UK charity warned by regulator over fundraising video for Israeli soldiers
The UK’s charity regulator has issued an official warning to a British charity which raises funds to support Israeli soldiers over a "distressing" video posted on its website.
The Charity Commission said the London-based UK Friends of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers (UK-AWIS) had “breached their legal duties” after publishing a video appealing for donations to support Israeli forces involved in the war against Hamas.
“All of the trustees have failed to act in the charity’s best interests and manage its resources responsibly by exposing the charity’s reputation to unnecessary risk,” the commission said.
“This is a breach of trust or duty, or misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.”
The video, which has since been removed from UK-AWIS’s website, Facebook and YouTube pages, appeared to show a person being killed as part of a montage of footage featuring air strikes and combat scenes, similar to promotional content produced by the Israeli military.
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However, following a review, the commission concluded that while the footage did not depict a killing, it was distressing and inappropriate for a UK-registered charity.
UK-AWIS is the UK branch of the Israeli Association for the Wellbeing of Israeli Soldiers, an organisation funded by Israel’s Defence Ministry and closely linked to the Israeli army.
Former British army officer Colonel Richard Kemp, a frequent commentator on right-wing media and UK news channels, serves as a director and trustee of UK-AWIS.
The charity’s stated mission is to support serving and former Israeli soldiers through education and the provision of leisure facilities.
According to documents submitted to the Charity Commission, UK-AWIS raised approximately £292,358 ($394,937) in 2023. Within that total, it reported sending £43,000 ($58,087) to support “the wellbeing of soldiers in various units as requested… with the beneficiaries being primarily lone soldiers and injured soldiers”.
In its report, UK-AWIS stated: “Some of these projects were specifically undertaken to meet the wellbeing needs of soldiers, many of whom were reservists mobilised for the defence of Israel in the war against Hamas after 7 October 2023. This was the main reason for the significant increase in funds provided to Israel over the previous year.”
Despite the surge in donations, UK-AWIS said it suspended the transfer of funds to Israel after the Charity Commission opened an investigation in December 2023.
However, the charity resumed the transfer of donations in July 2024, following the submission of its interim report to the regulator.
Before the Charity Commission began its investigation, UK-AWIS encouraged donors to "Adopt an IDF combat unit" and advertised "IDF Enlistment Festivals" on its website, which has since been taken down.
Charities facing scrutiny
Earlier this year, the Charity Commission issued a warning stating that "it is not lawful" for British charities to raise funds or send money to soldiers fighting for the Israeli army.
The warning was issued against Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited, after the charity received 180 complaints for raising money for a soldier fighting for the Israeli army in northern Israel.
The fundraising page, which was set up in October 2023 and eventually removed in January 2024, raised approximately £2,280 ($2,804). From that amount, the charity sent £937 to an individual soldier.
The trustees were unable to account for how those funds were spent. But the charity told the Charity Commission that the remaining funds were spent on non-lethal military equipment purchased by the trustees and sent to the same soldier in Israel.
Since October 2023, the Charity Commission has opened more than 200 regulatory cases related to the war on Gaza.
The commission said the investigations involved charities with different positions on the war.
Israeli forces in Gaza have been accused of war crimes by rights organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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