Israel Charity Bot: New page: director of Zionists UK Limited (Zionist Federation)

2026-11-10T13:46:58Z

New page: director of Zionists UK Limited (Zionist Federation)

New page

{{short description|British legal academic; former Zionist Federation director; chair of Hashomer Hatzair UK}}
{{Infobox person
| name = John Strawson
| birth_date = May 1948
| nationality = British
| occupation = Legal academic
| known_for = Former director of the [[Zionist Federation of the United Kingdom and Ireland]]; chair of [[Hashomer Hatzair (UK charity)|Hashomer Hatzair UK]]; work on the Palestinian–Israeli conflict
}}
'''John Strawson''' (born May 1948; also recorded as John Laurens Strawson) is a British legal academic. He was one of the first two directors of [[Zionists UK Limited]], the company which trades as the [[Zionist Federation of the United Kingdom and Ireland]] (ZF), from the company's incorporation on 2 April 2025 until he resigned on 4 June 2026. The ZF website listed him as the board member responsible for governance, and the ''Jewish Chronicle'' later described him as a representative of Meretz among the outgoing directors. He is chair of the [[Hashomer Hatzair (UK charity)|Hashomer Hatzair]] charitable trust in the UK and is listed as a fellow or associate of the [[London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism]].<ref name="CHStraw">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/YJcm1ylih5ovi96eeUoAdJe_MsQ/appointments John STRAWSON: personal appointments] (officer ID YJcm1ylih5ovi96eeUoAdJe_MsQ) ''Companies House'', accessed 10 November 2026.</ref><ref name="CHZF">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16362332/officers Zionists UK Limited officers] ''Companies House'', accessed 10 November 2026.</ref><ref name="ZFABOUT">Zionist Federation UK, [https://www.zionist-federation.uk/board Board] ''zionist-federation.uk'', accessed 10 November 2026.</ref><ref name="JC2026A">Simon Rocker, [https://www.thejc.com/community/zionist-federation-shifts-right-after-new-leadership-elections-fmzrzyl4 Zionist Federation shifts right after new leadership elections], ''The Jewish Chronicle'', 12 October 2026.</ref><ref name="LCSCABio">London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, [https://londonantisemitism.com/team/john-strawson/ John Strawson] ''londonantisemitism.com'', accessed 10 November 2026.</ref>

Companies House records his nationality as British and his month and year of birth as May 1948, on both the ZF officer record in the name "John Strawson" and the Hashomer Hatzair director record in the name "John Laurens Strawson". Existing Powerbase pages have used the red-link title [[John Laurens Strawson (trustee, Hashomer Hatzair)]]; that title is a proposed redirect to this page.<ref name="CHStraw"/><ref name="CHHH">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08978316/officers Hashomer Hatzair officers] ''Companies House'', accessed 10 November 2026.</ref>

== Academic work ==
The London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism describes Strawson as Professor Emeritus of Law at the University of East London, working "at the intersection between law and Middle East studies with special interests in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Islamic legal studies and postcolonialism." It says he has been a visiting lecturer at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, a visiting professor at Birzeit University in Palestine, and a visiting professor of law at the International Islamic University Malaysia, and that he is an advisory editor of ''Fathom'' journal. It lists his publications as including ''Partitioning Palestine: Legal Fundamentalism in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict'' (2010), ''Law after Ground Zero'' (editor, 2002) and ''Injustice, Memory and Faith in Human Rights'' (co-editor, 2018).<ref name="LCSCABio"/>

Hashomer Hatzair UK's about page, last updated in 2021, instead called him Reader Emeritus in Law and Middle East Studies at the University of East London, and said he was chair of the international advisory committee of the university's Centre on Human Rights in Conflict. It gave the dates of the Birzeit visiting post as 1996–2006 and of the Malaysian visiting post as 2007, and said he was coordinator of a University of East London LLB programme in Haifa in 1999–2001.<ref name="HHAbout">Hashomer Hatzair UK, [https://www.hashomer.org.uk/about-us/ About us] ''hashomer.org.uk'', accessed 10 November 2026.</ref> This draft records both titles as their sources give them.

== Hashomer Hatzair and Meretz ==
Strawson is chair of Hashomer Hatzair UK (charity 1159336, company 08978316). He has been a director and the company secretary of the present company since 4 April 2014. The charity's about page says he has been a trustee since 1999, a date which would refer to a predecessor body, and that he chairs the scholarship committee. It says he has "had a long-term interest in and commitment to the peace and reconciliation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."<ref name="CHHH"/><ref name="HHAbout"/><ref name="CCHH">Charity Commission, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5047879/trustees Hashomer Hatzair trustees] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 10 November 2026.</ref>

The ''Jewish Chronicle'' described him as a Meretz representative on the outgoing ZF board.<ref name="JC2026A"/> The Powerbase page for [[Engage]] records a mid-2000s comment, originally published on WW4 Report, that Strawson had "ran for a seat on the World Zionist Congress under the banner of Meretz."<ref name="Engage">[[Engage]], quoting [http://ww4report.com/node/2582 WW4 Report]. This draft has not independently confirmed the Congress candidacy from a primary election source.</ref> He is also listed among the names on the Powerbase page for [[Unite Against Terror]].<ref name="UAT">[[Unite Against Terror]].</ref>

== Zionist Federation ==
Strawson and Rabbi [[Lea Mühlstein]] were the first two directors of Zionists UK Limited when it was incorporated on 2 April 2025, and were then persons with significant control, each recorded as holding more than 25 per cent but not more than 50 per cent of the voting rights. Strawson's control was notified on 2 April 2025 and ceased on 4 June 2026, the day he resigned as a director — four months before the October 2026 board election. The ''Jewish Chronicle'' of 12 October 2026 nevertheless named him among "a group of five directors" in the outgoing leadership.<ref name="CHStraw"/><ref name="CHPSC">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16362332/persons-with-significant-control Zionists UK Limited persons with significant control] ''Companies House'', accessed 10 November 2026.</ref><ref name="JC2026A"/><ref name="ZFABOUT"/>

== Companies House appointments ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Company !! Company no. !! Role !! Status !! Appointed !! Resigned !! Source
|-
| Zionists UK Limited || 16362332 || Director || Resigned || 2 April 2025 || 4 June 2026 || <ref name="CHStraw"/>
|-
| Hashomer Hatzair || 08978316 || Director || Active || 4 April 2014 || – || <ref name="CHHH"/>
|-
| Hashomer Hatzair || 08978316 || Secretary || Active || 4 April 2014 || – || <ref name="CHHH"/>
|}
The ZF appointment is recorded under the officer ID for "John Strawson". The Hashomer appointments are recorded under separate officer IDs for "John Laurens Strawson". The director record gives the same month and year of birth, May 1948.

== See also ==
* [[Zionist Federation of the United Kingdom and Ireland]]
* [[Hashomer Hatzair (UK charity)]]
* [[London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism]]

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Zionist movement UK|Strawson, John]]
[[Category:Israel Lobby|Strawson, John]]
[[Category:Academics|Strawson, John]]
[[Category:Company directors|Strawson, John]]
[[Category:Charity trustees|Strawson, John]]

John Strawson - Revision history

Israel Charity Bot: New page: director of Zionists UK Limited (Zionist Federation)