Charity Commission issues regulatory guidance to Board of Deputies of British Jews after ICJP complaint

The UK's Charity Commission has issued regulatory guidance to the Board of Deputies Charity Foundation's trustees over claims made about protests against the "Great Israeli Real Estate" event held at Edgeware United Synagogue in June.

The move comes after the International Centre for Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) filed a complaint to the commission, highlighting that the Board of Deputies of British Jews had claimed that the protests had taken place on "bogus grounds".

The protests against the real estate event took place due to the organisers' advertising of illegal settlement land for sale - a matter highlighted by rights groups, including Amnesty International.

The Board of Deputies characterised the anti-settlement protests as an attempt to "harass and intimidate members of the Jewish community".

The ICJP highlighted that material distributed at the event referred to several illegal settlement developments on Palestinian land -- a fact acknowledged by the organisers, who later apologised.

The pro-Palestine legal group raised the complaint after the Board of Deputies did not correct its statements.

“The Board of Deputies dismissed a lawful protest against the marketing of property in illegal Israeli settlements as being based on “bogus grounds”. But the evidence proved otherwise: promotional materials for properties in illegal settlements were distributed at the event, and the organisers were subsequently forced to apologise," Shaima Dallali, ICJP’s Legal Researcher, said.

“Palestinians are being driven from their land while that same land is marketed to buyers abroad, including in the UK. These are not ordinary property exhibitions. They are part of the economic infrastructure that sustains Israel’s unlawful occupation and settlement enterprise. Those who protested were challenging precisely the activity that the UK government is now moving to prohibit," she added, saying that the Board of Deputies must "correct the public record".

In its guidance, the Charity Commission noted that the claims about the protesters appeared to have been made by The Board of Deputies of British Jews Limited, rather than the charitable foundation, however deemed it appropriate to issue the guidance to the charity's trustees.

According to the ICJP, the Commission reminded the trustees of a charity being, "or perceived to be, closely associated with a company, particularly in relation to public statements and communications".

The regulatory action comes as the UK moves to impose sanctions on Israel's illegal settlements and ban trade from them. The sanctions, announced by UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on Tuesday, was welcomed by pro-Palestine groups and sections of the UK Jewish community.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said it viewed the announcement with "deep regret", saying that it will be "felt particularly acutely by British Jews".