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.
Jewish News has contacted Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited for comment.
