For half a century, the so-called “British Friends of the Israeli War Disabled (BFIWD)” brought disabled Israeli army veterans to stay with host families in Britain.

Following 7 October 2023, its trustees suspended the visits, citing “the surge of anti-Israel hatred and antisemitism in the UK”.

In 2026, the charity was absorbed into Beit Halochem UK. BFIWD has made no public statement about its closure. Beit Halochem UK's accounts, filed in October 2026, state that the merger will enable it to continue and expand the visits.

On 27 July 2026, the Charity Commission removed a small north London charity from its register, recording its status in a two-word entry: “Removed (Amalgamated)”. The same entry notes: “Funds transferred to 1146950 BEIT HALOCHEM UK”.

BFIWD, charity number 269269, had been registered since 30 April 1975. Its trustees state that it was founded in 1974. It has now ceased to exist as an independent charity, with its funds transferred to a larger organisation serving the same Israeli beneficiaries.

What BFIWD was

BFIWD was an unincorporated trust governed by a Declaration of Trust dated 21 March 1975. Its registered objects were to apply its income “for the benefit of members or ex-members of the armed forces” of the Israeli regime “from disability (whether mental of physical), occasioned in the course of their duties by armed forces hostile” to the Israeli regime.

The quotation reproduces the wording on the register, including its typographical errors.

The trustees' reports describe the charity's objects somewhat differently, as extending to such members or ex-members “together with survivors of acts of terror”. The registered objects, however, make no reference to survivors of acts of terror.

The charity's principal activity was providing hospitality. Its 2023 report states: “The primary intention of the Trustees continues to be bringing groups of disabled veteran soldiers to the UK to stay with caring families each year. The Charity has welcomed around 5,000 men and women for therapeutic and mental healing. Groups are hosted by Sub-Committees of the Executive in England who raise funds on behalf of the Trustees towards paying for the groups.”

The same report says that the charity “operates in co-operation with Zahal Disabled Veterans Organisation in Israel, to raise funds to aid and support this organisation”.

Zahal is the Hebrew acronym for the Israeli military, while the Zahal Disabled Veterans Organisation (ZDVO) represents disabled veterans of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The trustees also report that, since its founding in 1974, the charity “has distributed over £3million”.

Community newspapers recorded the visits:

• In June 2010, the Jewish Chronicle reported that BFIWD's Manchester branch had brought 17 veterans to Britain for two weeks, for £20,000. The trip included a tour of Parliament.
• Earlier, the Jewish Chronicle reported on 1 August 2008 that nine war veterans, their carers and two doctors, hosted by BFIWD's Kenton group, had visited the Changing of the Guard, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament and Blenheim Palace. The MP Louise Ellman showed the party around the Commons.
• As recently as September 2023, trustee Simon Albert raised £4,805.28 (plus £975.50 Gift Aid) on JustGiving by walking the London Royal Parks Challenge. The page said: "In November, we are bringing ten injured and disabled IDF veterans over from Israel for a week…"

One of the charity's founders, Gerald Levy, died in April 2024. The trustees' 2023 report pays tribute to him, stating:

“Gerald was one of the founders of the Charity in 1974 and, thanks to his foresight, we have been able to support thousands of disabled veterans and survivors of acts of terror and we have raised millions of pounds.”

The same report records the death in June 2024 of Murray Freedman, a long-standing member of the executive committee. Levy had previously resigned as a trustee on 9 August 2018.

The trustees

At its last filed accounts (year to 31 December 2024), BFIWD's trustees were Frank Weinberg, David P Hantman and Simon R Albert.

• Frank Weinberg was already a trustee in 2014.
• David Hantman was appointed on 19 June 2017.
• Simon R Albert was appointed on 14 December 2022.

Day-to-day management lay with an executive committee made up of the trustees and Jayne Hantman, Susan Freedman, Dov Hamburger, Debbi Nizri, Nici Pyzer and Annette Weinberg. Its accounts give its principal office as Chancellors House, Brampton Lane, Hendon.

The questions raised below concern the charity's decisions and what has been made public about them.

The money

BFIWD lived on legacies, with smaller sums raised by its local sub-committees. Its accounts show (£, years to 31 December):

The figures come from the accounts for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 (which gives the 2018 comparatives), 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

The 2018 accounts themselves have not been obtained.

Over the nine years 2016–2024, the charity made grants of £1,439,351, overwhelmingly to ZDVO. It also spent £508,252 on bringing groups of disabled veterans to Britain (project funding ledger, compiled from the accounts above).

Several points stand out:

• Income swung with legacies. In 2021, legacies were £476,747 of £503,740. That year BFIWD gave £400,000 to ZDVO and £10,000 to an organisation called Tikvot.
• COVID stopped the visits. In 2020, income fell to £35,771, and there were no group costs.
• The visits resumed in 2023 (group costs £72,921) and were then halted.
• Income rose after 7 October 2023. It went from £133,469 in 2023 to £255,148 in 2024, of which £188,290 came from legacies. Donations from individuals were roughly steady: £35,563 in 2023 and £33,136 in 2024.
• Net assets at 31 December 2024 were £260,247, all unrestricted. Of this, £22,760 was designated "to fund a post-traumatic stress disorder retreat, which is scheduled to take place in February 2026" (note 9).
• The trustees' reserves policy was to "maintain reserves of at least £150,000 to fund group hospitality projects", with any surplus available to "be sent to ZDVO in Israel".

Nothing in the figures suggests a charity in financial crisis when its last accounts were signed.

What the reports say about 7 October

BFIWD's report for 2023 (approved 11 September 2024) contains this passage under "Fundraising activities" (printed p.3):

"Following COVID, the sub-committees resumed bringing groups to the UK as part of a respite and rehabilitation programme during 2023. However, following the barbaric terrorist atrocities in Israel on 7 October 2023, the impact this had on the lives of Israel's war disabled veterans and the surge of anti - Israel hatred and anti-semitism in the UK, the group hospitality programme has, sadly, been put on hold."

The report for 2024 (approved 24 October 2025) repeats the explanation and adds (printed p.3):

"However, we are pleased to report that activities did resume in 2025."

These are the only passages in BFIWD's filed documents that explain a change in its activities after October 2023.  They explain why the hospitality visits were paused. They do not refer to closing the charity, to a merger, or to Beit Halochem UK.

Both reports say the trustees see "no material uncertainties" about the charity continuing as a going concern (also BFIWD trustees' report and accounts, year to 31 Dec 2024 (approved 24 Oct 2025), p.3 and note 9).

The merger

Five months after the 2024 accounts were approved, BFIWD's property was transferred. The Charity Commission's register of merged charities for 2026 records:

• Transferor: The British Friends of the Israeli War Disabled Trust (269269)
• Transferee: Beit Halochem UK (1146950)
• Date vesting declaration made: "N/A"
• Date property transferred: 31/03/2026
• Date merger registered: 27/07/2026

Beit Halochem UK's register entry records "27 July 2026: Funds received from 269269".

A pre-merger vesting declaration is the legal mechanism by which a charity's property can be transferred to another charity on a merger. The Charity Commission's guidance states:

“It is a legal requirement to register the merger if you use a pre-merger vesting declaration”; “Otherwise, registration is voluntary”; and “It is the responsibility of the receiving charity to register the merger”.

Registration is important for future gifts. The guidance explains that “Registering mergers is about helping charities secure future gifts (such as bequests) after closing as a result of merging”.

Under section 311 of the Charities Act 2011, a gift intended for a charity that has closed takes effect as a gift to the receiving charity if it would otherwise have taken effect “on or after the date of the registration of the merger”.

In this case, the merger was registered almost four months after the transfer of the charity's property. Given that BFIWD derived most of its income from legacies, it is reasonable to ask how gifts taking effect during this intervening period were handled.

There is also the question of charitable purposes. BFIWD's registered objects are confined to disabled serving or former members of the Israeli occupation army. Beit Halochem UK's objects are broader: they provide for the relief of suffering experienced by individuals in Israel “by reason of terrorist attacks and war”, through its Beit Halochem rehabilitation centres.

Donations to BFIWD were made for its more narrowly defined charitable purposes. Whether the transferred funds are being retained and used within those purposes has not been disclosed.

Beit Halochem UK says the merger will enable it to fund respite visits for “Beit Halochem members”. Its accounts indicate that this membership includes victims of terrorism and family members, as well as injured Israeli military veterans.

However, the charity does not explain whether BFIWD's transferred funds will be ring-fenced for the benefit of disabled serving or former members of the Israeli armed forces, as required by BFIWD's original objects.

The amount transferred has not been made public. Beit Halochem UK's accounts for the year ending February 2026 do not disclose the sum.

What has been said

We have found no document that gives a reason for the merger:

• BFIWD's last accounts do not mention one.
• The merger register records dates, not reasons.
• Beit Halochem UK's accounts for the year to 28 February 2026, signed in October 2026, describe the merger only as 'plans' that are 'subject to the completion of the necessary legal and regulatory processes'.
• That is six months after BFIWD's property was transferred and more than two months after the merger was registered.
• They contain no note of the transfer as an event after the year end. The amount will appear only in the accounts for the year to February 2027.

We found no statement on either charity's website. BFIWD's own website, bfiwd.org, was redirecting in July 2025 and was captured live again in March 2026, according to the Internet Archive, which showed the website appeared to be in the process of a new setup.

Nor has the merger been reported. We searched the Jewish Chronicle, Jewish News, Third Sector, Civil Society, Middle East Eye, Declassified UK and local papers, and found no report of BFIWD's closure or amalgamation as of 21 October 2026.

As of 21 October 2026, ZDVO's international partners page reads: "ZDVO Delegations in the UK: BFIWD – British Friends of Israel War Disabled Site: www.bfiwd.org" (ZDVO, International partners). Beit Halochem UK is not listed there.

Was this about the genocide in Gaza?

The obvious question is whether BFIWD's demise had anything to do with the genocide in Gaza and the public revulsion it provoked in Britain.

The charity's principal activity was bringing Israeli military veterans into British homes and communities, making it particularly exposed to shifts in public opinion.

There is some documentary evidence to suggest that the changing political climate played a part. BFIWD's own trustees cited “the surge of anti-Israel hatred and antisemitism in the UK”, alongside the events of 7 October, as a reason for suspending the visits.

That was the trustees' own characterisation of public sentiment. The suspension came during a period of widespread public revulsion in Britain at the genocide in Gaza. It was at this point that the trustees decided to stop bringing Israeli military veterans to the UK.

However, the documentary record also contains evidence that points in a different direction, which readers should weigh:

• The trustees attribute only the pause in visits to that climate, not the closure (also
• Income rose in 2024.
• Activities resumed in 2025.
• As late as October 2025, the trustees were planning a February 2026 retreat and saw no threat to the charity's future.

Other factors may have contributed - the death of a founder and of a long-serving committee member in 2024; a volunteer structure built on local sub-committees; dependence on legacies; and the existence of a larger, better-funded charity serving the same organization in ‘Israel’.

On the evidence currently available, the most that can be said is this: BFIWD's trustees themselves linked the collapse of its core activity to hostility towards the Israeli regime in Britain.

Within 18 months of making that statement, they transferred the charity to another organisation, without any public explanation of their own. The only explanation offered in Beit Halochem UK's accounts is that the visits will continue under its auspices.

Whether one development led to the other is a question only the trustees can answer. But BFIWD's closure is not an isolated case.

Another charity, the so-called "UK Friends of the Association for the Welfare of Israel's Soldiers," was reprimanded by the Charity Commission in July 2025. Although it remains legally entitled to continue operating, its website remains offline, many months later.

How long can British charities continue to breach charity law while supporting Israeli military forces involved in the occupation and the war in Gaza? That is a question not only for the charities themselves, but also for the Charity Commission and those responsible for enforcing the law.

A pointer: Beit Halochem UK

BFIWD's assets were transferred to Beit Halochem UK (charity number 1146950), a much larger organisation that raises funds in Britain for the Beit Halochem rehabilitation centres in the occupied territories.

Its finances, governance and grants to the Israeli regime raise significant questions in their own right. These will be examined in future articles.

Neither BFIWD nor Beit Halochem UK responded to requests for comment on this article.