Britain’s charity regulator has told Middle East Eye it is not investigating a British charity which donated £1 million ($1.263m) to “Israel’s largest militia” and has Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, as an honorary patron.
The UK branch of Israel’s Jewish National Fund (JNF) has also supported Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law.
As a registered charity, JNF UK receives tax relief on donations. The organisation’s accounts show that between 2015 and 2018 it paid over £1m ($1.26m) to HaShomer HaChadash (HH), a Zionist militia that operates in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz described the organisation as having gone from being a “fringe right-wing organisation” to “Israel’s largest militia”.
Haaretz reported that HH played a significant role in defending illegal settler outposts in the occupied West Bank, including through land patrols.
British legislation prohibits charities from engaging in political activity.
Last week Middle East Eye asked the Charity Commission, Britain’s charity regulator, whether it was investigating or planned to investigate JNF UK.
‘Having considered all the information obtained, we concluded that there was no evidence to support the allegations that the charity acted outside of its objects’
– Charity Commission
The MEE request for comment to the Charity Commission included mention that the JNF UK had funded an Israeli militia, and that on its website the charity displayed a map including the occupied Golan Heights, West Bank and Gaza Strip as part of Israel.
The Charity Commission confirmed last week it was not investigating the organisation, saying: “We received concerns alleging that the JNF Charitable Trust funded activities outside of its charitable objects.
“These allegations were thoroughly assessed, which included engagement with the charity’s trustees.
“Having considered all the information obtained, we concluded that there was no evidence to support the allegations that the charity acted outside of its objects. We have therefore closed our case with the issuing of regulatory advice and guidance.”
MEE also contacted JNF UK for comment but did not receive a response.
Regulator not investigating
On Monday, MEE contacted the Charity Commission again and noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an honorary patron of JNF UK, alongside former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and others.
MEE put it to the regulator that the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest over alleged war crimes last Thursday.
Read More »
The Charity Commission said on Wednesday that it has considered the matter and has not changed its position since last week.
The regulator previously opened an investigation into JNF UK in 2022 over its chair Samuel Hayek claiming that “in Islam there is not a term for ‘peace’”. Hayek was previously the chair of Netanyahu’s Likud party youth organisation.
But it closed the review in July 2023, saying that “regulatory advice and guidance relating to social media usage and trustee conduct was issued to the trustees, and we’re satisfied that this has now been acted upon.”
MEE also asked JNF UK whether it planned to remove Netanyahu from his role as honorary patron in light of the ICC warrant, but had not received a response by time of publication.
The British government said last Friday that it will comply with its obligations under domestic and international law in response to the ICC’s move, but it has refused to explicitly confirm whether Netanyahu would be arrested if he set foot on British soil.