The Friends Of The Yeshivat Har Etzion Trust

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UK trust that raises funds for Yeshivat Har Etzion, a hesder yeshiva in the Alon Shvut settlement in the occupied West Bank

The Friends of the Yeshivat Har Etzion Trust

Logo Har Etzion Yeshiva Alon Shvut 2009.jpg
Yeshivat Har Etzion, Alon Shvut
Type Charitable trust
Founded 22 February 1988 (declaration of trust); 9 March 1988 (registered)
Registration ID 298814 (Charity Commission)
Status Registered
Headquarters 25 Broughton Avenue, London, N3 3ES (register, 2026)
Area served Not defined (register)
Services Grants to organisations
Registration England and Wales
Key people Rabbi Daniel Leslie Roselaar; Samuel Ebert

The Friends Of The Yeshivat Har Etzion Trust is a UK registered charity (no. 298814).[1] The charity supports the Har Etzion yeshiva which is located in the illegal settlement of Alon Shvut, within the larger Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the occupied West Bank.[2] [3]

History

The trust was set up by a declaration of trust dated 22 February 1988 and registered on 9 March 1988. Its working name is British Friends of Yeshivat Har Etzion. Its objects are "the furtherance and promotion of the Jewish religion and Jewish religious education"; its area of benefit is "not defined".[4] Classifications: Education/training; Religious activities; Children/young people; People of a particular ethnic or racial origin; Makes grants to organisations. Area of operation: Barnet.[4] The register gives a UK contact address in London N3 and an Israeli telephone number (+972 2-993-7300).[4]

The organisation became a registered charity in 1988.[1]

People

Alon Shvut, Gush Etzion, 2007 (Zahar, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Trustees (2026)

Trustees of The Friends of the Yeshivat Har Etzion Trust
Trustee Appointed Source
Rabbi Daniel Leslie Roselaar Not disclosed (chairman by 2016) [4][5]
Samuel Ebert 5 July 2019 [4]
S Gillis (former) Served in 2015/16; not on the 2026 register [5]

The 2025 accounts (PDF p.3) list the same two trustees, Rabbi D Roselaar and S Ebert, and give the registered office as 25 Broughton Avenue, Finchley, London N3 3ES.[6]

Board of Directors circa July 2015

Shimon Gillis | Rabbi Daniel Leslie Roselaar

Finances

Between 2010 and 2014 the charity spent £659,581.[7]

Income and expenditure
Financial year end Income Expenditure Of which "charity distributions" Source
31 March 2015 £91,281 £83,230 £83,000 [8]
31 March 2016 £48,346 £50,779 £50,035 [5]
31 March 2021 £132,154 £200,955 Not available [4]
31 March 2022 £111,458 £100,925 Not available [4]
31 March 2023 £133,132 £95,925 Not available [4]
31 March 2024 £53,524 £101,387 Not available [4]
31 March 2025 £80,849 £948 Not available [4]

The 2015/16 accounts name no recipient for the "charity distributions".[5] Expenditure over the five years to March 2025 totalled £500,140.[4] In the year to 31 March 2025 the trust received donations of £80,849 and made no grants; its only costs were governance costs of £948. In the previous year it made grants and donations of £100,000. The accounts do not name the recipients. Reserves, held as cash, were £169,357 at 31 March 2025 (£89,456 a year earlier) (PDF pp.3, 4, 11).[6] Latest accounts: year to 31 March 2025, received 26 January 2026.

Funding of Yeshivat Har Etzion

  • Yeshivat Har Etzion lists The Friends of the Yeshivat Har Etzion Trust as its UK donation channel, alongside The Etzion Foundation (US), Canadian Friends of Yeshivat Har Etzion and International Jewish Relief Limited (Australia).[9]
  • The J E Joseph Charitable Fund (209058) gave £2,500 directly to Yeshivat Har Etzion in each of 2017/18 and 2018/19.[10]
  • The yeshiva is in the settlement of Alon Shvut in Gush Etzion, in the occupied West Bank.[11][12]

Overseas counterparts

  • US: Etzion Foundation Inc (EIN 23-7228230).[13]
  • Canada: Canadian Friends of Yeshivat Har Etzion (BN 118832732RR0001).[14]
  • Australia: International Jewish Relief Limited, named by the yeshiva as its Australian channel; not found in the ACNC register extract.[9]

Support for the Israeli military

A hesder yeshiva combines advanced Torah study with service in the Israel Defense Forces. According to the Israeli Ministry of Defence there are 77 hesder yeshivot; in the classic 44-month track, students spend up to 12 months studying before enlistment, 17 months in active service and a final 15 months studying.[15] Yeshivat Har Etzion is on the Igud Yeshivot HaHesder's 2026 list of hesder yeshivot.[11] Declassified UK reported that the yeshiva "prides itself for being one of the largest 'hesder' schools in Israel, where it says students 'combine their army service with advanced Yeshiva ... study'".[16] (Partner finding.)

Prior scrutiny. In September 2026 Declassified UK listed the trust among six British charities that "appear to funnel donations to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank". It reported that the charity "handled donations over £500,000 between 2021 and 2025, though none of its grant recipients is named", and that it is "listed as one of four international organisations which collect donations for the school, suggesting it functions as its British funding arm".[16]

Activity beyond the Green Line

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

Evidence of activity beyond the 1949 armistice line
Finding Confidence
The trust's named beneficiary, Yeshivat Har Etzion, is in the settlement of Alon Shvut in Gush Etzion, in the occupied West Bank, and the yeshiva lists the trust as its UK donation channel.[11][9] High (partner finding)
The trust's accounts do not name the recipients of its grants (£100,000 in 2023/24; none in 2024/25).[6] Not established

Controversies and regulatory action

  • In August 2026 the Charity Commission opened a statutory class inquiry into charities working in illegal Israeli settlements. It did not name the charities.[17]

Contact

Register address (2026):[4]

25 Broughton Avenue
London
N3 3ES

Telephone (register): +972 2-993-7300

Address circa July 2015:

5 Grange Glose
Edgware
Middlesex
HA8 9PQ

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Charity Commission Website Framework. Accessed 7 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Yeshivat Har Etzion Website About Us. Accessed 7 July 2015.
  3. ↑ B'Tselem Website Settlements. Accessed 7 July 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 Charity Commission for England and Wales, Register of Charities public extract (tables charity, charity_trustee, charity_annual_return_history, charity_annual_return_parta, charity_area_of_operation, charity_classification, charity_governing_document), extract dated 14 October 2026. The live register was unavailable for maintenance on 21 October 2026, so accounts filed there could not be read.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 The Friends of the Yeshivat Har Etzion Trust (298814), unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2016, pp.1, 3, 8–9, UK Government Web Archive, accessed 21 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Friends of the Yeshivat Har Etzion Trust, Report of the trustees and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025, from accounts and annual returns Register of Charities ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
  7. ↑ Charity Commission Website Overview. Accessed 7 July 2015.
  8. ↑ The Friends of the Yeshivat Har Etzion Trust (298814), unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2015, pp.8–9, UK Government Web Archive, accessed 21 October 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Yeshivat Har Etzion, Donations Instructions Page etzion.org.il, accessed 21 October 2026.
  10. ↑ J E Joseph Charitable Fund (209058), accounts for the year ended 5 April 2019, p.5, UK Government Web Archive, accessed 21 October 2026.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Igud Yeshivot HaHesder, ישיבות 2026 (spreadsheet) hesder.org.il, August 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.
  12. ↑ United Nations Security Council, Resolution 2334 (2016), 23 December 2016 (settlements in "the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem" have "no legal validity").
  13. ↑ ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Etzion Foundation Inc (EIN 23-7228230) ProPublica, IRS data, accessed 21 October 2026.
  14. ↑ Canada Revenue Agency, 2024 List of charities (identification file) open.canada.ca, accessed 21 October 2026.
  15. ↑ Israel Ministry of Defence, מסלול ישיבות ההסדר (The hesder yeshivot track) noar.mod.gov.il, accessed 21 October 2026.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Melissa Muller, The UK charities sending nearly £2 million to illegal settlements Declassified UK, 15 September 2026, accessed 21 October 2026 (critical source).
  17. ↑ 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").
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