\nThe\nJewish\nNational Fund\n– is it really for\nthe public good?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A report last month shows that a British Charity, the JNF, has behaved in an improper way. The Charity Commission has a record of going to extraordinary lengths to keep the JNF UK a listed charity. Its response to the latest scandal will need to be seen in the light of its previous rulings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last\nyear a Palestinian family complained that the JNF had built the\nBritish Park on their land. The Charity Commission ruled that the\nfamily had no standing to complain. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Statements like<\/a> \u201cThe JNF is not the trustee of the general public in Israel. Its loyalty is given to the Jewish people in the Diaspora and in the state of Israel… The JNF, in relation to being an owner of land, is not a public body that works for the benefit of all citizens of the state. The loyalty of the JNF is given to the Jewish people and only to them is the JNF obligated. The JNF, as the owner of the JNF land, does not have a duty to practice equality towards all citizens of the state.\u201d <\/em> by the JNF in Israel were not regarded as evidence of racism by the Charity Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rabbis for Human rights state <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cUnfortunately,\nover the last two decades KKL-JNF has also been amassing \nproperty\nseized from Palestinians in East Jerusalem, evicting families, and\n \nturning\nthe property over to a settler organization with the express goal of\n \nJudaizing<\/em>\nPalestinian\nneighborhoods.\u201d \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n This evidence of complicity in ethnic cleanisng is also ignored by the Charity Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2014 JNF annual report<\/a> stated it gave \u00a3114,000 to the \u201cGaza War Effort\u201d. A war that killed 1462 Palestinian civilians. The Charity Commission either closed its eyes or deemed it for the public good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest scandal involves a will by a very frail old man. The Funding Regulator <\/a>investigated the writing of a will by the KKL a subsidiary of the JNF UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nwife, through her solicitors, claimed that the will was invalid on\nthe \u201cgrounds\nof the testator\u2019s lack of capacity, want of knowledge, approval and\nundue influence.\u201d \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n She\nalso complained that the \u201ccharity failed to manage a conflict of\ninterests, to keep proper records and to maintain proper oversight of\nthe activities of their subsidiary\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\n2016 will left the wife \u00a3500,000 with the bulk of the nearly\n\u00a320\nmillion going in\ntrust to\nthe JNF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWitness\nB stated that the testator was not a practising Jew and they had\nnever \u201cshowed\nany interest in Judaism or Jewish charities\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nFundraising regulator ruled:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cgiven\nthe closeness of the two organisations, and the fact that KKL clearly\nwork to promote and fundraise for JNF. This\nis a clear breach of Section 18.3.3(b) of the code.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWe\nin Stop the JNF want <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\thonest\nreporting by the media<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\tThe\nJNF to be stripped of its Charitable status<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the event that the Charity Commission continues its dereliction of its statutory duty, we urge everyone to join the stop the JNF Campaign.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Jewish National Fund – is it really for the public good? A report last month shows that a British Charity, the JNF, has behaved in an improper way. The Charity Commission has a record of going to extraordinary lengths to keep the JNF UK a listed charity. Its response to the latest scandal will … Continue reading The Jewish National How is it for the public good?<\/span>