UK Friends of Merkaz Hatorah V'Hatefillah Har Nof
North London CIO that sent £300,000 in 2024/25 to the Merkaz Hatorah V'Hatefilla synagogue in Har Nof, Jerusalem, running its funds down from £318,686 to £78,489
| UK Friends of Merkaz Hatorah V'Hatefillah Har Nof
| |
|---|---|
| Logo |  Har Nof, Jerusalem, at night; the charity funds a synagogue in Har Nof (2019) |
| Type | CIO |
| Founded | 2018-11-08 (registered) |
| Registration ID | Registered charity 1180609 |
| Headquarters | London N3 (office of the charity's accountants) |
| Area served | Israel |
| Key people | Ivan David (chair) |
UK Friends of Merkaz Hatorah V'Hatefillah Har Nof (working name UK Friends of Minyan Avreichim Har Nof) is a charitable incorporated organisation (foundation model) registered on 8 November 2018; its principal address, in London N3, is the office of its accountants, Melinek Fine LLP.[1][2] Its object is the advancement of the Orthodox Jewish faith, "in particular but not exclusively by financially supporting the Synagogue in Har Nof, Jerusalem known as 'Mercaz Hatorah V'Tefillah'".[1] The trustees are Rabbi Ivan David, Felix Guy Grayeff and Nathan Kahlani; the independent examiner is Aryeh Melinek FCA (PDF p.4–5).[2][3] In the year to 31 May 2025 donations were £57,219 (2024: £240,887), including £45,471 of reclaimed gift aid, after "a significant fundraising campaign in the prior year"; the trustees "used the majority of the funds available to make a grant of £300,000 to Merkaz Hatorah V'Hatefilla in Har Nof, Israel" (2024: £200,000), and funds fell from £318,686 to £78,489 (PDF p.3, 6).[2]
Objects and activities
The charity's registered objects read: "THE OBJECT OF THE CHARITY SHALL BE THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE ORTHODOX JEWISH FAITH AND IN PARTICULAR BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY BY FINANCIALLY SUPPORTING THE SYNAGOGUE IN HAR NOF, JERUSALEM KNOWN AS 'MERCAZ HATORAH V'HATEFILLAH' AS A PLACE OF WORSHIP PUBLIC PRAYER AND RELIGIOUS STUDY AND BY PROVIDING FOR THE RELIGIOUS NEEDS, SPIRITUAL EDUCATION, PASTORAL NEEDS AND WELFARE OF ITS MEMBERS AND OF OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY LIVING IN HAR NOF."[3]
The register describes its activities as: "The object of the charity shall be the advancement of the orthodox Jewish faith and in particular but notexclusively by financially supporting the Synagogue in Har Nof, Jerusalem known as 'Mercaz HatorahV'Tefillah' as a place of worship public prayer and religious study and by providing for the religious needs,spiritual education, pastoral needs and welfare of its members and of other member"[3]
Register classifications: 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]
| Trustee | Appointed | Chair | Other trusteeships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivan David | 2018-07-29 | Yes | — |
| Felix Guy Grayeff | 2018-07-29 | — | |
| Nathan Kahlani | 2019-11-15 | — |
Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)
| Capture date | Trustees listed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-01-17 | Nathan Kahlani (from 15 November 2019); Felix Guy Grayeff (from 29 July 2018); Ivan David (chair) (from 29 July 2018) | [4] |
Finances
| Financial year end | Income | Expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-11-30 | £22,215 | £11,753 |
| 2022-05-31 | £231,062 | £20,322 |
| 2023-05-31 | £25,040 | £2,400 |
| 2024-05-31 | £243,751 | £204,518 |
| 2025-05-31 | £60,938 | £301,135 |
Source: register annual-return history.[3]
Funding in Israel
- Year to 31 May 2025: "Grants made to Merkaz Hatorah, Har Nof" £300,000 (2024: £200,000) (PDF p.6).[2]
Israeli partners
Merkaz Hatorah V'Hatefilla, a synagogue in Har Nof, Jerusalem (PDF p.3).[2][1]
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.
| Finding | Confidence |
|---|---|
| The accounts and register place the recipient synagogue in Har Nof, Jerusalem.[2][1] | High |
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;[5] 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.[6][7][8][9] 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.[10]
- Dual-regulation risk. The trustees list among the charity's risks "compliance with both UK and Israeli charity regulations" and currency movements, and the accounts state there were no related-party transactions (PDF p.4, 9).[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).[11] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[12]
The Gazette
Searches of The Gazette for the charity's names found no notice; a search for "Merkaz Hatorah" returned only Companies House filing lists for other bodies. No insolvency, winding-up or strike-off notice naming the charity was found.[13]
Grants recorded by 360Giving
No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.[14]
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.[15]
Land and property
The register records that the charity does not own or lease land or property.[3] No title registers were purchased.[16]
Parliament
Hansard exact-phrase searches for "UK Friends of Merkaz Hatorah V'Hatefillah Har Nof", "Minyan Avreichim Har Nof", "Merkaz Hatorah" returned 0 contributions in total.[17]
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".[4]
External links
- No current official website.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Charity Commission, UK Friends of Merkaz Hatorah V'Hatefillah Har Nof (1180609): full print Register of Charities, retrieved 16 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Charity Commission, UK Friends of Merkaz Hatorah V'Hatefillah Har Nof (1180609): accounts and annual returns Register of Charities; latest accounts downloaded 16 October 2026 ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 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.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Register entry 1180609, full print (capture of 20210117) UK Government Web Archive.
- ↑ 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-21 charities, all retrieved successfully on 16 October 2026 and checked for a "Regulatory alerts" section; none was shown for any of them. Twenty registered charities showed "Charity reporting is up to date (on time)" and the J S and N Hodari Charitable Trust "Charity reporting is up to date (33 days late)"; the other four (Friends of the Israel Aged, Eizer Le'Zedoko, Truevine Christians International and the Olive Tree Reconciliation Fund) showed "Removed charity".
- ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 1 September 2025.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 4 December 2025.
- ↑ 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).
- ↑ 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").
- ↑ Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Charity Register download OSCR, export dated 14 October 2026; keyword search of the 25 batch-21 charity names found no matching Scottish registration.
- ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 16 October 2026 (keyword searches for each of the 25 batch-21 charity names returned zero results).
- ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'Merkaz Hatorah' The Gazette, searched 16 October 2026.
- ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-1180609 360Giving, queried 16 October 2026.
- ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv). Batch-21 screening covered 246 name strings: the 25 charity names, current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, Companies House officers of the five charitable companies, and trustees, examiners and other people 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 Levy, Cohen, Phillips, Smith) or generic words in organisation names (Limited, Trust, International).
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching the exact phrase "Merkaz Hatorah" Hansard, queried 16 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase search).