Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens

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CIO supporting the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens, mainly through horticultural internships; its registered website address now serves a gambling site, and its trustee lists in the accounts and on the register differ

Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens

Type CIO
Founded 2013-03-22 (registered)
Registration ID Registered charity 1151347
Headquarters Edgware HA8
Area served Israel
Website www.friendsjbg.org


Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens is a charitable incorporated organisation (foundation model) registered on 22 March 2013; its address is in Edgware HA8, its only recorded area of operation is Israel, and it also uses the name "Friends of JBG".[1][2] Its objects concern education about Israel's biodiversity, plant conservation and the cultural uses of plants, "in particular but not exclusively by supporting the work of the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens".[3] It works "alongside the CEO and senior staff members of the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens and the Israel-based Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens", supporting cross-cultural education of school-age children in Jerusalem, outreach work and an International Horticultural Internship Programme.[3] The register lists Aaron Bertelsen (from 2013) and, from 17 December 2025, Karyn Jayne Daysh, Brandon Tyler George and Linda C Smith; the 2024 accounts name Aaron Bertelsen and Jill Kowal as co-chairs, with Barbara Sherling as operations manager.[1][3] The charity's current website lists Aaron Bertelsen as chair of trustees and Karyn Daysh, Linda Smith and Brandon George as trustees.[4] In 2024 income was £28,805 (2023: £22,736), including donations and legacies of £25,332, and spending £17,366 (2023: £49,663), of which internships cost £8,777 and salaries £6,635; funds rose to £113,474.[3] The accounts were examined by Howard Bull ACA of Edgware on 29 October 2025.[3]

Objects and activities

The charity's registered objects read: "TO ADVANCE THE EDUCATION OF THE PUBLIC ON ISRAEL’S BIODIVERSITY, PLANT CONSERVATION AND CULTURAL USES OF PLANTS, IN PARTICULAR BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY BY SUPPORTING THE WORK OF THE JERUSALEM BOTANICALGARDENS."[1]

The register describes its activities as: "Through a series of lectures, visits and cultural activities and by promoting and running the International Horticultural Internship Scheme, the Friends of JBG have continued to support its objectives."[1]

Register classifications: Education/training, Environment/conservation/heritage.[1]

Areas of operation recorded on the register: Israel.[1]

Trustees

Karyn Daysh, a trustee, as shown on the charity's website
Aaron Bertelsen, chair of trustees, as shown on the charity's website

Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:[1]

Trustees of Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens (register, October 2026)
Trustee Appointed Chair Other trusteeships
A Bertelsen 2013-02-15 —
Karyn Jayne Daysh 2025-12-17 Sophie's Legacy (1198979)
Brandon Tyler George 2025-12-17 —
Linda C Smith 2025-12-17 —

Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)

Trustees shown in archived register pages
Capture date Trustees listed Source
2018-01-05 A Bertelsen; Jill Kowal; R Laub; Mima Taylor Zel Lederman [5]
2021-01-07 Malcolm Goldstein Ba BPhil (from 08 September 2019); Mima Taylor PhD KewDip (from 02 January 2017); Zelman Lederman BAppSc (from 01 December 2016); A Bertelsen (from 15 February 2013); Jill Kowal PhD Bscmsc (from 15 February 2013) [6]

Karyn Jayne Daysh is also a register trustee of Sophie's Legacy (1198979).[1] The 360Giving record of the David and Elaine Potter Foundation's £5,000 grant (20 December 2016) gives the purpose "International Horticultural Scholarship Programme" (see below).

Finances

Income and expenditure, five most recent reported years
Financial year end Income Expenditure
2020-12-31 £28,713 £25,102
2021-12-31 £22,809 £34,967
2022-12-31 £21,783 £39,459
2023-12-31 £22,736 £49,663
2024-12-31 £28,805 £17,366

Source: register annual-return history.[1]

Archived accounts

Accounts no longer on the live register were found in the UK Government Web Archive:

  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2014[7]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2015[8]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2016[9]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2017[10]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2018[11]

Funding in Israel

The Jerusalem Botanical Garden at Givat Ram (2008), whose work the charity's objects name it as supporting
  • 2024: internships £8,777 (2023: £20,780) and other charitable costs £965; 2023 spending also included £18,400 for an apartment. Because of the war after 7 October 2023 there were no internships for students from outside Israel; short-term internships were given to three evacuees, and "Four interns were sponsored of whom one continued an internship started in 2023." A bequest from the estate of Mrs Philippa Rakusen funds the internship programme.[3]

Israeli partners

The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens and "the Israel-based Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens".[3]

Activity beyond the Green Line and support for the IDF

Findings are graded by confidence. "Partner" findings concern the Israeli recipient organisation, not proven use of UK funds.

Evidence of activity beyond the 1949 armistice line
Finding Confidence
The partner's name places it in Jerusalem; a Wikimedia Commons photograph description places the garden at Givat Ram. The accounts give no address and do not refer to the 1949 line.[3][12] Medium (city in the partner's name; no address in the accounts)

Support for the IDF: No IDF or military funding is stated.[3]

Controversies and regulatory action

  • No Charity Commission inquiry, Official Warning or Gazette insolvency notice naming this charity was found, and its register entry shows no regulatory alert;[13] it is not among the charities named in the Commission's cheque-cashing class-inquiry announcements (May, September and December 2025) or in the September 2026 statement of results.[14][15][16][17] The charities in the Commission's settlements class inquiry (opened August 2026) have not been named, so it is not known whether this charity is among them.[18]
  • Registered website now a gambling site. The website address on the register, www.friendsjbg.org.uk, serves an unrelated Vietnamese-language gambling site; the charity's current website is www.friendsjbg.org.[19][4]
  • Trustee lists differ. The 2024 accounts name Jill Kowal as co-chair; she is not on the register, which lists three trustees appointed on 17 December 2025 alongside Aaron Bertelsen.[3][1]
  • Single main funder. The report says "A donation from a UK-based charitable trust provides the charity with its main source of funds"; the notes record "Craps CT" £16,000 in each of 2024 and 2023.[3]
  • Corporation tax. The accounts deduct corporation tax of £477 from the year's surplus.[3]
  • Mislabelled lines. A surplus of £11,439 is labelled "(Net expenditure)", and note 1, headed "Restricted Fund Donations", lists the £16,000 donation as unrestricted.[3]

Other registers and records

Scotland and Northern Ireland

No entry was found on the Scottish Charity Register for this charity (register export dated 14 October 2026, searched by name).[20] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[21]

The Gazette

Searches of The Gazette for the charity's name returned only Companies House filing lists; no insolvency, winding-up or strike-off notice naming the charity was found.[22]

Grants recorded by 360Giving

Grants received (360Giving data)
Date Funder Amount (£) Purpose
2016-12-20 The David & Elaine Potter Foundation 5,000 A general donation towards the costs of the International Horticultural Scholarship Programme

No grants made by the charity are published in 360Giving data, so flows between linked charities could not be traced there.[23]

Sanctions screening

The charity's name, its current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, trustees and officers named in the accounts read for this profile and (for charitable companies) its Companies House officers were screened against the UK Sanctions List and the OFSI Consolidated List. No match was found.[24]

Land and property

The register records that the charity does not own or lease land or property.[1] No title registers were purchased; the HM Land Registry interactive search blocked automated access.[25]

Parliament

Hansard exact-phrase searches for "Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens", "Friends of JBG" returned 0 contributions in total.[26]

Web archive

  • friendsjbg.org.uk: 6 yearly captures, first 2014-03-03, last 2025-11-06.[27]

The UK Government Web Archive holds 2 archived Charity Commission register pages used in this profile (cited in the sections above). The 2021 archived full print showed the status "Charity reporting is up to date" and "Other regulators: No information available".[6]

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Charity Commission for England and Wales, Register of Charities public extract (tables charity, charity_trustee, charity_annual_return_history, charity_area_of_operation, charity_classification, charity_other_names), extract dated 14 October 2026.
  2. ↑ Charity Commission, Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens (1151347): full print Register of Charities, retrieved 16 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 Charity Commission, Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens (1151347): accounts and annual returns Register of Charities; trustees' report and accounts for the year to 31 December 2024, downloaded 16 October 2026 (PDF pages 8–9 are scanned images, read from the page images; "PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens, Trustees friendsjbg.org, viewed 16 October 2026.
  5. ↑ Register entry 1151347, contact and trustees (capture of 20180105) UK Government Web Archive.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Register entry 1151347, full print (capture of 20210107) UK Government Web Archive.
  7. ↑ Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens accounts, year ended 2014-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
  8. ↑ Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens accounts, year ended 2015-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
  9. ↑ Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens accounts, year ended 2016-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
  10. ↑ Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens accounts, year ended 2017-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
  11. ↑ Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens accounts, year ended 2018-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
  12. ↑ Wikimedia Commons file pages for the photographs used in this profile (author, licence and description as stated there), viewed 16 October 2026.
  13. ↑ Charity Commission, Register of Charities, charity overview page (register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/ followed by the organisation number) for each of the 25 batch-26 charities, all retrieved on 16 October 2026 and checked for a "Regulatory alerts" notice; none showed one.
  14. ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025.
  15. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 1 September 2025.
  16. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 4 December 2025.
  17. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator concludes investigation into 4 charities as class inquiry continues GOV.UK, 9 September 2026, with Statement of the results of a class inquiry (same date).
  18. ↑ Charity Commission, Charity regulator opens inquiry into charities working in illegal Israeli settlements GOV.UK, 5 August 2026 (a fact-finding statutory class inquiry initially involving 8 charities which "are not being publicly named at this time").
  19. ↑ www.friendsjbg.org.uk (the website address on the charity register), viewed 16 October 2026: the page served is a Vietnamese-language gambling site titled "LV88 – Trang Chủ Lv88.com".
  20. ↑ Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Charity Register download OSCR, export dated 14 October 2026; keyword search of the 25 batch-26 charity names found no matching Scottish registration.
  21. ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 16 October 2026 (keyword searches for each of the 25 batch-26 charity names returned zero results).
  22. ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens' The Gazette, searched 16 October 2026.
  23. ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-1151347 360Giving, queried 16 October 2026.
  24. ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv). Batch-26 screening covered 224 name strings: the 25 charity names and their other names, current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, trustees, officers, examiners and other people and organisations named in the accounts and websites read for this batch, and the Companies House officers of the charitable companies; the only hits were generic words in company names (such as "Company Directors Limited") and surname-only matches, which were rejected; no person matched. Screened 16 October 2026.
  25. ↑ HM Land Registry, Search for land and property information GOV.UK – the service returned HTTP 403 (bot protection) to automated access in October 2026; no titles were looked up or purchased. Candidate title numbers below come from the free CCOD / OCOD datasets (October 2026 release), not from paid title registers.
  26. ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching the exact phrase "Friends of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens" Hansard, queried 16 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase search).
  27. ↑ Internet Archive CDX index for friendsjbg.org.uk Wayback Machine, queried 16 October 2026.
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