Friends of Bereaved Families Forum

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UK fundraising charity for the Parents Circle – Families Forum, the joint Israeli–Palestinian group of bereaved families; in June 2026 it transferred its funds to a new CIO of the same name

Friends of Bereaved Families Forum

Type Other (removed)
Founded 2007-03-05 (registered)
Dissolved 2026-06-13 (removed from the register: Funds transferred (incor))
Registration ID Registered charity 1118221
Area served Israel, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Throughout England

Friends of Bereaved Families Forum (FBFF) was registered on 5 March 2007; its register areas were England, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.[1] On 29 March 2022 it received the funds of the Wood Green Mennonite Church Trust (1058376), and on 13 June 2026 it transferred its funds to a charitable incorporated organisation of the same name (1212596) and was removed from the register.[1] Its last register figures, for the year to 30 September 2025, were income of £73,519 and spending of £71,799.[1] The archived 2018 accounts describe its purpose as raising funds to bring Israelis and Palestinians to the UK to speak "at Synagogues, Mosques, Churches, Universities, Schools ... House of Commons and the House of Lords" and to help the Parents Circle – Families Forum; donations were £161,104 (2017: £457,661) and donations to the Parents Circle £104,417 (2017: £105,451). The trustees then were J Elkan (chairman), R Cohen, C Smith, D Nissenbaum, M Cowan and B Humphreys, and the examiner was Michael Barnett.[2] The successor CIO, registered on 19 March 2025 with the working name "UK Friends of the Parents Circle - Families Forum", is chaired by Dr Caroline Sarah Elton; its accounts for 2025 show income of £46,421 and spending of £29,272.[3]

Objects and activities

The charity's registered objects read: "A. TO PROMOTE RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS HARMONY BY ADVANCING EDUCATION AND PROMOTING DIALOGUE AND UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN MUSLIMS AND JEWS IN BRITAIN, PALESTINE AND ISRAEL;(B) TO PROMOTE THE PRESERVATION OF PUBLIC ORDER FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC IN PALESTINE AND ISRAEL BY PROVIDING OR ASSISTING IN THE PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION BETWEEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUFFERED THE LOSS OF A FAMILY MEMBER DUE TO THE CURRENT CONFLICT; AND(C) THE RELIEF OF POVERTY AND/OR SICKNESS OF PEOPLE IN PALESTINE AND ISRAEL WHO HAVE SUFFERED THE LOSS OF A FAMILY MEMBER DUE TO THE CURRENT CONFLICT."[4]

The register describes its activities as: "A. TO PROMOTE RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS HARMONY BY ADVANCING EDUCATION AND PROMOTING DIALOGUE AND UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN MUSLIMS AND JEWS IN BRITAIN, PALESTINE AND ISRAEL."[4]

Register classifications: Education/training, Overseas Aid/famine Relief, Other Charitable Purposes.[4]

Areas of operation recorded on the register: Israel, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Throughout England.[4]

People

Trustees

Name Role Date of appointment Other trusteeships
Lady Gilda Levy Trustee 16 November 2023 The Levy Family Charitable Trust | Women's Interfaith Network
Diana du Luart Trustee 16 November 2023 Renewable World
Caroline Elton Trustee 16 November 2023 Kehillah North London
Ruth Adams Trustee 16 November 2023 None on record
David Goldberg Trustee 22 November 2022 None on record
Jess Brandler Trustee 22 November 2022 None on record
Rabbi Daniel Smith Trustee 05 July 2018 None on record

Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)

Trustees shown in archived register pages
Capture date Trustees listed Source
2021-01-12 Debbie Nissenbaum (from 04 February 2018); Brian Humphreys (from 04 February 2018); Judith Elkan (chair); Daniel Smith (from 05 July 2018) [5]
2021-07-06 Judith Elkan (chair); Debbie Nissenbaum (from 04 February 2018); Brian Humphreys (from 04 February 2018); Daniel Smith (from 05 July 2018) [6]

The register extract holds no trustee records for the removed charity; the trustees named in the 2018 accounts are given above.[2] The successor CIO (1212596) lists seven trustees, including Dr Caroline Sarah Elton (chair), Rabbi Amnon Daniel Smith, David Jonathan Goldberg and Jessica Lily Bianca Brandler.[3]

Finances

Income and expenditure, five most recent reported years
Financial year end Income Expenditure
2021-05-31 £23,229 £44,710
2022-05-31 £25,995 £22,776
2023-05-31 £16,382 £18,677
2024-05-31 £69,691 £43,608
2025-09-30 £73,519 £71,799

Source: register annual-return history.[4]

Archived accounts

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

  • Accounts for the year ended 31/05/2016[7]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/05/2017[8]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/05/2018[9]

Funding in Israel

  • 2018: donations to the Parents Circle £104,417 (2017: £105,451); travel and hotel for Parents Circle members £8,681.[2]

Israeli partners

The Parents Circle – Families Forum, a joint Israeli–Palestinian organisation of more than 800 bereaved families founded in 1995 by Yitzhak Frankenthal, with offices in Beit Jala and Ramat Ef'al; in 2024 its funders included Bread for the World and USAID.[10]

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 has an office in Beit Jala, in the West Bank, as well as in Ramat Ef'al; it is a joint Israeli–Palestinian reconciliation group and nothing in the sources links it to settlement activity.[10] High (partner)

Support for the IDF: No IDF or military funding is stated.[2] The Parents Circle has held a joint Israeli–Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony with Combatants for Peace since 2006.[11]

Controversies and regulatory action

  • No Charity Commission inquiry naming this charity was found; it is not named in the 2025–2026 cheque-cashing class-inquiry announcements or statement of results, and the charities in the August 2026 settlements class inquiry have not been named.[12][13][14][15][16] The register shows it as removed, giving the reason "Funds transferred (incor)".[1]
  • Manager's fees. The 2018 accounts show manager's fees of £17,513, alongside travel and hotel costs for Parents Circle members of £8,681.[2]

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).[17] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[18]

The Gazette

Searches of The Gazette notice feeds (all notices, insolvency and company) for the charity's name found no insolvency, winding-up or strike-off notice.[19]

Grants recorded by 360Giving

No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.[20]

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.[21]

Land and property

The register records that the charity does not own or lease land or property.[4] No title registers were purchased.[22]

Parliament

Hansard exact-phrase searches for "Friends of Bereaved Families Forum", "Bereaved Families Forum", "Parents Circle" returned 12 contributions in total; those not listed above were not established to concern this charity.[23]

Web archive

  • theparentscircle.org: 21 yearly captures, first 2004-04-06, last 2026-01-04.[24]

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".[5]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Charity Commission, Friends of Bereaved Families Forum (1118221): full print Register of Charities, retrieved 16 October 2026 ("05 March 2007: Standard registration 29 March 2022: Funds received from 1058376 WOOD GREEN MENNONITE CHURCH TRUST 13 June 2026: Funds transferred to 1212596 FRIENDS OF BEREAVED FAMILIES FORUM 13 June 2026: Removed (Funds transferred (incor))").
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Charity Commission, Friends of the Bereaved Families Forum: accounts for the year ended 31 May 2018 UK Government Web Archive, capture of 08/01/2020. (scanned; read by OCR).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Charity Commission, Friends of Bereaved Families Forum (1212596): full print Register of Charities, retrieved 16 October 2026 (CIO registered 19 March 2025; "13 June 2026: Funds received from 1118221").
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 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.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Register entry 1118221, full print (capture of 20210112) UK Government Web Archive.
  6. ↑ Register entry 1118221, full print (capture of 20210706) UK Government Web Archive.
  7. ↑ Friends of Bereaved Families Forum accounts, year ended 2016-05-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  8. ↑ Friends of Bereaved Families Forum accounts, year ended 2017-05-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  9. ↑ Friends of Bereaved Families Forum accounts, year ended 2018-05-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Parents Circle – Families Forum, About PCFF theparentscircle.org, viewed 16 October 2026.
  11. ↑ Parents Circle – Families Forum, The Joint Memorial Day Ceremony theparentscircle.org, viewed 16 October 2026.
  12. ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025.
  13. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 1 September 2025.
  14. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 4 December 2025.
  15. ↑ 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).
  16. ↑ 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").
  17. ↑ Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Charity Register download OSCR, export dated 14 October 2026; keyword search of the 25 batch-19 charity names found no matching Scottish registration.
  18. ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 16 October 2026 (keyword searches for each of the 25 batch-19 charity names returned zero results).
  19. ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'Bereaved Families Forum' The Gazette, searched 16 October 2026.
  20. ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-1118221 360Giving, queried 16 October 2026.
  21. ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv). Batch-19 screening covered 358 name strings: the 25 charity names, current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, Companies House officers of the eight charitable companies, and trustees, examiners, grantees and other people and bodies named in the accounts and sources read for this batch; matching on surname plus forename tokens, reviewed manually. No forename-and-surname match for any person was found; token matches were surname-only coincidences (for example Miller, Gold) or generic words in organisation names (Trust, Ltd, Limited).
  22. ↑ HM Land Registry, Search for land and property information GOV.UK, accessed 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.
  23. ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching the exact phrase "Bereaved Families Forum" Hansard, queried 16 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase search).
  24. ↑ Internet Archive CDX index for theparentscircle.org Wayback Machine, queried 16 October 2026.
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