April 28, 2026
OTTAWA – B’nai Brith Canada is demanding that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) dismiss an unfounded, bigoted complaint raised against Jewish schools in Toronto and Montreal.
The allegations are contained in a public letter-writing campaign to deprive Jewish schools of their status as charities because of programming or statements perceived to be related to the State of Israel.
“This is not an isolated issue or campaign,” said Simon Wolle, B’nai Brith Canada’s Chief Executive Officer. “It is a coordinated and malicious attack on Jewish life extending from sector to sector and charity to charity.”
The campaign is attempting to weaponize Canadian charity law, according to Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy, and appears to be part of a concerted effort to “villainize” Jewish institutions.
“We demand accountability and are calling on the Hon. François-Philippe Champagne [Minister of Finance and National Revenue] to denounce this meritless and prejudicial complaint,” he said. “These bad faith arguments have the potential to foment hysteria, undermine the integrity of our charity infrastructure, and exacerbate antisemitism in this country.
“Eliminating the charitable status of these schools on these grounds would give credence to an antisemitic double standard and infringe on the right of thousands of Jewish youths to a Jewish education rooted in their system of beliefs.”
Recent propaganda singling out Jewish schools comes on the heels of a previous effort by the same groups to discredit and defund certain Jewish summer camps that have Israel-related programming. Such campaigns “demonize” Zionism and Zionists, Robertson said, prejudicing Canadian Jews, the vast majority of whom believe in the right of the State of Israel to exist.
Robertson also noted that some of the groups associated with the campaign are known to promote or celebrate acts of terror targeting Israelis or Jews and said they cannot be treated as credible or moral actors. They are engaged in what he describes as “sustained, intentional and organized targeting” of Canada’s Jewish community.
B’nai Brith Canada identifies the “demonization” of Zionism as a key driver of antisemitism in its Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents for the year 2025, which its League for Human Rights released on Monday. According to the study, 6,800 incidents of antisemitism occurred in Canada last year.
“Thousands of Jewish families rely on these schools and camps for an education and experience that embodies Jewish traditions,” Wolle said. “They provide an essential service that benefits Canadian society and helps to preserve the culture and traditions of the Jewish community.
“This deceitful movement has already caused considerable alarm and concern in the Jewish community. We will not sit defensively hoping for action. The Government must take a stand and denounce it at once. We will work with our partners to turn over every stone needed to protect our children, community and institutions.”
B’nai Brith Canada will be extending its “full and unequivocal support” to Jewish institutions facing such targeting and combat efforts to weaponize the CRA to disrupt Jewish life in Canada, he said.
Wolle, Robertson, and Paola Samuel, B’nai Brith Canada’s Regional Director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, are in Ottawa today, where they are meeting with lawmakers and addressing this matter on an urgent and real-time basis.