27 February 2019
It has come to our attention that UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has published a grossly misleading press release claiming that the Charity Commission has issued a warning to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).
In June 2018, UKLFI and Lawfare published a “Complaint and Request for Investigation” addressed to the Charity Commission, in which they made serious allegations about MAP.
MAP engaged proactively with the Charity Commission and provided a response to the allegations in September 2018. Having considered our response, the Commission wrote to MAP in November 2018 to confirm that it “does not consider that any further regulatory action or engagement is required at this time”. The only action the Commission had thus far taken was to review the complaint, and MAP’s response.
The Commission’s letter referred MAP to some of the Commission’s published guidance. Correspondence from the Commission routinely draws attention to its guidance and the Commission made it clear that it did not have any regulatory concerns in relation to the matters covered by the guidance. MAP is of course already familiar with this guidance and adheres to it.
MAP has not been “warned” by the Commission and we are concerned that UKLFI considers it appropriate to suggest otherwise. The uncomfortable truth for UKLFI and Lawfare – which they appear unwilling to acknowledge – is that the Charity Commission was satisfied that none of their allegations against MAP warranted further investigation.
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