The charity status of Herut Canada was revoked on Saturday by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), making it the third Canadian Jewish organization to have its charity registration revoked in under a year and a half.
A representative of Zionist activist group Herut Canada, which offers Zionism education, self-defense training, and Jewish community security services, said that they knew the decision was coming after an extended campaign from anti-Israel groups to have their charitable status revoked.
CRA had contacted the nonprofit in March about an audit, a move that Herut director Aaron Hadida said CRA staff admitted was in part influenced by outside pressure. The group had barely utilized its charitable status, Hadida said, and after consulting with lawyers, agreed that the best course of action would be to close the charity.
“If we had been very active in the charity, then it would have warranted hiring a lawyer and going through the legal motions, but it wasn’t worth it,” said Hadida.
CRA allegedly told Herut Canada that it was not accepting self-revocation and, though they submitted tax receipts and other filings, demanded a journal of the organization’s operation. The Jewish NGO said that it didn’t have one and allegedly had its status revoked for not cooperating with the audit.
Hadida explained that Herut Canada’s programming, which held webinars to teach children about Zionism or to hold Krav Maga workshops, didn’t require much fundraising.
“I knew it was a political agenda,” said Hadida. “It was a hit job.”
The organization will continue to operate
Hadida said that in practicality, the CRA decision would not change much of the group’s operation, as it would continue to teach Jewish children self-defense and provide volunteer security for Jewish community events.
“It’s never been about money; it’s about community and its protection,” said Hadida.
Pro-Palestinian group Just Peace Advocates held a campaign calling for the revocation of Herut Canada’s charitable status, calling the Toronto organization a “vigilante group.” It organized over 11,000 letters to the CRA demanding an audit.
Just Peace Advocates praised the decision on Monday, encouraging the CRA to “continue investigating charities that violate international and domestic law, as well as Canadian public policy.”
“The CRA must end the Canada to Israel charity pipeline,” the anti-Israel group said on Instagram.