UK Gift Aid Used to Support Therapy for Israeli Soldiers, Investigation Finds

British taxpayers may have indirectly subsidised psychological treatment for Israeli soldiers and veterans through donations processed by UK charity UK Toremet, according to an investigation by Declassified UK.

The investigation found that the Yahalom Foundation, which supports current and former members of the Israeli military’s elite Yahalom engineering unit, directed British donors to make contributions through UK Toremet. Eligible donations can receive Gift Aid, allowing charities to reclaim 25% from HM Revenue and Customs.

Projects promoted to British donors included a £5,000 “therapeutic healing journey” for soldiers returning from Gaza and individual psychological treatment. The foundation was also seeking £100,000 for a memorial hall for Israeli soldiers killed in service.

UK Toremet confirmed that it had awarded funding to the Yahalom Foundation for PTSD treatment and said monitoring showed the grant was used exclusively for that purpose. It argued that mental-health treatment qualified as charitable welfare and medical relief under English law, while disputing the foundation’s description of it as a UK “partner platform.”

The Charity Commission has previously stated that British charities cannot lawfully raise funds to support soldiers serving in a foreign military. The regulator is also conducting a statutory inquiry into eight charities over concerns involving activities in Israeli settlements, although it stressed that opening the inquiry does not itself establish wrongdoing.