Chabad Lubavitch charity given official warning over support for IDF
Charity Commission says: 'It is not lawful, or acceptable, for a charity to raise funds to support a soldier of a foreign military'.
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
A Chabad Lubavitch charity has been issued with an official warning over a fundraising campaign in support of a soldier of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
The Charity Commission had opened a compliance case into the Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited charity in December 2023 after a fundraising page was set up in October that year to raise funds for a soldier stationed in northern Israel.
The page, which was eventually removed in January 2024, raised around £2,280, and of those monies, £937 was sent directly to an individual soldier.
The trustees are unable to account for how those funds were spent.
The remaining funds were spent on non-lethal military equipment purchased by the trustees and sent to the same soldier in Israel, it has now emerged.
The case determined that the fundraising activity was outside the charity’s purposes – and not capable of being charitable – and that the trustees had failed to act in the best interests of the charity and its reputation.
This was misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of charity, as well as a breach of trust, the Commission, the regulator of charities in England and Wales, now says.
Charities with appropriate purposes can, in law, raise funds to promote the efficiency of the UK armed forces.
However, providing aid or military supplies to any foreign armed force is not a charitable purpose, and no charity can legally undertake such activity.
The Official Warning imposes a number of requirements on the charity’s trustees to remedy the misconduct and/or mismanagement.
Helen Earner, Director for Regulatory Services at the Charity Commission said: “It is not lawful, or acceptable, for a charity to raise funds to support a soldier of a foreign military.
“Our Official Warning requires the charity to set things right and is a clear message to other charities to stay true to their established purposes.”
The Charity Commission say failure by the charity to implement the requirements in the Official Warning may lead to further regulatory action.
In a statement the trustees of Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited said:” “Following our full cooperation with the Charity Commission after this matter was raised with them, the Commission has as a matter of course issued an official warning concerning a fundraising appeal that briefly took place following the horrific events of 7 October 2023.
“Whilst that is regrettable, we accept the Commission’s findings regarding an activity that went beyond the scope of the charity’s purposes.
“The attack on 7 October, the ongoing plight of the hostages and the continuing conflict were and remain a source of deep trauma, as has the steep uptick in antisemitism in the UK and the threats made against our own community Rabbis and their families.
“As a charity ministering to the spiritual and emotional needs of our community, these have been and continue to be incredibly trying times due not only to the deep religious and cultural connections that we all have with Israel and the despair at the unfolding humanitarian tragedy, but also due to the fact that many of our congregants have sons, daughters, siblings, cousins and friends living there and, in some cases, being killed or injured, or called up as reservists at a time of mass emergency mobilisation.
“At the same time, we have had to increase our own security to protect our congregants and premises from attack. In the immediate aftermath of 7 October, there was concern, fuelled by social media reports, that due to the haste and sheer numbers of reservists being called up, there was not anything like enough winter clothing and protective gear to keep these young people safe from harm. Understandably, our community wanted to help.
“We acknowledge that in facilitating a campaign to provide warm clothing and the like, however briefly and however modest its results, the charity exceeded its purposes and we are grateful for the guidance provided by the Charity Commission to ensure that this won’t happen again”.
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