Nov. 22, 1963.
Sept. 11, 2001.
These are infamous dates that are forever ingrained in our minds. In fact, many remember where they were when they first learned of the assassination of President Kennedy and of airplanes smashing into the World Trade Centre towers.
October 7, 2023 is another date we will never forget.
Almost 1200 people — many of whom were attending the Nova music festival — were killed due to the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel. We were horrified by the rape and sexual assault of girls and women, and the kidnapping of 251 Israeli citizens, including 30 children, who were taken to the Gaza Strip.
Today, a year later, close to 100 hostages are still in captivity while the war in Gaza rages on and appears to be expanding to other parts of the region.
The story that, for the most part, has not been told is the impact of the war on Israelis. The constant launching of rockets and drones into Israeli towns and cities is having a devastating impact on Israel’s social and economic infrastructure.
The psychological and physical damage is massive, so much so that Israelis turned to JNF Canada for help.
And we have answered the call.
In the weeks after the terrorist attack, JNF Canada provided emergency aid of 1 million NIS ($356, 229 CAD) to 9 cities and regional councils in Southern Israel as well as clothing, toiletries, and household items? for 4,000 displaced residents and families across 52 hotels in safe zones. We funded more than 130 music, sport, and art activities for displaced families to keep children busy and distracted from the realities of their situation, and we provided monetary? support for existing therapy and counselling projects so that they could offer their services remotely, primarily focusing on youth at risk who had been displaced.
With the overwhelming support of JNF Canada donors, we also identified and funded specific projects. Donors from western Canada raised funds for the Carmel Farm to install a pre-fabricated bomb shelter on the horse therapy farm, making it immediately usable for the special needs kids receiving therapy there. Sadly, this shelter has been put to use already due to the barrage of rockets indiscriminately launched by Hezbollah. We also funded the Food Distribution Center in the city of Lod, as well as the renovation of public bomb shelters in Be’er Sheva.
In June 2024, we launched an emergency campaign to support Northern Israel as they battled raging fires across 3,5000 acres caused by Hezbollah rockets fired from Lebanon. And more recently, as part of our Stand With JNF Campaign, we are supporting the reforestation of the area. To date, almost 3,000 trees have been dedicated, and each for purchase we sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau letting them know that concerned Canadians are supporting JNF Canada, with or without a charitable receipt.
It is also worth noting that programs and institutions that we had previously funded many years ago, like the Glassman PTSD and Health Centre at Hertzog Hospital (Jerusalem) and the Sderot Resilience Centre, are providing Israelis with the care they need in this traumatic period.
Yet, the recent and unjust decision by the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) to revoke our charitable status is limiting our capacity to help. I recently visited Israel along with a delegation of JNF Canada leaders, and we met with mayors from the south and the north, community leaders from destroyed kibbutzim and social service and educational experts. The message we heard loud and clear was that they cannot imagine rebuilding without the support of JNF Canada. The support we provide is vital.
For over a decade, JNF Canada has attempted to engage, without success, with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in the hope of finding a mutually acceptable path forward. Unfortunately, the leadership of the CRA Charities Directorate has refused to enter into a constructive exchange and, in fact, has repeatedly rejected our requests to meet.
In light of the rigidity of the CRA’s approach, and despite our best efforts to address its concerns, the matter is now before the Federal Court of Appeal. Our preferred scenario, however, remains reaching a negotiated settlement which is why we are asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to intervene. More specifically, he needs to instruct the CRA to put the revocation of our charitable status on hold until the courts have ruled and to meet with us in the hope of our reaching a compliance agreement. Let’s remember that hurting JNF hurts Israelis who need our help the most, especially as they try to recover from the horrors of October 7.
Nathan Disenhouse is the national president of the Jewish National Fund Canada.
National Post