Naim Ateek Image by Wikimedia

(JTA) — B’nai Brith Canada has called on the country’s tax authority to revoke the registration of a pro-Palestinian charity after alleging that it is promoting a book containing anti-Semitic content.

A cross-Canada book tour by Palestinian Anglican cleric Naim Ateek, to promote his new book “A Palestinian Theology of Justice,” is being promoted by the Canadian-registered charity Necef Sabeel Canada, operating as “Friends of Sabeel Canada.” Ateek is the founder of Sabeel.

B’nai Brith said in a statement that the book contains “blatant anti-Semitic falsehoods.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

According to the statement, a B’nai Brith representative attended a presentation by Ateek at the Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg on Wednesday, where Ateek repeated anti-Semitic canards before a large audience and encouraged attendees to boycott the State of Israel.

“Taxpayer dollars should not and cannot be used to subsidize anti-Semitism,” said Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, in the statement. “Promoting anti-Semitic material is an abuse of the moral authority that comes with having a charitable license.”

Ateek is scheduled to travel this week to Canada’s British Columbia, where he is scheduled to visit St. John’s, Halifax, Hamilton, Waterloo and Toronto in the coming week. St. Michael’s College in Toronto has already cancelled his lecture there. B’nai Brith is contacting the remaining venues to encourage them to cancel.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount