IHRC has pressed the Charity Commission to take firm and immediate action against Zionist charities in England that are openly raising funds for the Israeli army, despite the Commission having stated that is is against the rules for registered charities.

In a response to IHRC dated 1 June 2016, the Charity Commission clearly stated that: “Whilst support for the United Kingdom’s armed forces is a charitable purpose, support of foreign armed forces is not a charitable purpose for a charity based in England or Wales to further.”

It is therefore alarming that Zionist charities continue to raise money for Israeli forces without any effective sanction, even as they prosecute a possible genocide in Gaza that that has so far cost over 28,000 civilian Palestinian lives, more than 12,000 of them being children.

Last month, along with other organisations and campaigners, IHRC supplied the charity regulator with information that shows several Israel-based organisations advertising that UK Toremet is the preferred UK conduit through which to channel donations.

Since then more evidence has emerged including a further fundraiser set up after October 7, 2023 called the Israel Defence Force Emergency Fund. This fund raises for equipment for the IDF during the period , including inter alia for “military drones”.

In the letter IHRC has also alerted the Commission to the activities of another English charity, Technion UK, which is also openly soliciting funds for members of the Israeli armed forces.

Technion UK made the headlines last week when it was forced to move a fundraising event being fronted by the prominent hate preacher Douglas Murray. According to the event’s publicity material, it was intended to fundraise for “scholarships and other financial support for thousands of student reservists who are now returning to study”.

The event was chaired by Technion UK’s Paul Charney, who volunteered to serve in the IDF after October 7 for three months. The venue was changed at the eleventh hour after staff at London’s Apollo Theatre refused to facilitate the event and the theatre management also received legal advice that hosting a Technion UK fundraiser may make it a party to a possible genocide in Gaza.

The letter reminds the Charity Commission that its failure to act could implicate not only the offending charities but the watchdog itself in any war crimes if the International Court of Justice, which is currently hearing a charge of genocide against Israel, eventually finds it to be guilty.

The letter states: “In view of the International Court of Justice’s recent decision that Israel may be committing genocide in Gaza, the facilitation of charities currently supporting Israeli forces by the Charity Commission would also seem to implicate those charities and possibly even the Commission if Israel is indeed eventually adjudged to have committed genocide.”

In view of the many concerns being raised in relation to charities raising funds for the Israeli Defence Forces, IHRC is also demanding that the Commission publicise the prohibition on supporting the IDF.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The full letter from IHRC can be accessed here.

The 2015 IHRC report on UK Toremet is available to download here https://www.ihrc.org.uk/questions-to-the-charity-commission-regarding-charities-granting-aid-to-organisations-and-charities-in-israel-including-but-not-exclusively-the-israeli-defense-forces/

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For more information or comment please contact the Press Office on (+44) 208 904 0222  or (+44) 7958 522196 or email media@ihrc.org