Friends of Wiznitz Limited
Principal UK grant-maker for the Vizhnitz court; charity 255685 / company 00929964; operates in Hackney, Haringey, Israel and the United States; year to March 2025 income £4.73 million
| Friends of Wiznitz Limited | |
|---|---|
| Type | Charitable company limited by guarantee |
| Logo | |
| Founded | 2 April 1968 (company); charity registered 22 April 1968[1] |
| Founder(s) | |
| Dissolved | |
| Registration ID | Charity 255685 (Charity Commission); company 00929964 |
| Status | Active; reporting up to date; not recognised by HMRC for Gift Aid |
| Headquarters | First Floor, 94 Stamford Hill, London N16 6XS |
| Location | Stamford Hill, Hackney |
| Area served | Hackney; Haringey; Israel; United States[2] |
| Services | Grants to institutions and individuals for Orthodox Jewish education, religion and relief of poverty; use of a building as a school |
| Registration | England and Wales |
| Key people | Shulom Feldman; Ephraim Gottesfeld; Barry Feldman |
| Website | |
| Remarks | Year to 31 March 2025: income £4,734,350; expenditure £4,526,324; investment gains £728,839; three trustees; two volunteers.[2] |
Friends of Wiznitz Limited is the principal UK charitable company of the Vizhnitz (Wiznitz / Vishnitz) Hasidic court. It was incorporated on 2 April 1968 and registered as charity 255685 on 22 April 1968. The registered office is First Floor, 94 Stamford Hill, London N16 6XS.[1][2]
The Commission describes its activity as supporting Orthodox Jewish religious education, the advancement of the Orthodox Jewish religion and the relief of poverty by grant-making to institutions and individuals and by allowing the use of a building as a school. Operating areas on the register are Hackney, Haringey, Israel and the United States. Published filings do not split “Israel” between the Green Line and occupied territory.[2]
Finances
| Year | Income | Expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | £4.22m | £7.02m |
| 2022 | £2.96m | £2.67m |
| 2023 | £5.39m | £4.64m |
| 2024 | £4.94m | £5.18m |
| 2025 | £4.73m | £4.53m |
In 2024/25 almost all income was donations and legacies (£4.54m), plus investment income £174k and other trading £22k. Charitable expenditure was £4.49m. There were no paid staff over £60,000 and no trading subsidiaries. No government grants or contracts are recorded on the Commission return for these years.[2]
Trustees and directors
The same three men sit as Charity Commission trustees and as Companies House directors. Occupations on secondary directories: Barry Feldman, company director; Shulom Feldman, company director; Ephraim Gottesfeld, property developer.[3]
| Name | Role | Appointed | Other trusteeships (Commission) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barry Feldman | Trustee | 10 April 2022 | Entwood Charities Limited; Berest Charities; Beis Efraim; The Well Trust Limited |
| Ephraim Gottesfeld | Trustee | 3 March 2014 | Parkwill Limited; C.M.A. Community Nursery Ltd; YHF Trust; Berest Charities |
| Shulom Feldman | Trustee | (no appointment date on Commission list) | Suncroft Donations Trust; North London Charities Ltd; Ahavath Chessed Charitable Association Limited; Birchas Moshe Trust; YHF Trust; The Well Trust Limited; Ahavas Shalom Trust; Beis Efraim |
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned | DoB (register) | Nationality | Address on file |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barry Feldman | Director (active) | 10 April 2022 | — | February 1964 | British | 5 Portland Avenue, London N16 6HA |
| Shulom Feldman | Director (active) | (long-standing; on 1991 return) | — | January 1957 | British | 46a Clapton Common, London E5 9BA |
| Ephraim Gottesfeld | Director (active) | 1 January 2014 | — | July 1958 | British | 22 Lampard Grove, London N16 6XB |
| Heinrich Feldman | Director | (1991 return) | 23 March 2022 | November 1935 | British | — |
| Judah Feldman | Director | 1 January 2014 | 15 April 2017 | August 1967 | British | — |
| Ralph Raphael Bergman | Director | (1991 return) | 1 January 2014 | December 1943 | British | — |
| Elias Kahan | Director | (1991 return) | 15 December 2012 | July 1928 | British | 46 Queen Elizabeth Walk, London N16 |
| Elias Kahan | Secretary | (1991 return) | 15 December 2012 (termination filed 3 August 2022) | July 1928 | British | 46 Queen Elizabeth Walk, London N16 |
Gottesfeld’s Lampard Grove address is next to Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz School at 26 Lampard Grove. He is chair of the school’s proprietor, C.M.A. Community Nursery Ltd (charity 1083392).[2]
Court and Israel
Friends of Wiznitz is the London cash pipe for Vizhnitz institutions: grants plus a building used as a school. Related UK vehicles include Viznitz Institutions Trust (1073284; Commission work in Israel), The Viznitz (Keren Nitzchi) Foundation (326581; Israel and the United States), Kollel Imrei Chaim Wiznitz Trust (1122005) and the Salford girls’ charity Bnos Margulis Wiznitz (1188500).
Vizhnitz in Israel is Agudah / United Torah Judaism, not Satmar. Households sit in the Haredi housing market, including towns over the Green Line. This charity’s register names Israel as an operating area; it does not publish a Green Line / occupied-territory split of grants.
See also
- Vizhnitz
- C.M.A. Community Nursery Ltd
- Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz School
- Wiznitz Cheder School
- Ephraim Gottesfeld
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Companies House, FRIENDS OF WIZNITZ LIMITED, company 00929964.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Charity Commission, Friends of Wiznitz Limited, 255685.
- ↑ Giving is Great, Friends of Wiznitz Limited factsheet.
- ↑ Companies House, FRIENDS OF WIZNITZ LIMITED people.