IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1 May 2026
Jewish schools violate CRA rules by assisting the Israeli military
Revenue agency must ignore Israel lobby pressure and apply rules
A coalition of civil society groups has submitted a report to the Canada Revenue Agency detailing 11 school charities which appear to assist the Israeli military, in violation of CRA rules. As documented in the 112-page report, these schools hosted former and/or current Israeli soldiers, fundraisers in support of the Israeli military, and (directly or indirectly) assisted the recruitment of students into the Israeli military. CRA rules state clearly that “increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of Canada’s armed forces is charitable, but supporting the armed forces of another country is not.”
Reportedly, several hundred graduates of these schools have joined the Israeli military even though the Foreign Enlistment Act clearly states it is illegal to “induce” Canadians to join a foreign military.
“The public should not subsidize private schools indoctrinating kids into supporting, even joining, a foreign military responsible for incomprehensible violence and war crimes”, noted Karen Rodman from Just Peace Advocates. “The Canada Revenue Agency must apply its rules and revoke the charitable status of any school assisting the Israeli military.”
Khaled Mouammar, a Palestinian Canadian and former member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, indicated that “Canada must not become a safe haven for those tied to regimes credibly accused of apartheid and genocide.” He continued “Upholding the rule of law and protecting our values demands firm, consistent action—not complicity.”
It’s imperative that the Canada Revenue Agency ignore pressure from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and B’nai Brith to grant Jewish schools special rights to evade charity rules. These organizations get (at least) two things wrong. First, this is not an attack on Jewish life or culture. Rather, it is about ending support for a genocidal military and state. Second, this complaint is not a political pressure campaign. Rather, it is simply an effort to use the established channels for reporting evidence of tax violations. Minister of National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne must defend the independence of the CRA charity division.
“Fortunately, the CRA is formally structured to be beyond the influence of political actors. Even the Minister of National Revenue should not be able to quash legitimate investigations into tax regulation violations. Organizations like B’nai Brith Canada and CIJA should not be able to shield Jewish schools from being investigated for attempting to induce their students to join the Israeli military as is clearly evidenced in a formal complaint” noted Rabbi David Mivasair.
Recently the CRA has revoked the charitable status of several organizations for, at least in part, supporting the Israeli military.
For more information:
Contact Info:
Just Peace Advocates: info@justpeaceadvocates.ca
Canadian Foreign Policy Institute info@foreignpolicy.ca
