Calls for UK to revoke charity status of Jewish National Fund

International and domestic pressure continues to rise on the Western allies of Israel complicit in the IDF’s brutal offensive into the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of 40,223 Palestinians.

The latest demand for change comes from the International Centre for Justice for Palestinians (ICJP). The group has urged the UK attorney general to revoke the charity status of the Jewish National fund for its role in financing illegal Israeli settlements and the Israeli military, reported Middle East Eye and agencies on August 22nd.

In a letter addressed to Richard Hermer KC, the legal advocacy group called for the charity status of the UK branch to be removed, citing that it was a matter of public interest.

The ICJP noted that it was Hermer’s duty as the protector of the charity sector in the UK to ensure that such organisations were not participating in unlawful activities.

The UK branch belongs to the Israeli group Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, founded in 1901 to purchase and develop land in Ottoman Syria and Mandatory Palestine.

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The 123-year-old organisation has long been involved with the displacement of Palestinians and destroying the natural environment of the occupied Palestinian territories.

As the UK branch is designated as a charity, it can claim tax relief on donations.

The ICJP cited the Canada Revenue Agency’s recent decision to revoke JNF Canada’s charitable status. The move came after a financial audit revealed that donations were used to build military infrastructure.

A series of complaints have already been lodged at UK-based organisations funding Israel’s illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank and offensive into Gaza through the Charity Commission.

Campaign groups have also urged the Charity Commission to investigate the UK Friends of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel in December. The organisation was claimed to be supporting Israeli military personnel that may have been “engaged“in serious violations of international law”, according to Tayab Ali, director of the ICJP.

Middle East Eye and agencies