Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff)

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Kensington trust, accounting in US dollars, that supports the Porat Yosef yeshiva in Jerusalem, owns the freehold titles of its buildings and is owed $400,000 by it

Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff)

Logo Porat Yosef Yeshiva Geula 2012.jpg
The Geula branch of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva, Jerusalem (2012); the trust exists to maintain the yeshiva, which says it has campuses in the Old City and Geula
Type Trust
Founded 1977-04-14 (registered)
Registration ID Registered charity 273095
Headquarters London SW7
Area served Israel


Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) is a charitable trust established by a declaration of trust of 18 August 1970 by Ralphe Moise Sassoon and registered on 14 April 1977; its principal office is in London SW7 and its only recorded area of operation is Israel.[1][2][3] Its income is to be applied "for the maintenance, upkeep and benefit of the Institution in Israel known as Midrash Porat Yosef (also known as the Federation Yeshivot of Porat Yoseph), established and dedicated for the benefit of the Jewish community in Jerusalem".[2] The trustees are Arieh Toussia Cohen, Mr M S L Stern and David Rabson (from 1 March 2013).[3][2] The accounts say "The Trust owns the freehold titles to the properties known as Yeshivot of Porat Yosef in Jerusalem, Israel. The value of the properties is not known and has not been included in the annual accounts".[2] The filed PDF contains two sets of accounts in US dollars for the year to 31 December 2024. "Fund Number One" had investment income of $27,868 and spent $59,252 on charitable activities, including $56,000 (2023: $100,000) for the "Support of Midrash Porat Yosef"; its funds rose from $1,511,703 to $1,575,788 and it carries $400,000 "due from Midrash Porat Yosef". "Fund Number Two" had investment income of $20,328 and paid donations of $44,000; its funds rose from $1,079,019 to $1,118,850.[2] The register records 2024 income of £38,495 and spending of £95,816.[3] The investments are managed by Cazenove Capital Management; the accounts were prepared by Cohen Arnold, examined by David Goldberg FCA DChA on 20 October 2025, and signed by M S L Stern.[2]

Objects and activities

The charity's registered objects read: "THE MAINTENANCE UPKEEP AND BENEFIT OF THE INSTITUTION STIUATE IN JERUSALEM IN ISRAEL KNOWN AS MIDRASH PORATH YOSEF ESTABLISHED AND DEDICATED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN JERUSALEM."[3]

The register describes its activities as: "The Trust directs the Trustees shall apply the income of the Charity for the maintenance, upkeep and benefit of the Institution in Israel known as Midrash Porat Yosef, established and dedicated for the benefit of the Jewish community in Jerusalem."[3]

Register classifications: General Charitable Purposes, Religious Activities.[3]

Areas of operation recorded on the register: Israel.[3]

Trustees

Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:[3]

Trustees of Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) (register, October 2026)
Trustee Appointed Chair Other trusteeships
Arieh Toussia Cohen not recorded —
M S L Stern not recorded —
David Rabson 2013-03-01 —

Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)

Trustees shown in archived register pages
Capture date Trustees listed Source
2010-07-16 Rabbi Abraham Gubbay; Arieh Toussia Cohen; M S L Stern [4]
2013-09-04 David Rabson; Arieh Toussia Cohen; M S L Stern [5]
2014-09-04 David Rabson; Arieh Toussia Cohen; M S L Stern [6]
2021-01-07 David Rabson (from 26 February 2013) – also trustee of Tree of Life Talmudical College, Baila Charitable Trust, Chana Charitable Trust, Edgware and District Communal Mikveh Committee, Chana Charity Ltd, Hatzola Edgware, The Shatnez Centre Trust; Arieh Toussia Cohen; M S L Stern [7]

The register spells one trustee as "MR M S L STERN", without a full name.[3]

Finances

Income and expenditure, five most recent reported years
Financial year end Income Expenditure
2020-12-31 £32,017 £11,192
2021-12-31 £27,715 £14,196
2022-12-31 £39,235 £19,463
2023-12-31 £39,384 £178,851
2024-12-31 £38,495 £95,816

Source: register annual-return history.[3]

Archived accounts

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

  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2007[8]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2008[9]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2009[10]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2010[11]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2011[12]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2012[13]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2014[14]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2015[15]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2016[16]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2017[17]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2018[18]

Funding in Israel

Jerusalem's southern Old City wall with the Porat Yosef Yeshiva behind it (2009). The trust says it owns the freehold titles of the "Yeshivot of Porat Yosef in Jerusalem" without saying which buildings
  • Year to 31 December 2024: Fund Number One, "Support of Midrash Porat Yosef" $56,000 (2023: $100,000); Fund Number Two, donations paid $44,000. Figures are in US dollars as printed.[2]

Israeli partners

Midrash Porat Yosef (the Porat Yosef Yeshiva). The yeshiva says its cornerstone "was laid in Jerusalem's Old City in 1914", that it was "Founded in 1923" and that it has "campuses in both the Old City and the Geula neighborhood".[19]

Activity beyond the Green Line and support for the IDF

The Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusalem's Old City before 1948. JTA reported in 1969 that the yeshiva's new building was being built in East Jerusalem on the site of the one destroyed in 1948; the trust supports the yeshiva

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 trust owns "the freehold titles to the properties known as Yeshivot of Porat Yosef in Jerusalem" and funds the yeshiva. The yeshiva has an Old City campus, and JTA reported on 9 May 1969 that "The site of the new Porat Yosef yeshiva in East Jerusalem" was dedicated "amid the rubble of the old building that was destroyed by the Jordanian Army in 1948". The accounts do not say which properties the trust holds or how the money is split between campuses.[2][19][20] Medium (beneficiary named; the Old City campus is placed in East Jerusalem by JTA; the trust's properties are not identified)

Support for the IDF: No IDF or military funding is stated.[2]

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;[21] 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.[22][23][24][25] 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.[26]
  • Loan to the beneficiary. Fund Number One carries $400,000 "due from Midrash Porat Yosef", the same figure as in 2023.[2]
  • Unvalued Jerusalem property. The trust holds the freehold titles to the Porat Yosef yeshiva properties in Jerusalem but says their value "is not known"; the accounts do not say which buildings they are.[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).[27] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[28]

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.[29]

Grants recorded by 360Giving

No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.[30]

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.[31]

Land and property

The register records that the charity owns and/or leases land or property.[3] No title registers were purchased.[32] Candidate titles and addresses (CCOD dataset and register/accounts data):[33]

  • "The Trust owns the freehold titles to the properties known as Yeshivot of Porat Yosef in Jerusalem, Israel. The value of the properties is not known and has not been included in the annual accounts" – property outside England and Wales, not covered by HM Land Registry – Accounts (source: [2])

Parliament

Hansard exact-phrase searches for "Porath Yoseph Fund", "Mideas Poreth Yusuff" returned 0 contributions in total.[34]

Web archive

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".[7]

External links

  • No current official website.

Notes

  1. ↑ Charity Commission, Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) (273095): full print Register of Charities, retrieved 16 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Charity Commission, accounts and annual returns (273095) Register of Charities; latest accounts downloaded 16 October 2026 (scanned document; text read by OCR, so some printed digits are unclear; "PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 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.
  4. ↑ Register entry 273095, contact and trustees (capture of 20100716) UK Government Web Archive.
  5. ↑ Register entry 273095, contact and trustees (capture of 20130904) UK Government Web Archive.
  6. ↑ Register entry 273095, contact and trustees (capture of 20140904) UK Government Web Archive.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Register entry 273095, full print (capture of 20210107) UK Government Web Archive.
  8. ↑ Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) accounts, year ended 2007-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20130904).
  9. ↑ Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) accounts, year ended 2008-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20130904).
  10. ↑ Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) accounts, year ended 2009-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20130904).
  11. ↑ Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) accounts, year ended 2010-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20130904).
  12. ↑ Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) accounts, year ended 2011-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20130904).
  13. ↑ Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) accounts, year ended 2012-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20140103).
  14. ↑ Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) accounts, year ended 2014-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200106).
  15. ↑ Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) accounts, year ended 2015-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200106).
  16. ↑ Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) accounts, year ended 2016-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200106).
  17. ↑ Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) accounts, year ended 2017-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200106).
  18. ↑ Porath Yoseph Fund (Mideas Poreth Yusuff) accounts, year ended 2018-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200106).
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Yeshivat Porat Yosef, About yeshivatporatyosef.com, viewed 16 October 2026.
  20. ↑ Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Site of New Porat Josef Sephardic Yeshiva is Dedicated in East Jerusalem JTA, 9 May 1969, viewed 16 October 2026.
  21. ↑ 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-24 charities, all retrieved on 16 October 2026 and checked for a "Regulatory alerts" notice; only Dalaid (1064655) showed one.
  22. ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025.
  23. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 1 September 2025.
  24. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 4 December 2025.
  25. ↑ 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).
  26. ↑ 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").
  27. ↑ Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Charity Register download OSCR, export dated 14 October 2026; keyword search of the 25 batch-24 charity names found no matching Scottish registration.
  28. ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 16 October 2026 (keyword searches for each of the 25 batch-24 charity names returned zero results).
  29. ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'Porat Yosef' The Gazette, searched 16 October 2026.
  30. ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-273095 360Giving, queried 16 October 2026.
  31. ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv). Batch-24 screening covered 264 name strings: the 25 charity names and their other names, current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, trustees, officers and other people 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 (such as "Trust", "Foundation", "Company Limited" in the names of corporate formation agents) and surname-only matches, which were rejected; no person matched. Screened 16 October 2026.
  32. ↑ 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.
  33. ↑ HM Land Registry, UK companies that own property in England and Wales (CCOD) and Overseas companies that own property in England and Wales (OCOD) full extracts, October 2026 release, matched on the company numbers of the charitable companies in this batch and searched for distinctive charity-name keywords; no title registers were purchased.
  34. ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching the exact phrase "Porat Yosef" Hansard, queried 16 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase search).
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