January 27, 2007

What is the Jewish National Fund?

Apartheid Israel and the Jewish National Fund of Canada, by Israeli Prof. Uri Davis

Apartheid label "not Anti-Semitic", The Record (Kitchener, Cambridge,Waterloo)

Picket against the JNF and Solidarity Message from Uri Davis, Canpalnet-Ottawa

Charitable status of the Jewish National Fund in Canada violates CCRA's own standards

Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance
Government of Canada

Honorable Minister,

It has been over a month since I received your department's response indicating the issue of racist charities like the Jewish National Fund ("JNF") will be brought to your "attention as soon as possible".

You know as well as I do that on September 2, 2003, the Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency (“CCRA”) issued a policy statement titled "Registering Charities that Promote Racial Equality Policy Statement."    As pointed out in the following law bulletin, according to the Policy Statement:

“Promoting Racial Equality” means working to ensure the full and equitable participation of racial and ethnocultural groups in Canada, consistent with the equality rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, existing legislation, and public policy. It includes efforts such as eliminating racial (including ethnic) discrimination, and encouraging positive race relations, which encompasses efforts to improve relations between any racial and/or ethnic groups in Canada;

“Racial or Cultural Group” is a group defined by its race, colour, national or ethnic origin. To the extent that religion is inextricably linked to the group's racial or cultural identity, it can also become a defining characteristic;

“Racism” includes “racist ideologies, prejudiced attitudes, discriminatory behaviour, structural arrangements, and institutionalized practices” resulting in racial or ethnic inequality. It can be characterized as “a set of implicated or explicit beliefs, assumptions and actions based upon an ideology that one racial or ethnic group is superior to another”;

“Racial Discrimination” means any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.

As the bulletin points out, "CCRA has acknowledged that racial discrimination is an identified social problem, which has been prohibited in Canada both via provincial and federal legislation, and as ratified by Canada for many years in a number of international human rights conventions that are listed in Appendix B to the Policy Statement ."

It should be obvious to you, your department and the whole world that the Jewish National Fund (JNF), which has been deemed by the Attorney General of Israel to practice racial discrimination, and by its own admission does practice racial discrimination, is a racist organization and by so being violates Canada's laws and a stated intent of the CCRA.

It is a matter of the public record that you are fully aware of this disgraceful situation which makes Revenue Canada and all Canadian taxpayers complicit in racism and Apartheid.  Every day which ticks by without revocation of the the JNF charitable status is evidence of malfeasance.

It is an affront to all Canadians and to Canadian laws that you and your department have not taken immediate action to revoke the charitable status of the racist JNF.

Ron Saba, Editor

Montreal Planet Magazine