Confederation of Friends of Israel in Scotland

From Powerbase
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Confederation of Friends of Israel in Scotland (COFIS)

The Confederation of Friends of Israel in Scotland is a Scottish registered charity established 17 April 2020.

  • Regulatory Type: Standard
  • Objective: "The organisation’s purposes are: to advance education regarding Israel; to promote equality and diversity; to advance human rights, conflict resolution and reconciliation; to promote religious and racial harmony"

Creating a rash of Friends of Israel groups in Scotland

According to Zionist activist Judith Ornstein, the creation of the rash of pro Israel groups in Scotland from 2015 was spearheaded by Nigel Goodrich. In her account of her speech in Glasgow she states:

With the continuing support of StandWithUs, Judy Weleminsky and others he has set up Friends of Israel groups all over Scotland. They are also responsible for 2016’s and 2017’s Shalom Festivals at the Edinburgh Fringe where Israeli multicultural events were showcased. In 2016 audiences had to endure a barrage of abuse from the SPSC, but this year the Israeli presence was increased and the abuse reduced to almost nothing.[1]

Ornstein's husband Ged Ornstein was a trustee of StandWithUs UK between 15 November 2016 and 13 August 2020.

Members

In 2025 COFIS claims only three members as follows:

  • Glasgow Friends of Israel By far the largest of the Friends of Israel groups in Scotland, GFI operates an information stall in Buchanan Street every Saturday. as well as hosting interesting speakers via Zoom. Check out their website; their Facebook page and their Twitter account.
  • Edinburgh Friends of Israel Edinburgh is home to Scotland's second largest Jewish community but is, sadly, also home to considerable hostility towards Israel. Since the start of the current conflict, they have been busy organising vigils. Check out their Facebook page and get involved!
  • Highland Friends of Israel Based in Inverness, HFOI frequently operates an information stall in the city centre on Saturdays, as well as hosting visiting speakers. Check out their Facebook page and their Twitter account.

​We Believe in Israel, by contrast, lists the following groups in Scotland. Most of these were defunct by

​

People

Patron

Trustees

COFIS does not disclose its Trustees or Patrons. Its subsidiary organisations such as Glasgow Friends of Israel do disclose three main officials: [[Sammy Stein], Walter Hecht and

Details of charity's operations

2015: According to The Times of Israel, COFIS were operational in August 2015. The twitter account for COFIS was created in January 2016, however it did not become active until May 2018. One of COFIS earliest tweets was to advertise an event in Glasgow on 22 May 2018 with Luke Akehurst titled 'How did the Labour Party get into such a mess over Israel, Jews and antisemitism?' [9]


  • Charity Status: Active
  • Last Updated: 12 February 2025
  • Constitutional Form: SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation)
  • Constitutional Form Date: 17 April 2020
  • Geographical Spread: Operations cover all or most of Scotland
  • Main Operating Location: Glasgow City
  • Puropses: "the advancement of education","the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation","the promotion of religious or racial harmony","the promotion of equality and diversity"
  • Beneficiaries: "No specific group, or for the benefit of the community"
  • Types of activity undertaken: "It carries out activities or services itself"

Income & Expenditure

Income and expenditure

Details

Resources

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/antisemitism-in-the-british-labour-party/
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20231203170141/http://aberdeenfoi.co.uk/
  3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20180904061144/http://www.dagfoi.com/
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20191006162356/http://dagfoi.com/index.html
  5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210723190411/https://www.cofis.org/edinburgh-friends-of-israel.html
  6. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/178667772483257/user/100002318304869
  7. ↑ https://www.webelieveinisrael.org.uk/local_links
  8. ↑ Jenni Frazer. Ahead of summer fests, Scotland's new pro-Israel network stands guard. "Times of Israel". Retrieved via Archive.today on 21/10/21.
  9. ↑ Confederation of Friends of Israel in Scotland, @COFIScotland. Looking forward to hearing @lukeakehurst address Antisemitism issues in @UKLabour, @GnasherJew @antisemitism @BoardofDeputies #LabourFriendsOfIsrael #LabourAntisemitism. "Twitter". Retrieved via Archive today on 21/10/21.
Retrieved from "https://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Confederation_of_Friends_of_Israel_in_Scotland&oldid=272941"