A new report has claimed that UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) and the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) have posed threats to democratic debate in Britain.
Advocacy organisation CAGE International accused UKLFI and CAA of having “instrumentalised regulatory authorities in Britain to attack and harass those who criticise Zionism and Israel’s racist policies”.
It alleged that the two UK-registered charities have worked to defend “Israel’s apartheid nature”.
The report, titled Britain’s Apartheid Apologists, claimed that UKLFI is responsible for overturning or nullifying the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions policy passed on multiple university campuses by “sending threatening letters to student union trustee boards and/or university management alleging that the policy passed is either ultra vires/unlawful”.
It also claimed that CAA has “regularly taken up complaining to public and private bodies with claims of antisemitism – complaints which quite frequently amount to a criticism of Israel.
“The conflation of antisemitism with criticism of Zionism has not only produced a chilling effect on freedom of speech, but in many cases has had devastating consequences on the lives of those who have been impacted by such spurious complaints.”
The report continued: “Evidence presented in the report raises concern about the compliance of the UKLFI and CAA with UK charity law, which prohibits incitement to hatred on the grounds of race or religion and the promotion of views that denigrate those of a particular faith or race.
“Support for the racial domination enacted by an apartheid state is a clear breach of their legal and charitable duties.”
It concluded: “The report demonstrates how the organisations have weaponised regulatory frameworks and vexatious lawfare to stifle free speech, chill public debate and intimidate Palestinian solidarity activists.”
CAGE International: ‘Free expression under sustained attack’
Asim Qureshi, CAGE International’s research director, said: “Britain faces a democratic emergency, with free expression under sustained attack from a network of bad-faith actors who collaborate with willing and racist government institutions to suppress popular opposition to Zionism and support for the Palestinian people.
“What begins with the silencing of Palestine advocacy today, could be turned against any contentious issue in the future.”
UKLFI: ‘CAGE’s report conclusions are incorrect and inaccurate’
“CAGE’s report on UKLFI is wide-ranging, but its conclusions, as well as the title of the report, are incorrect and inaccurate.
“UKLFI has responded to hundreds of worried and frightened informants in many fields including education, local government, medical, legal, the arts, travel, sport and retail.
“We take action to solve the issues that they raise such as antisemitism, discrimination and harassment, and we also try to counter the false information that is frequently disseminated about Israel.
“We believe in freedom of speech if it is lawful and avoids antisemitism. Unfortunately, there have been many examples of professionals who have potentially committed criminal offences by expressing their support for designated terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, and who have also expressed antisemitic views on social media.
“Our organisation seeks to uphold the law, and to ensure that professional individuals abide by their regulatory duties.
“If we have evidence that professionals are committing serious terrorist offences, we will report them to the police.
“If they are exhibiting antisemitic behaviour, or harassing Jewish colleagues or members of the public in breach of their regulatory guidelines, then we report them to their regulators.”
‘The commission is a fair, balanced regulator’
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said: “The commission is, and always has been, a fair, balanced and independent regulator.
“We assess all concerns raised with us against our published risk and regulatory framework to help us determine what, if any, regulatory action is required.
“We urge anyone with specific concerns about a charity to contact us.”
Civil Society has asked CAA to comment.
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