LEFT MP John McDonnell and leading lawyer Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC have urged the Charity Commission to reopen its investigation into the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).
In a letter to the commission’s chief executive Helen Stephenson, the MP said he found “it difficult to accept” it had not undertaken a “thorough and comprehensive” investigation into the group’s charitable status.
He cited the evidence presented to the body on “the political behaviour” of the CAA and referred to "serious complaints" meriting a "thorough and comprehensive investigation of the organisation’s charitable status."
Mr McDonnell added: “More recently the CAA has engaged in highly political and contentious public attacks on the government and individual government ministers.
“I was shocked at the tone of these public attacks coming from what is listed by the commission as a charity.”
The left-wing group Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) called on the commission to revoke the CAA’s charitable status four years ago.
It said the CAA was a “highly politically partisan organisation” that had made “defamatory attacks” on former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Earlier this year, the commission said it had merely carried out a “regulatory compliance exercise” and was closing the investigation.
JVL said the reasons given were a lack of public interest and that under section 36 of the Charity Act 2011, JVL is not “affected” by the registration of the CAA as a charity.
Sir Geoffrey KC said the CAA has repeatedly attacked those who criticise the conduct of the state of Israel towards the Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza and the West Bank.
“There being no evidence of anti-semitism by the UK government or others targeted by CAA, the Charity Commission should consider afresh whether the actions of CAA violate its charitable status,” Sir Geoffrey said.
He told the Morning Star: “I should have thought there was considerable public interest in an organisation which is challenging anti-semitism, which is presumably a charitable purpose, and which is in fact using its resources to conduct political campaigning on behalf of the state of Israel.
“It may not be political interference [of the commission] but it’s an attitude that reflects a view of the issue which is not a balanced and fair one.”
The CAA and the commission were contacted for comment.
