Magen David Adom UK
British charity (1113409) that raises money for Magen David Adom, Israel's ambulance and blood service and, by Israeli law, a wartime auxiliary to the army's medical service
| Magen David Adom UK
| |
|---|---|
| Logo | 
|
| Type | Registered charity and company limited by guarantee |
| Founded | 22 February 2006 |
| Registration ID | Charity 1113409 (England and Wales); company 05718138 |
| Headquarters | MDA UK, PO Box 80423, London N3 9JA (register contact address); 75 Maygrove Road, London NW6 2EG (registered office) |
| Area served | Israel |
| Services | Fundraising and grants for Magen David Adom |
| Key people | Russell Jacobs (chair); Daniel Burger (chief executive) |
| Website | mdauk.org |
Magen David Adom UK (MDA UK) is a British charity that raises money for Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's national ambulance, emergency medical and blood service. It was incorporated at Companies House on 22 February 2006 as company 05718138,[1] and was registered with the Charity Commission on 23 March 2006 as charity 1113409. Its registered object is "to assist at all times Magen David Adom in the work of providing medical care and treatment for persons irrespective of their nationality, race or religion".[2]
The charity it funds has a statutory military role. The Magen David Adom Law of 1950 sets out as MDA's first object "to carry out the functions of a national society, to be for this purpose an auxiliary service of the Medical Service of the Defense Army of Israel in time of war and to prepare for this in time of peace".[3] Since October 2023 MDA has said that its blood went to the Israeli army, including to soldiers "inside the combat zones in the Gaza Strip".[4]
In 2023 MDA UK's income more than tripled, to £16.96 million, after an emergency appeal it named "Operation Swords of Iron".[2][5] MDA's ambulance service is also offered as a volunteering option on British gap-year programmes in Israel, alongside the Israeli army's Marva course.[6]
Registration and addresses
The Charity Commission register, checked on 23 October 2026, gives the contact address as MDA UK, PO Box 80423, London N3 9JA, telephone 020 8201 5900, email info@mdauk.org. It lists Barnet and Israel as the places where the charity operates, and its area of benefit as "overseas". Its governing document is a memorandum and articles of association dated 22 February 2006, amended on 20 May 2010.[2]
Companies House gives the registered office as 75 Maygrove Road, London, England, NW6 2EG.[1] The 2025 accounts give the same address, care of the auditors Goldwins Limited.[7] The 2023 and 2024 accounts gave the registered office as Winston House, 2 Dollis Park, London N3 1HF.[5][8]
The register records that on 23 August 2024 MDA UK received the funds of The Hyam Sassoon Levi Charitable Trust (charity 1090043).[2]
Related companies
Two other companies were set up at Winston House in April 2023, both with MDA UK as a corporate director and Daniel Burger as director and secretary. Magen David Adom G.B Ltd (14819217) was incorporated on 21 April 2023,[9] and Magen David Adom Great-Britain Ltd (14825223) on 25 April 2023.[10] Both were dissolved on 1 July 2025.[9][10]
Magen David Adom and the Israeli army
The 1950 law
The Magen David Adom Law 5710-1950, in the English text (as amended to 1976) hosted by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, makes Magen David Adom Israel's sole national society. Its objects begin with acting as "an auxiliary service of the Medical Service of the Defense Army of Israel in time of war and to prepare for this in time of peace". The same law makes the Minister of Health responsible for implementing it.[3]
An auxiliary role is standard for national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. The Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement describe national societies as "auxiliaries in the humanitarian services of their governments", and require each to prepare "in peace time for its statutory tasks in case of armed conflict".[11] MDA's law names the army's medical service as the body it serves in wartime.[3]
Blood for the army since October 2023
In its review of 2023, MDA said that more than 118,000 units of blood collected since 7 October had been "supplied to the hospitals and the IDF and saved the lives of thousands of civilians, police officers and soldiers - some of them inside the combat zones in the Gaza Strip". It held blood drives "at the various IDF bases".[4] A year after 7 October, MDA reported about 325,000 units collected, including at bases of the Israel Defense Forces, and said: "For the first time this year, 'whole blood' was supplied directly to combat zones, helping save both soldiers and civilians."[12]
The occupied West Bank
Under a memorandum of understanding signed with the Palestine Red Crescent Society on 28 November 2005, ahead of MDA's admission to the Movement, MDA agreed that it "will ensure that it has no chapters outside the internationally recognized borders of the State of Israel".[13] The Movement's Standing Commission reported in December 2015 that MDA's chairman "admitted that MDA ambulance traffic still takes place in the West Bank", and that the Movement's representatives had urged MDA "to finally fulfil its commitment from 2005 and cease all its activities in the Occupied Territory".[14]
In August 2023 MDA announced four bullet-proof mobile intensive care units for "Ariel, Efrat, Ofra and Karnei Shomron", settlements in the occupied West Bank. Its director general said the donation "will help save lives across Judea and Samaria". The announcement credits the donations to Israeli Friends of Magen David Adom and American Friends of MDA. It does not mention MDA UK.[15]
Finances
MDA UK's year ends on 31 December. The register gives these figures:[2]
| Year | Income | Expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | £4.08m | £7.17m |
| 2022 | £5.17m | £5.64m |
| 2023 | £16.96m | £14.25m |
| 2024 | £8.04m | £7.35m |
| 2025 | £9.26m | £8.01m |
The 2023 accounts say that to 30 September 2023 MDA UK "was on target to achieve its financial goals for 2023 with £3.3m in income". After 7 October, it saw "increased levels of giving from our donors, with our emergency appeal raising an additional £13.2m". The accounts say the money raised "via our emergency appeal 'Operation Swords of Iron'" was "donated to MDA Israel to support their humanitarian mission and essential lifesaving work in Israel". Donations that year were £15,151,514, and assistance paid to MDA in Israel was £12,784,761.[5] In 2024 assistance to MDA was £6,085,249, out of income of £8,041,452.[8] The 2025 accounts give income of £9,257,412.[7]
The register shows 10 employees, one of them paid between £150,000 and £200,000. It also records that "one or more trustees receive payments or benefits from the charity for providing services to the charity".[2]
The Walton Foundation of Glasgow gave MDA UK £5,250 in 2025.[16]
Trustees and staff
The register, checked on 23 October 2026, lists ten trustees:[2]
| Trustee | Appointed | Other trusteeships shown on the register |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Adrian Goldstone | 13 February 2026 | |
| Edward Ziff OBE | 16 July 2024 | JudaismUK |
| Adam Ilan Jacobson | 16 January 2024 | The ALMA Foundation |
| Jean Marc Meyer | 20 June 2023 | |
| David Bernstein CBE | 10 March 2023 | |
| Maurice Geller | 19 October 2022 | |
| Barbara Dingle | 5 May 2020 | Exploits |
| Robert Mark Ordever | 8 August 2019 | |
| Marc Ian Franks | 14 May 2018 | |
| Russell Jacobs | 7 June 2017 | University of Haifa UK, Orpheus Sinfonia Foundation, Common Earth |
The sources differ on two points. The register dates David Bernstein's appointment to 10 March 2023, while the 2023 accounts give 16 March 2023.[5] The register lists Adam Jacobson as a trustee, but the 2025 accounts do not include him.[7]
The 2025 accounts name Russell Jacobs as chair, David Bernstein as vice-chair and Marc Franks as treasurer. They record that P. Abram, D. Curtis, R. Ellison and N. Springer stepped down as trustees on 8 September 2025.[7] The 2024 accounts record that B. Kalms resigned on 17 September 2024.[8] The chief executive and company secretary is Daniel Burger, a former trustee who stepped down from the board on 17 January 2023.[5][7]
Political and communal links
The 2023 trustees' report says MDA UK hosted Labour Friends of Israel in July 2023, and Conservative Friends of Israel before that. It said this would "ensure that future UK lawmakers understand the unique challenges of safeguarding the health of all Israeli citizens". The same report says MDA UK "hosted the IDF's Cantor, Shai Abrahmson".[5]
The 2025 trustees' report says MDA UK joined the Jewish Leadership Council that year. In November 2025 it launched a five-year campaign, "Machratayim", which "the First Lady of Israel" introduced by video at the charity's dinner. In 2025 MDA UK took 16 people on a mission to Israel and held 15 ambulance dedications for its donors. It also introduced the father of a man then held hostage in Gaza to the British Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross.[7]
MDA on gap years and tours
Volunteering with MDA in Israel is a regular option on British gap-year programmes, often offered alongside the army's Marva course:
- The FZY Year Course 2027/28 fee includes "the option to participate in MDA or Marva (subject to acceptance)".[6] Its Tel Aviv semester has a "Magen David Adom (Medical) Track", whose participants become "full members of an MDA ambulance team" after 10 days of training.[17]
- Bnei Akiva UK's Kadima programme offers "a choice between an army experience or volunteering with MDA".[18] See Kadima (World Bnei Akiva).
- Aardvark Israel runs a MADA first-responder track, and its site lists this track next to Marva.[19]
- Masa Israel Journey advertises a six-week MDA volunteer programme costing $400 after a Masa grant.[20]
- The Federation of Zionist Youth's summer Israel Tour includes a "Visit to MDA command centre in Jerusalem".[21]
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Companies House, Magen David Adom UK, company 05718138 register entry, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Charity Commission, Magen David Adom UK, charity 1113409 register entry (full print), accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Magen David Adom Law 5710/1950, as amended 5736/1976 solutions.ifrc.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Magen David Adom, MDA's 2023 in Numbers mdais.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Charity Commission, Magen David Adom UK: accounts and annual returns (report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023), accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Federation of Zionist Youth, About 1 fzy.org.uk, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Charity Commission, Magen David Adom UK: accounts and annual returns (report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025), accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Charity Commission, Magen David Adom UK: accounts and annual returns (report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024), accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Companies House, Magen David Adom G.B Ltd, company 14819217 register entry and officers, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Companies House, Magen David Adom Great-Britain Ltd, company 14825223 register entry and officers, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ International Committee of the Red Cross, Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement icrc.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ Magen David Adom, Stories of Rescue, Pain and Hope mdais.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ Memorandum of Understanding between Palestine Red Crescent Society and Magen David Adom in Israel, 28 November 2005, rcrcconference.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Report on the Implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding and Agreement on Operational Arrangements dated 28th November 2005 between Palestine Red Crescent Society and Magen David Adom in Israel, Geneva, December 2015, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ Magen David Adom, 4 new bullet-proof ambulances begin service with MDA mdais.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ Walton Foundation, 2025 accounts filed with the Scottish Charity Regulator, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ Federation of Zionist Youth, Programme Breakdown fzy.org.uk, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ Bnei Akiva UK, Hachshara bauk.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ Aardvark Israel, Mada First Responder Track aardvarkisrael.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ Masa Israel Journey, Volunteer in Israel with Magen David Adom masaisrael.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ Federation of Zionist Youth, Tour: Programme Breakdown fzy.org.uk, accessed 23 October 2026.