‘CRA is funding genocide’: Londoners rally against Canadian charities funding Israeli genocide in Gaza 

Around 40 Londoners joined a demonstration on Wednesday, September 3 in front of the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) downtown office to demand accountability for the charitable status granted to organizations who fund Israeli genocide in Palestine.

Organized by the Canadian Palestinian Social Association (CPSA), the London rally was part of a national week of action called by the Canadian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Coalition, Just Peace Activists, and other groups. The rallies coincide with the United Nations International Day of Charity on September 5.

“We are here because CRA is complicit in the genocide that is happening in Gaza,” said Samah Al Sabbagh, London CPSA President.

“We should be holding ourselves responsible and the CRA responsible for making sure the charitable organizations that we give licenses to are really charitable organizations and they are not funding genocide, like what’s happening right now,” Al Sabbagh added.

Under the Canadian common law definition, charitable organizations must deliver a public benefit in the “relief of poverty, advancement of education, advancement of religion, and/or other purposes beneficial to the community as a whole in a way which the law regards as charitable.”

Over 200 registered charities in Canada contribute over $250 million in subsidized donations to Israeli illegal settlements and war crimes in occupied Palestine each year.

The CRA has received formal complaints that detail many charities violating the Canadian Criminal Code, Income Tax Act, customary international law, and Canadian public policy.

“The CRA is funding genocide. You and I are funding genocide because the money is going in the wrong direction,” said Al Sabbagh.

“The genocide isn’t stopping. Things are just getting worse and worse. And this feels like the only thing we can do, the least we can do. We need to do everything that we can,” said Elma Brakic, a community member who attended the rally.

Both the Jewish National Fund of Canada and the Ne’eman Foundation had their charitable status revoked in a decision last year because of their violation of Canadian law. By the CRA’s own assessment, “increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)” does not meet the criteria of a “charitable purpose.”

However, many organizations have retained their charitable status despite violation of CRA rules.

This includes Mizrachi Organization of Canada, which funds groups like Im Tirtzu, which helped block aid trucks to Gaza. It also supports the Israel military’s Duvdevan Unit, which is one of the many groups responsible for war crimes against Palestinians. Mizrachi advertises itself as the Canadian home of the “religious Zionist movement” and says it is providing “necessary aid to Israel during times of crisis” and “is involved in building the State of Israel, both spiritually and physically.”  

The violations of the Income Tax Act have been clearly documented. Mizrachi has channeled tax-exempt money from Canada to Israeli organizations that have been responsible for mass harm to Palestinians and explicitly support the destruction of Gaza.

Another is the HESEG Foundation for Lone Soldiers has raised nearly $200 million since 2005 to support non-Israelis who complete at least one term of active service in the Israeli military. The charity actively incentivizes enlistment in the Israeli military, contrary to Canadian law.

HESEG was founded by Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman, majority shareholders in Indigo Books, leading BDS activists to call for a boycott of Indigo as part of a coordinated campaign for financial pressure to end the genocide.

“School, universities, hospitals – there are no working hospitals in Gaza right now, and the whole world is watching. It’s time we make a difference. If we don’t stop this complicity and sending money to Israel, nothing is going to change. We’re going to keep the status quo as it is. We’ll keep killing kids, killing women, killing older people, killing Palestinians. And, for what? For just trying to co-exist,” said Al Sabbagh.

CPSA is asking concerned Londoners to participate in letter writing campaigns to the CRA and contact their Members of Parliament.

“The CRA and Canada in general needs to take a stand and make this difference. It’s not just about recognizing Palestine as a state, it’s about stopping this genocide,” added Al Sabbagh. “It’s our duty as Canadians.”