The charity rasied over £2,280 and £937 of it was sent to an Israeli soldier [GETTY]
A London-based charity was given an official warning by the UK’s charity regulator after raising money for an Israeli soldier stationed in northern Israel.
The Charity Commission on Thursday issued the warning to the Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited after determining its trustees “acted outside the charity’s purposes and failed to safeguard its best interests and its reputation”.
Chabad set up a fundraising page in October 2023, raising around £2,280, with £937 sent to an Israeli soldier. Over 180 complaints were made about it however, and it was later removed.
According to the regulator, the trustees could not account for how the funds were spent, while the remaining funds were spent on non-lethal military equipment and sent to the same soldier in Israel.
“It is not lawful, or acceptable, for a charity to raise funds to support a soldier of a foreign military,” Helen Earner, Director for Regulatory Services at the Charity Commission said.
While charities can raise funds for the UK armed forces, they cannot provide aid or military supplies to any foreign army.
“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.”
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 46,000 Palestinians and wounded over 100,000 others, decimating the enclave’s infrastructure and plunging it into deep humanitarian crisis.
Several rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have found that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide.
Chabad Lubavitch Centres admitted in a statement that it “exceeded its purposes” and is “grateful for the guidance provided by the Charity Commission to ensure that this won’t happen again”.
The New Arab reached out to Chabad for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Chabad states that its aim is to advance the orthodox Jewish religion and education and relieve poverty and sickness.
Since October 2023, the commission revealed it has opened over 200 regulatory cases related to Israel’s war on Gaza, involving charities with different viewpoints on the war and has made over 40 referrals to the police.
One of these cases includes an investigation into the World Aid Convoy charity over the alleged links and allegedly channelling funds to the Gaza Now news agency, which has been accused of “promoting Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad”.
The International Centre for Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) also requested the UK attorney general to remove the charity status of the Jewish National Fund, saying it was involved in funding Israeli military operations and illegal settlements.
