At the start of March, 36 students at TanenbaumCHAT, Canada’s largest private high school, traveled to a state that has slaughtered 15,000 children over the past seven months. The Toronto high school described it as a “Solidarity Mission to Israel.” In its description of the trip, the school reports that students were “BBQ-ing for soldiers on an army base”.
The group also met privately with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who reportedly told them, “You are here — the first school since 7/10 — standing with us, and we stand with you. There are many voices against us, but I say to you all, be proud, stand strong. Together we will prevail.”
The students who participated in the “Solidarity Mission” reported back to the entire school about visiting a state committing genocide.
In another pro-war extracurricular, TanenbaumCHAT sent “almost 700” students on fifteen buses to the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs pro-genocide rally in Ottawa on December 4. The school also sent 150 students to a November 15 rally in Washington, D.C. promoting Israel’s killing in Gaza.
As Israel has unleashed a holocaust in Gaza, the school has repeatedly posted to its Facebook about initiatives it has organized to support that country. They recently hosted a “FUNDfair to raise money for Israel” and all grade 12s were given a copy of Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and the Delegitimization of Israel Noa Tishby’s book Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth. The head of the colonial Jewish Agency and a mother of a captive in Gaza have also spoken at the school. An April 18 Passover message by the school’s head, Jonathan Levy, focused on the genocide in Gaza, describing “the centrality of Israel” to TanenbaumCHAT.
The registered Canadian charity has long promoted the apartheid state. According to TanenbaumCHAT’s statement of purpose, “Israel engagement pervades our curricular and extracurricular programming and it is a shared vision — part of the consciousness of all our teachers and educators. Through connecting with our staff, guests and visiting speakers, our students develop relationships with Israeli peers and other Israeli role models. Students enjoy special Israel weeks and IDF days.”
The school has an Israel Engagement club, organizes an Israel Gap Year Fair and a program in which young Israelis who spend a year in Toronto are seconded to the school. They also organize student trips to Zionist events such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington D.C.
Israeli officials often speak at the school. Last year Israel’s minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, visited the school as part of an initiative to substantially increase Israel’s investment in North American Jewish schools ($53 million was announced).
Canada’s largest private high school hosts “IDF Days” that fundraise for Israeli military initiatives. A summary of a 2020 IDF day noted that students “showed their support for the Israel Defence Forces by wearing green, eating green and donating green! Proceeds from the delicious green-sprinkled donuts that were sold during 10-minute break are being donated to help the well-being of Israeli soldiers on active duty on behalf of TanenbaumCHAT thru the Association for the Soldiers of Israel — Canada.”
As part of supporting a foreign military, TanenbaumCHAT has also induced students into joining the Israeli military in possible contravention of Canada’s Foreign Enlistment Act. A year and a half ago the school honoured a member of the IDF’s elite Sayeret Matkal, earlier the IDF Orchestra performed and in 2019 Colonel Barak Hiram spoke to the students about “being a new recruit and a seasoned commander in the Golani Brigade.” The school’s website advertised a fund that assists students wanting to join the Israeli military. It noted, the “Continuing Studies in Israel Judy Shaviv Memorial Fund ‘Keren Yad Yehudit’ assists graduates to serve in the IDF, study or volunteer.”
The high school also celebrates graduates who have served in the IDF and has them speak about joining the Israeli military. According to its site, “During Shavua Israel (Israel Week) in February 2020, Seth Frieberg ’08 [graduate] spoke to students about his experiences as a Lone Soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. Bringing into focus his personal connection to Israel, he noted that ‘this was basically 14 months where every day I was doing something that, for me, was a meaningful and substantial way to give back to Israel.’”
Registered charities are not allowed to support other countries’ militaries. Canada Revenue Agency guidelines state that “supporting the armed forces of another country is not” charitable. Last year a formal request was submitted to the CRA to investigate whether TanenbaumCHAT was complying with its rules. It’s unclear if the Revenue Agency acted as its audits are private matters. But the CRA should investigate the school and revoke its charitable status if it has contravened its policy.
The school has received large amounts in tax-deductible donations. Since the start of the century, TanenbaumCHAT has declared receiving $300 million in direct donations. Additionally, the school has received $60 million from other registered charities. With around 1/3 covered by taxpayers, the total public assistance to TanenbaumCHAT amounts to $100 million since 2000.
It’s scandalous that even a cent in public money is going to a school sending students to barbecue for soldiers committing genocide.
This explains very well why American students protesting at colleges are demanding their colleges divest from that genocidal nation. When schools and colleges stretch out their hands to take the generous endowments and donations from wealthy znists, they don’t realize they are about to lose their independence, and are forever under the control of those donors, who can call the shots, and dictate their policies. These znists have been successfully doing the same to our politicians in the White House and Congress, so now are on a plan to spread that control to colleges, and even high schools it seems…it is all about buying the loyalty and dedication, through generous donations and influence.
The students are gradually brainwashed by the various trips to an illegally occupying nation, made to honor and worship a brutal military, and most probably told just how much they suffer from the mean Arabs in the neighborhood.
Yet, no action from the federal government except to give Israel the latitude to continue its genocide. Even when synagogues in Toronto were selling real estate on stolen West Bank land, the government remained silent. It remains silent as Canadians fight with the IDF in Gaza that the ICJ has ruled as plausibly constituting genocide. It demonizes protesters as hate filled for opposing genocide out of concern for the safety and discomfort of Jewish students and the broader Jewish community; yet many who are protesting are Jewish. Months ago, it accused a peaceful protest on a street (Avenue Road) as being antisemitic inspired. It claimed the neighbourhood is predominantly Jewish and that this was the reason the protesters chose that route. Utter nonsense, of course. But our politicians are beholden to the Israeli lobby. Dozens of MPs are part of the “Friends of Israel” coalition and will do the bidding for a foreign state for political donations and, importantly, Christian evangelical doctrine.
Even this week’s UN vote on Palestine, the government lacked the courage and principle to vote in favour.
These kids could not be more brainwashed if they lived in North Korea.
I think it’s an absolute disgrace that nobody here has the courage or honesty to agree that Yves Engler was wrong to criticize this school for hosting the parent of a hostage. You can dislike this school for the support it provides the IDF. You can dislike the fact that it may be violating it’s charitable status. You can dislike that this school does not make an effort to consider the situation of Palestinians in Gaza. You may dislike that Israeli officials are welcomed here.
But to think it’s ok to criticize this Jewish school for inviting a hostage’s mother to speak? That’s dishonest, deplorable and yes, anti-semitic.
This article is crap.
Engler sets out to make the point that charitable organizations in Canada cannot do certain things; this school does those things; therefore it should not receive charitable status. Ok, no complaints there. Some of the examples are legitimate reasons according to Canadian law. Nothing wrong with pointing out that taxpayer dollars should not subsidize charities that violate their charitable status.
But.. we then get to Engler’s real motivation for writing when he says “…a mother of a captive in Gaza has also spoken at the school.” Horrors!!!! This Jewish school actually had the audacity to hear from another Jewish person who’s son is a hostage in Gaza. How terrible! Bad, bad Jews!
Hosting the mother of a hostage has nothing to do with the school violating it’s charitable status. What so offends Engler is that the school is a Jewish school and the school cares about other Jews. He gets pretty angry about that fact.
As a big middle finger to Yves Engler I donated C$100 to this school so they can keep making Engler unhappy. I can afford to give a lot so if MW wants to bring back Engler I am ready to open my checkbook.