A north London charity which fundraised for an Israeli soldier has been rebuked by the charity watchdog.
Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited set up a fundraising page in October 2023 to raise funds for a soldier of the IDF stationed in northern Israel after Hamas’ terror attack.
The page, deleted in January 2024, raised around £2,280, of which £937 was sent directly to an individual soldier.
The trustees could not account for how the money was spent, the Charity Commission said.
The remaining money was spent on non-lethal military equipment purchased by the trustees and sent to the same soldier in Israel.
Now the charity has been slapped with an official warning by the regulator, because charities are not legally allowed to provide aid or military supplies to foreign armed forces.
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.
“Any failure by the charity to implement the requirements in the Official Warning may lead to further regulatory action.”
The regulator’s probe, which came after 180 complaints were raised, found the fundraising activity was outside the charity’s purposes and that the trustees had failed to act in the best interests of the charity and its reputation.
It found this was misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of charity, as well as a breach of trust.
The charity’s purposes are to advance the orthodox Jewish religion, advance orthodox Jewish education, and to relieve poverty and sickness.
Charities with appropriate purposes can legally raise funds to promote the efficiency of the UK armed forces, but charities are not allowed to raise funds for overseas military forces.
According to the charity’s accounts, it spends around £766,000 a year on charitable activities.