"War On Want Warned by UK Charity Commission"
Summary: The UK Charity Commission has warned War on Want about the impact of its extremist political campaigning on its status as a charity. War on Want has been very active in anti-Israel political activities, as shown in NGO Monitor’s recent analysis. This NGO was formerly headed by British MP George Galloway, and routinely uses rhetoric such as "apartheid", "slavery", and "a heavyweight beating a child" in its assault against Israel, while accusing Israeli leaders of attempting to simulate "the aftermath of a natural disaster for Palestinians". (See "War on Want" Escalates Political Assault on Israel.) War on Want has also launched a public relations campaign demanding the suspension of the Israel-EU trade agreement, alleging human rights violations, while making little mention of Palestinian terrorism.
According to Bernard Joseph’s August 5 2005 report in the Jewish Chronicle (UK), the commission told War on Want’s trustees that they must demonstrate "a reasonable expectation" that its political activities would further its "charitable purposes", and "consider and manage any reputational or other risks" posed by such activities. The Jewish Chronicle also reports that the legal firm Hickman and Rose, which represents this NGO, "has written to Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on the charity’s behalf. They are calling for the release of documents showing any action taken to enforce Israel’s human rights obligations under the association treaty."
