British Friends of Gesher

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London trust funding the Jerusalem-based Israeli educational organisation Gesher, whose own website describes dialogue workshops for the IDF and security forces; it granted £31,000 in 2024/25

British Friends of Gesher

Type Other
Founded 1985-06-14 (registered)
Registration ID Registered charity 291846
Headquarters Care of HMSA Limited, Olympia House, Armitage Road, London NW11 (register); the accounts give c/o HMSA, London W1U
Area served Throughout England And Wales, Israel
Website www.gesheruk.org


British Friends of Gesher is a charitable trust constituted by a declaration of trust of 29 November 1984 and registered on 14 June 1985; the register gives its address care of HMSA Limited in London NW11, and the accounts care of HMSA in London W1U.[1][2][3] Its areas of operation are England and Wales and Israel.[1] One of its objects is "to provide financial assistance to Gesher, a well-known educational organisation in Israel that provides programmes to promote knowledge of, and appreciation of, the Jewish heritage and traditional Jewish values and development of the feeling of a common bond to bridge the gap between the different strata of Israeli society"; it raises funds "to support Gesher in Israel, including the Israeli Dialogue project".[2] The register lists the trustees as Geoffrey Hugh Melamet (from 15 January 2015; also a trustee of the Yad Vashem UK Foundation), Boris Ben-Ari (from 30 June 2015) and Ian Gary Carno (from 15 January 2025; also a trustee of Friends of Netiv Tefahot).[1] The accounts list G H Melamet, B B L Ben-Ari and Rabbi B Levene and do not mention Carno.[2] In the year to 5 April 2025 income was £32,804 (2024: £52,263) and grants to Gesher £31,000 (2024: £50,000); funds were £12,187.[2] The examiner is Simon Stern ACA.[2]

Objects and activities

The charity's registered objects read: "THE FUTHERANCE OF THE EDUCATION OF THE JEWISH PUBLIC IN ISRAEL IN PARTICULAR AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD IN GENERAL BY PROMOTING THE KNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATION OF THE JEWISH HERITAGE AND TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS AND MORAL VALUES IN SUCH MANNER AS THE TRUSTEES IN THEY ABSOLUTE DISCRETION MAY FROM TIME TO TIME DETERMINE."[1]

The register describes its activities as: "GESHER'S MAIN ACTIVITY IS DESIGNING & FUNDING PROJECTS THAT BUILD LINKS, REMOVE BARRIERS & ENCOURAGE UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN JEWS OF DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS & STRENGTHEN THEIR SHARED IDENTITY.PROGRAMMES REACH A WIDE RANGE OF AGE GROUPS VIA EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS, MEDIA INITIATIVES, LEADERSHIP COURSES & MEDIATION TO ENABLE A STRONGER, MORE PROSPEROUS & UNITED JEWISH PEOPLE IN ISRAEL & AROUND THE WORLD."[1]

Register classifications: Education/training, Religious Activities.[1]

Areas of operation recorded on the register: Throughout England And Wales, Israel.[1]

Trustees

Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:[1]

Trustees of British Friends of Gesher (register, October 2026)
Trustee Appointed Chair Other trusteeships
Geoffrey Hugh Melamet 2015-01-15 Yad Vashem UK Foundation (1099659)
Boris Ben-Ari 2015-06-30 —
Ian Gary Carno 2025-01-15 Friends of Netiv Tefahot (1203219)

Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)

Trustees shown in archived register pages
Capture date Trustees listed Source
2018-01-04 Geoffrey Hugh Melamet; Levene; Boris Ben-Ari [4]
2021-01-15 Boris Ben-Ari (from 30 June 2015); Geoffrey Hugh Melamet (from 15 January 2015) – also trustee of Yad Vashem UK Foundation; Levene [5]

The archived full print of January 2021 lists "RABBI LEVENE" as a trustee alongside Boris Ben-Ari and Geoffrey Hugh Melamet.[6]

Finances

Income and expenditure, five most recent reported years
Financial year end Income Expenditure
2021-04-05 £84,405 £88,589
2022-04-05 £59,878 £53,860
2023-04-05 £26,989 £35,469
2024-04-05 £52,263 £50,464
2025-04-05 £32,804 £31,845

Source: register annual-return history.[1]

Archived accounts

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

  • Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2015[7]
  • Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2016[8]
  • Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2017[9]
  • Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2018[10]
  • Accounts for the year ended 05/04/2019[11]

Funding in Israel

  • Year to 5 April 2025: grants of £31,000 (2024: £50,000) to "Gesher, an educational organisation in Israel".[2]

Israeli partners

Gesher (Israeli non-profit association 580054062), whose website gives its address as Herzog 75, Jerusalem.[12] The Jewish Telegraphic Agency described it in 2012 as "a Jerusalem-based organization" founded by Rabbi Daniel Tropper.[13] It is a different body from the UK charity Gesher (1142268).

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.

Evidence of activity beyond the 1949 armistice line
Finding Confidence
Gesher's website gives a Jerusalem address (Herzog 75); the accounts do not say where funded programmes take place.[12][2] Medium (grantee's Jerusalem headquarters; programme locations not stated)
JTA reported in 2012 that Gesher's inaugural retreat in 1970 was held "at Kibbutz Kfar Etzion, south of Jerusalem in the West Bank"; this concerns 1970, not the charity's recent grants.[13] High (historical, 1970 only)

Support for the IDF: The charity's grants go to Gesher in Israel.[2] Gesher's own website has a section headed "לכוחות הבטחון" ("for the security forces") which says (in Hebrew) that it strengthens "cohesion and meaning in the IDF and the security establishment through tailored dialogue workshops"; it also refers to study days for the security forces and to new facilitators working "in the security forces, among reservists". The accounts do not say whether any British Friends money funds this work.[12][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;[14] 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.[15][16][17][18] 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.[19]
  • Trustee lists differ. The register lists Ian Gary Carno as a trustee from 15 January 2025; the 2024/25 accounts list Rabbi B Levene instead.[1][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).[20] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[21]

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.[22]

Grants recorded by 360Giving

No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.[23]

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.[24]

Land and property

The register records that the charity does not own or lease land or property.[1] No title registers were purchased; the HM Land Registry interactive search blocked automated access.[25]

Parliament

Hansard exact-phrase searches for "British Friends of Gesher", "Gesher" returned 3 contributions in total; those not listed above were not established to concern this charity.[26]

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".[5]

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 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.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Charity Commission, British Friends of Gesher (291846): accounts and annual returns Register of Charities; latest accounts downloaded 16 October 2026 ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
  3. ↑ Charity Commission, British Friends of Gesher (291846): full print Register of Charities, retrieved 16 October 2026.
  4. ↑ Register entry 291846, contact and trustees (capture of 20180104) UK Government Web Archive.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Register entry 291846, full print (capture of 20210115) UK Government Web Archive.
  6. ↑ Charity Commission, British Friends of Gesher (291846): full print UK Government Web Archive, capture of 15/01/2021.
  7. ↑ British Friends of Gesher accounts, year ended 2015-04-05 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200104).
  8. ↑ British Friends of Gesher accounts, year ended 2016-04-05 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200104).
  9. ↑ British Friends of Gesher accounts, year ended 2017-04-05 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200104).
  10. ↑ British Friends of Gesher accounts, year ended 2018-04-05 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200104).
  11. ↑ British Friends of Gesher accounts, year ended 2019-04-05 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200104).
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Gesher, גשר - מפעלים חינוכיים (home page, in Hebrew) gesher.co.il, viewed 16 October 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Hillel Kuttler, Seeking Kin: A reunion bridging the religious-secular divide Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 31 May 2012, viewed 16 October 2026.
  14. ↑ 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-25 charities, all retrieved on 16 October 2026 and checked for a "Regulatory alerts" notice; none showed one.
  15. ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025.
  16. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 1 September 2025.
  17. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 4 December 2025.
  18. ↑ 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).
  19. ↑ 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").
  20. ↑ Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Charity Register download OSCR, export dated 14 October 2026; keyword search of the 25 batch-25 charity names found no matching Scottish registration.
  21. ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 16 October 2026 (keyword searches for each of the 25 batch-25 charity names returned zero results).
  22. ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'British Friends of Gesher' The Gazette, searched 16 October 2026.
  23. ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-291846 360Giving, queried 16 October 2026.
  24. ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv). Batch-25 screening covered 459 name strings: the 25 charity names and their other names, current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, trustees, officers, examiners and other people and organisations named in the accounts and websites read for this batch, every person and organisation linked in the profiles, and the Companies House officers of the charitable companies and of the related companies Renco Properties, Conlatuse and Landmead; the only hits were generic words (the word "QA" in the names of corporate formation agents) and surname-only matches, which were rejected; no person matched. Screened 16 October 2026.
  25. ↑ HM Land Registry, 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 CCOD / OCOD datasets (October 2026 release), not from paid title registers.
  26. ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching the exact phrase "British Friends of Gesher" Hansard, queried 16 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase search).
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