothman’s story was: “What? This sounds just like JNF Canada, but with a new name. Isn’t this really an end-around that would allow JNF Canada to circumvent CRA’s removal of JNF Canada’s charitable status?”
So, on September 5, I wrote to CRA, asking this question: “Can you confirm that ‘Friends of JNF Canada’ is now a registered charity, able to issue tax receipts?”
I received a response that same day saying that someone would get back to me with an answer.
The answer arrived September 10: “The public may consult the CRA’s List of charities and certain other qualified donees to confirm whether an organization is a registered charity or other qualified donee. For clarity, the public may also confirm in the same registry: the registration number, the current status of the charity, the date since the status has been valid, the type of qualified donee, the designation, and the website of a specific charity. We can confirm that Friends of JNF (emphasis mine) was registered as a public foundation effective September 22, 2022. Note that the governing documents in our records reflect a legal name change from ‘The Benzimra Foundation’ to ‘Friends of JNF’ effective August 14, 2025.”
Note that the email from CRA referred twice to the charity as “Friends of JNF,” not “Friends of JNF Canada.” Was that just a typing error or was it more significant? I again wondered.
Adding to the confusion, JNF Canada issued another email on September 10, in which it said, in part, that …wonderful friends stepped forward to dedicate their charity to carrying out similar work (to what JNF Canada had been doing) and have appropriately renamed it Friends of JNF Canada. With our Board of Director’s (sic.) full endorsement this organization will continue supporting the kinds of projects that have always defined JNF Canada’s mission: serving Israelis in need through charitable projects that help the vulnerable, enhance environmental sustainability, and support the mental & physical health of Israelis in need.”That email did not name the Benzimra Foundation as the charity that had agreed to change its name to Friends of JNF Canada but, as you can see in the email from CRA, CRA disclosed that information.
We wondered whether Friends of JNF and Friends of JNF Canada are one and the same. We received an explanation from Lance Davis, who was formerly CEO of JNF Canada and is now CEO of Friends of JNF Canada: “Our lawyer filed the name Friends of JNF. We were given additional input from supporters that it may be confusing as there are many JNFs around the world and we should specify Canada so that it’s clear that we are an independent Canadian charity funding Canadian directed projects. We are not a subsidiary of any other charity, as we are totally independent.
“Therefore, we decided to operate as Friends of JNF Canada.
“It is extremely common for businesses to have an operating name that is slightly different that the registered name. At this point we have so much to do to get our activities and campaigns started, so we will not be revisiting this now. However, in the future, the board may want to do so.”
But, in an October 2024 article in CJN, it was noted that another Canadian charity known as the Ne’eman Foundation had also had its charitable status revoked in August 2024. Subsequently, that same article reported, “the organization, which distributes funds to various causes in Israel, began instructing prospective donors to contribute through another recently formed Canadian charity (emphasis mine).
“Six weeks later, Canadian officials imposed a one-year suspension on that charity, called the Emunim Fund, according to its listing on the Canada Revenue Agency website.
“CRA regulators had previously raised concerns about particular Ne’eman Foundation projects in Israel, and a volunteer with Jewish pro-Palestinian group had alleged to the agency that the Ne’eman Foundation was using the Emunim Fund to skirt the revocation (emphasis mine).
“The agency has not publicly disclosed why it suspended the Emunim Fund, and said in a statement that it is barred by law from commenting on individual cases.”
Thus, there are two questions for which we’re awaiting answers: Is the name of the charity which JNF Canada now says will be able to issue tax receipts to donors who might previously have donated to JNF Canada “Friends of JNF” (as the CRA email said was the name) or is it “Friends of JNF Canada,” which was what the emails from JNF Canada says it its name?
Second, although the CRA email would seem to indicate that it has granted registration to this new charity – whether its name is Friends of JNF or perhaps Friends of JNF Canada, given CRA’s previous revocation of the registration of a charity linked to Israel when it changed its name from the Ne’eman Foundation to the Ne’eman Fund, will CRA follow suit and suspend the new charity whose name closely resembles JNF Canada’s name?
As I wrote – this is all so confusing. Even though spokespersons for both CRA and JNF Canada have been quick to respond to emails from me in which I’ve been asking questions trying to sort out exactly what has been going on, it seems that each email leads me to ask yet more questions.
If I receive more information from either CRA or JNF Canada that helps to clarify the questions I’ve asked, I’ll update this story – so keep checking back.