A complaint by human rights group CAGE International has led to the Charity Commission issuing a ‘remedial action plan’ to the so-called Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), one of Israel’s most influential lobby groups in the UK, in an attempt to bring its activities into line with UK charity law.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism and UK Lawyers for Israel
CAGE International raised concerns that CAA and another notoriously aggressive ‘charity’, UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), misuse their charitable status to defend Israel’s apartheid policies and genocide, and to suppress pro-Palestinian advocacy, through vexatious complaints – a breach of charity law. The Charity Commission has also placed UKLFI under investigation where it may face the same enforcement action.
According to CAGE’s press release:
[The sanction] follows a formal complaint submitted by CAGE International earlier this year against both the CAA and UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), which detailed how both charities defend and advocate for the State of Israel’s apartheid and genocidal policies in a manner that contravenes their charitable purposes, while also engaging in vexatious and malicious complaints against pro-Palestinian individuals, universities, employers, and regulatory bodies – a tactic for which both organisations are notorious. This is done as a means of intimidating and silencing Pro-Palestinian activism.
The Commission’s intervention marks the second regulatory consequence resulting from CAGE’s complaint. In September, Middle East Eye revealed that the Commission had opened an active investigation into the UKLFI Charitable Trust, the fundraising arm of UK Lawyers for Israel, over concerns that “some of its activities may fall outside the scope of its charitable objectives.”
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission confirmed that, following the concerns raised by CAGE International, the Campaign Against Antisemitism has been issued a remedial Action Plan under section 15(2) of the Charities Act 2011. The plan requires the charity’s trustees to take specific steps to improve the administration, management, and governance of the organisation in light of the concerns raised. The Commission will follow up with the trustees to ensure that the charity implements the advice given.
The Commission’s regulatory engagement with both UKLFI and CAA comes amid mounting public scrutiny over the political use of charitable structures to defend Israel’s apartheid regime and suppress pro-Palestinian advocacy.
CAGE’s formal submission to the Charity Commission detailed how both groups:
• support and legitimise Israel’s apartheid and genocide, contrary to their stated charitable purposes and charity law against political activity;
• misuse their charitable platforms to promote a political agenda shielding Israel from accountability;
• engage in vexatious and malicious complaints against universities, employers, and professionals who express solidarity with Palestine – causing reputational, professional, and emotional harm to individuals.
CAA was one of the main groups at the forefront of the antisemitism scam attacking the British left and particularly then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn; the group was also one of the chief agitators behind the now-discredited Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) investigation into Corbyn’s Labour, which did not find evidence of the alleged systemic antisemitism but has been widely misquoted as a weapon ever since, despite the EHRC having to settle an expensive lawsuit brought by two left-wing figures it smeared.
CAGE’s complaint followed its May report, Britain’s Apartheid Apologists, which outlined how UKLFI and CAA “operate as the leading advocacy infrastructure sustaining Israel’s apartheid system under the guise of charity” and documented how these groups have weaponised regulatory bodies, media platforms, and legal mechanisms to silence pro-Palestinian voices and legitimise systemic violence against the Palestinian people.
Anas Mustapha, Head of Public Advocacy at CAGE International, said:
The CAA has long acted as a leading enabler of state-led repression against Britons who oppose genocide. It operates as an extension of the State of Israel, undermining fundamental freedoms by intimidating, accusing, and silencing those who challenge the apartheid settler-colonial regime. The Charity Commission must act decisively to prevent both the CAA and UKLFI from masquerading as charities before further damage is done to its own credibility and reputation.
Featured image via the Canary
