London Chabad centre accused of ‘misconduct’ by charity regulator after raising money for IDF

The Chabad centre set up a fundraising page in October 2023 to raise funds for a soldier of the IDF stationed in northern Israel, according to the regulator.

Raising money for the UK armed forces is deemed charitable. However, providing military supplies or aid to foreign armed forces is not a charitable purpose and no charity can legally undertake this activity.

The Chabad centre removed the page in January 2024, by which point it had raised around £2,280. Of the money, £937 was sent to an individual solider, according to the regulator.

The Charity Commission said the trustees were unable to account for how those funds were spent by the soldier. The remaining money was spent on non-lethal military equipment, purchased by the trustees, and sent to the soldier in Israel.

Over 180 complaints were received by the regulator about the Chabad centre’s activities and a regulatory compliance case was opened in December 2023.

It was determined that the fundraising was outside of the charity’s purposes and “not capable of being charitable”.

The purposes of the Chabad centre are to advance the Orthodox Jewish religion, advance Orthodox Jewish education, and to relieve poverty and sickness.

It was also determined that the trustees had failed to act in the best interests of the charity and its reputation, the regulator said.

“This was misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of charity, as well as a breach of trust,” according to the Charity Commission.

The regulator’s 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 trustees of the Chabad centre told the JC that while the official warning is “regrettable”, they accept the Charity Commission’s findings.

The trustees said that the attack on 7 October, the ongoing plight of the hostages and the continuing conflict continue to be a “source of deep trauma” for congregants.

“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,” they said.

The trustees noted that many local congregants had family members in Israel who had been injured or killed during October 7, or who had been called up as reservists at a time of mass emergency mobilisation.

“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.”