The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) is urging the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to take action against activists who are using mass complaints to target Jewish schools and charities. In a letter to Sharmila Khare, the CRA's director-general for charities, CIJA called on the federal tax agency to prevent these groups from disrupting Jewish institutions through coordinated complaint campaigns, also known as 'complaint bombing.'
Ongoing campaign against Jewish institutions
Richard Marceau, CIJA's senior vice president and general counsel, told the Toronto Sun that the campaign against Jewish schools is part of a larger strategy to push Jews out of Canadian public life. 'They've gone after some Jewish charities ... and Jewish camps, and now the latest escalation is Jewish schools,' Marceau said. 'It is supported by an intensive social media campaign, and there's an advocacy/lobbying component to it.'
Prominent anti-Zionist groups involved
The campaign is being carried out by a number of anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian activist groups, with fringe anti-Zionist groups such as Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) and Just Peace Advocates (JPA) among the most prominent. In April, a consortium of anti-Israel groups including JPA, the Ontario Palestinian Rights Association, and the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute launched a campaign specifically targeting Jewish schools, including Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto, The Toronto Heschel School, Bialik Hebrew Day School, and the Leo Baeck Day School.
The groups claim that these schools 'promote' the Israeli military and accuse them of 'aiding and abetting' what they describe as 'illegal' military recruiting. 'It is even more serious if Canadian taxpayers are subsidizing the illegal recruiting of these individuals through charity tax breaks,' JPA wrote on their website. 'This taxpayer contribution is supporting individuals who serve in a military committing war crimes and genocide, making the individuals plausibly guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.'
Complaint bombing as a tactic
In an April 2024 call-to-action published on their website, IJV justified their complaint-bombing as a means to oppose the 'extremist settler movement' in Israel and opposition to the so-called 'genocide' purportedly being carried out by the Israeli government in Gaza. Since mid-2024, the campaign has seen numerous Jewish charities lose their charitable statuses revoked by the CRA, including the Jewish National Fund of Canada, which was targeted by IJV activists for years.
Other charities that have had their statuses revoked include the Canadian Zionist Cultural Association in February, Herut Canada Charitable Foundation in November 2025, Canadian Friends of Yeshivat Aish HaTorah in April 2025, and the Ne'eman Foundation.
Rise in anti-Jewish hate in Canada
Canada has seen a shocking explosion of hate and harassment targeting Jews following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, which involved Palestinian terrorists conducting a campaign of kidnappings, murders, and sexual assault against Gaza-adjacent communities in Israel. Those attacks led to Canadian anti-Israel and anti-Jewish activists launching intimidation campaigns at home, with numerous Jewish schools, institutions, and places of worship targeted by vandalism, arson attempts, and even gunfire, as well as regular marches and rallies.
'When you go after a school, what you're saying is, 'We don't want any Jewish life here in Canada,'' Marceau said. 'That's the message those people are sending, and it's up to the government – of course respecting CRA autonomy – to make sure that the CRA's enormous powers are not weaponized to go after Jews or any other community,' he added.
