View source for Jewish Book Trust UK

{{short description|'''North-west London trust for the publication and distribution of Jewish religious texts that gave £67,000 in 2024/25 to unnamed recipients and ended the year with negative funds covered by a £10,000 short-term loan'''}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Jewish Book Trust UK
| type = Trust
| registration_id = Registered charity 1174482
| founded = 2017-09-04 (registered)
| headquarters = London NW4
| area_served = Throughout England And Wales, Israel, United States
| revenue = £66,188 (year to 2025-03-31)
}}

'''[[Jewish Book Trust UK|The Jewish Book Trust UK]]''' was established by a trust deed of 30 December 2016 and registered on 4 September 2017; its principal address is in London NW4 (PDF p.3).<ref name="EXTRACT">[[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.</ref><ref name="ACC">[[Charity Commission]], [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5102730/accounts-and-annual-returns Jewish Book Trust UK (1174482): accounts and annual returns] ''Register of Charities''; latest accounts downloaded 16 October 2026 ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).</ref> Its aims are education in and understanding of the Jewish religion and culture through the restoration, production, translation, publication and/or distribution of religious texts (PDF p.3).<ref name="ACC" /> The trustees are Sol Unsdorfer, Malcolm Cohen and Benjamin Kon; the independent examiner is Isaac Hajioff of [[Clearfin Accountants]] (PDF p.4–5).<ref name="ACC" /> In the year to 31 March 2025 donations were £66,164 (2024: nil) and charitable spending £67,631, of which charitable donations were £67,000; funds moved from £421 to minus £1,022, "covered by a short-term loan" of £10,000 whose lender is not named (PDF p.3, 6, 8, 10).<ref name="ACC" />

== Objects and activities ==
The charity's registered objects read: "TO ADVANCE EDUCATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE JEWISH RELIGION AND CULTURE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC IN PARTICULAR, BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY, THROUGH THE RESTORATION, PRODUCTION, TRANSLATION, PUBLICATION AND/OR DISTRIBUTION OF RELIGIOUS TEXTS AND OTHER LITERATURE WHETHER IN PRINT OR ELECTRONIC/DIGITAL FORMATS IN ORDER TO ENLIGHTEN OTHERS ABOUT THE JEWISH RELIGION AND CULTURE."<ref name="EXTRACT" />

The register describes its activities as: "The Charity aims to advance education and understanding of the Jewish religion and culture for the benefit of the public in particular, but not exclusively, through the restoration, production, translation, publication and/or distribution of religious texts and other literature whether in print or electronic/digital formats in order to enlighten others about the Jewish religion and culture."<ref name="EXTRACT" />

Register classifications: General Charitable Purposes, Education/training, Religious Activities, Human Rights/religious Or Racial Harmony/equality Or Diversity.<ref name="EXTRACT" />

Areas of operation recorded on the register: Throughout England And Wales, Israel, United States.<ref name="EXTRACT" />

== Trustees ==
Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:<ref name="EXTRACT" />

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Trustees of Jewish Book Trust UK (register, October 2026)
! Trustee !! Appointed !! Chair !! Other trusteeships
|-
| [[Sol Unsdorfer (trustee, Jewish Book Trust UK)|Sol Unsdorfer]] || 2016-12-30 ||  || [[British Friends of the Land of Israel]] (1143578); [[Tel Hai Fund Limited]] (266913)
|-
| Malcolm Cohen || 2016-12-30 ||  || [[The Classics Charitable Trust]] (276711); [[The Independent Jewish Day School Foundation]] (287148)
|-
| [[Benjamin Kon (trustee, Jewish Book Trust UK)|Benjamin Kon]] || 2023-02-13 ||  || —
|}

=== Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive) ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Trustees shown in archived register pages
! Capture date !! Trustees listed !! Source
|-
| 2021-01-16 || Malcolm Cohen (from 30 December 2016); [[Jeremy Michael Kon (trustee, Jewish Book Trust UK)|Jeremy Michael Kon]] (from 30 December 2016); [[Sol Unsdorfer (trustee, Jewish Book Trust UK)|Sol Unsdorfer]] (from 30 December 2016) – also trustee of [[British Friends of the Land of Israel]] || <ref name="udcdfd25b">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20210116162200/https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5102730/full-print Register entry 1174482, full print (capture of 20210116)] ''UK Government Web Archive''.</ref>
|}

Sol Unsdorfer is also a register trustee of [[British Friends of The Land of Israel]] (1143578) and [[Tel Hai Fund Ltd.|Tel Hai Fund Limited]] (266913); Malcolm Cohen of The Classics Charitable Trust (276711) and The Independent Jewish Day School Foundation (287148).<ref name="EXTRACT" />

== Finances ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Income and expenditure, five most recent reported years
! Financial year end !! Income !! Expenditure
|-
| 2021-03-31 || £103,010 || £38,790
|-
| 2022-03-31 || £0 || £63,602
|-
| 2023-03-31 || £64,014 || £63,687
|-
| 2024-03-31 || £3 || £600
|-
| 2025-03-31 || £66,188 || £67,631
|}
Source: register annual-return history.<ref name="EXTRACT" />

=== Archived accounts ===
Accounts no longer on the live register were found in the [[UK Government Web Archive]]:
* Accounts for the year ended 31/03/2018<ref name="u7a967a29">[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200108004458/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends82/0001174482_AC_20180331_E_C.PDF Jewish Book Trust UK accounts, year ended 2018-03-31] ''UK Government Web Archive'' (capture of 20200108).</ref>

== Funding in Israel ==
* No spending in Israel is identified; the accounts do not mention Israel (PDF p.3–10).<ref name="ACC" />

=== Israeli partners ===
No Israeli partner is named.<ref name="ACC" />

== 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.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Evidence of activity beyond the 1949 armistice line
! Finding !! Confidence
|-
| No place in Israel is named.<ref name="ACC" /> || Not established
|}

'''Support for the IDF:''' No IDF or military funding is stated.<ref name="ACC" />

== 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;<ref name="ALERTS">[[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-20 charities, all retrieved successfully on 16 October 2026 and checked for a "Regulatory alerts" section; none was shown for any of them. Seventeen registered charities showed "Charity reporting is up to date (on time)"; the other eight (Friends of Milbat, British Friends of Atid, River Progress Foundation, Morris Family Israel Trust, Afikim, the Cohen Charitable Trust, the Adrienne and Leslie Sussman Charitable Trust and Encompass) showed "Removed charity".</ref> 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.<ref name="CC_CHEQUE1">[[Charity Commission]], [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/serious-concerns-over-use-of-22-million-triggers-investigation-by-charity-regulator Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator] ''GOV.UK'', 14 May 2025.</ref><ref name="CC_CHEQUE2">[[Charity Commission]], [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regulator-opens-next-phase-of-investigation-into-105-charities-connected-to-company-cashing-cheques Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques] ''GOV.UK'', 1 September 2025.</ref><ref name="CC_CHEQUE3">[[Charity Commission]], [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regulator-announces-next-charities-to-be-investigated-as-part-of-inquiry-connected-to-company-cashing-cheques Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques] ''GOV.UK'', 4 December 2025.</ref><ref name="CC_CHEQUE4">[[Charity Commission]], [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regulator-concludes-investigation-into-4-charities-as-class-inquiry-continues Regulator concludes investigation into 4 charities as class inquiry continues] ''GOV.UK'', 9 September 2026, with [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-the-results-of-a-class-inquiry/statement-of-the-results-of-a-class-inquiry Statement of the results of a class inquiry] (same date).</ref> 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.<ref name="CC_SETTLE">[[Charity Commission]], [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/charity-regulator-opens-inquiry-into-charities-working-in-illegal-israeli-settlements 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").</ref>
* '''Unnamed recipients and lender.''' The £67,000 of donations is not attributed to any recipient and no activities are described; the £10,000 short-term loan is shown as "Other creditor" without naming the lender (PDF p.3, 8, 10).<ref name="ACC" />
* '''Inconsistent notes.''' Note 4 gives 2024 charitable donations as nil, note 5 as £600 (PDF p.8–9).<ref name="ACC" />

== Other registers and records ==
=== Scotland and Northern Ireland ===
No entry was found on the [[Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator|Scottish Charity Register]] for this charity (register export dated 14 October 2026, searched by name).<ref name="OSCR">[[Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator]], [https://www.oscr.org.uk/download/charity-register Scottish Charity Register download] ''OSCR'', export dated 14 October 2026; keyword search of the 25 batch-20 charity names found no matching Scottish registration (a name-only hit for "Sheila & Denis Cohen Charitable Trust" was not established to be connected with the Cohen Charitable Trust and is disregarded).</ref> No entry was found on the [[Charity Commission for Northern Ireland]] register (API name searches returned zero results).<ref name="CCNI">[[Charity Commission for Northern Ireland]], [https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/api/charity-search/results?searchText=Melodor&pageNumber=1 Register of charities search API] ''CCNI'', searched 16 October 2026 (keyword searches for each of the 25 batch-20 charity names returned zero results).</ref>

=== 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.<ref name="u66fdbb07">[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/notice/data.feed?text=Jewish%20Book%20Trust The Gazette: notices matching 'Jewish Book Trust'] ''The Gazette'', searched 16 October 2026.</ref>

=== Grants recorded by 360Giving ===
No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.<ref name="u2f79844f">[https://api.threesixtygiving.org/api/v1/org/GB-CHC-1174482/grants_received/?limit=100 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-1174482] ''360Giving'', queried 16 October 2026.</ref>

=== 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. [[Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor]] (UK sanctions ID RUS1127) does not appear among this charity's trustees or officers.<ref name="SANC">[[Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office]], ''UK Sanctions List'' (CSV); [[Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation]], ''Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets'' (ConList.csv). Batch-20 screening covered 272 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 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 Weiss, Sara, Masri, Cohen) or generic words in organisation names (Limited, Company, Trust).</ref>

=== Land and property ===
The register records that the charity does not own or lease land or property.<ref name="EXTRACT" /> No title registers were purchased; the [[HM Land Registry]] interactive search blocked automated access.<ref name="HLRWEB">[[HM Land Registry]], [https://search-property-information.service.gov.uk/ Search for land and property information] ''GOV.UK'' – the service returned HTTP 403 (bot protection) to automated access in October 2026; no titles were looked up or purchased. Candidate title numbers below come from the free [[Corporate and Commercial Ownership Data|CCOD]] / [[Overseas Companies Ownership Data|OCOD]] datasets (October 2026 release), not from paid title registers.</ref>

=== Parliament ===
Hansard exact-phrase searches for "Jewish Book Trust UK", "Jewish Book Trust" returned 0 contributions in total.<ref name="HANS">UK Parliament, [https://hansard-api.parliament.uk/search/contributions/Spoken.json?queryParameters.searchTerm=%22Jewish%20Book%20Trust%22&queryParameters.take=100&queryParameters.orderBy=SittingDateAsc Hansard search API: contributions matching the exact phrase "Jewish Book Trust"] ''Hansard'', queried 16 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase search).</ref>

== 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".<ref name="udcdfd25b" />

== External links ==
* No current official website.

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Orthodox Jewish charities]]
[[Category:Jewish charities in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Charities based in London]]
[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:Charities]]