British charities promoting Israeli army training programs, visits to illegal settlement
The Cradle | July 10, 2026
UK-registered charities are promoting programs that allow participants to visit illegal Jewish settlements in occupied Palestine, train with the Israeli army, stay in settlements, and take part in Zionist education initiatives linked to migration to Israel, according to an investigation by Middle East Eye (MEE) published on 10 July.
The United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA) promotes Israeli gap-year programs run by organizations such as Aardvark and Bina, which include visits to occupied Palestinian territory, including Hebron, the Golan Heights, and locations throughout the occupied West Bank.
UJIA-promoted programs also connect participants with the Israeli army through the Marva course, an army-run program that allows participants to live on a military base for six to eight weeks, undergoing basic training and meeting soldiers.
The investigation examined Bnei Akiva, a religious Zionist youth movement supported by UK charities. It runs activities and gap-year programs in Israel to foster commitment to the Jewish people, Land of Israel, and Torah.
Bnei Akiva’s Mechina Olamit program houses participants in Migdal Oz, an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank, and also provides preparation for military service, including physical training and military activities.
Bnei Akiva promotes migration to Israel through “Zionist education” and Aliyah initiatives, with Aliyah referring to Jewish migration to Israel.
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) told MEE that the activities raise legal concerns, adding that sending participants to settlements or treating them as part of Israel’s territory violates international law, while describing the Marva program as resembling “pre-enlistment military training rather than cultural exchange.”
In a separate investigation, a UK charity named Friends of Yeshivat Shavei Hevron was revealed to have directly funded the expansion of a religious school in an illegal settlement within the Palestinian city of Hebron, with the charity sending over $260,000 to the school between 2029 and 2024.
These cases reflect broader concerns raised by UK government officials and MPs, who have identified dozens of British-registered charities funneling millions of pounds into illegal settlements.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Featured Video
RT producer speaks out after UK detention
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
Not Fact Checkers
By Iain | In This Together | February 28, 2020
Fact Checkers claim they check facts for you, so you don’t have to. The dictionary definition of a fact is:
“Something that is known to have happened or to exist, especially something for which proof exists, or about which there is information”
The legal definition of a fact is:
“An actual and absolute reality, as distinguished from mere supposition or opinion; a truth, as distinguished from fiction or error.”
Like reality and truth, a fact is absolute. It never changes, it is immutable and eternal. Our understanding of the facts may differ because we only have the available evidence to inform our knowledge of the facts. The availability of evidence is vital if we are to have any hope of knowing the facts. Our access to evidence doesn’t change the facts, it merely limits or expands our knowledge of them.
The definition of knowledge is:
“[Noun]… awareness, understanding, or information that has been obtained by experience or study, and that is either in a person’s mind or possessed by people generally.”
Access to information is the key component for developing knowledge of the facts. Knowledge doesn’t mean we always get the facts right, but we have no chance if information is limited or deliberately restricted. … continue
Blog Roll
Aletho News- Trump’s post-genocide Gaza plan collapses as international ‘peacekeeping’ force shrinks to a handful of troops
- Volkswagen’s planned defence deal with Israel blocked by Qatari investors
- Türkiye sells S-400 systems to undisclosed Gulf state
- US/Israeli equipment failing against new hypersonic tactic
- The U.S. controls who can participate in UN activities
- Denmark wants NATO to protect it from US
- NATO summit was ‘humiliating’ for Zelensky – Moscow
- RT producer speaks out after UK detention
- Ukraine’s ‘Patriot’ license just money laundering scheme dressed up as ‘good deal’ – former senior DoD analyst
- OSCE head promises to help oust Armenian chief bishop
- If Americans Knew
- Israel Continues to Shoot Children in the Head During the Gaza Ceasefire
- Israel announces theft of Palestinian land in West Bank to expand road for settlers
- What would you do to help end a genocide?
- Israel’s “ceasefire” in Gaza includes shooting children in the head – Daily Update
- Bombshell Graham Platner Report Has Big Problems
- These Palestinian families in the West Bank have barricaded themselves inside their homes to survive Israeli settler attacks
- How Israel and American Zionists are canceling First Amendment
- Israel is murdering Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. The U.S. media is covering up the crime: 2 Articles
- Inside the growing religious revolt against Christian Zionism
- Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens on the debate stage
- No Tricks Zone
- Fatal Snobbery: In France, It’s Better To Die From A Heatwave Than To Do As Americans
- New Study: NASA’s Models Wildly Underestimate The Capacity Of Clouds To Alter Solar Radiation
- Polar Freezeover: Western Arctic Early July Sea Ice Exceeds 1980s Average
- Doing The Opposite: Studies Show Gigantic Wind Farms Significantly Warm The Night
- 120 Years Of Shortwave And Longwave Flux Analysis Show Ocean Heat Changes Are Unrelated To CO2
- +25°C …It’s The Exploding Global Urbanisation, Stupid! Why Heat Waves Are Setting Records
- Heat And Drought In Germany Are Nothing New, Archive Media Show
- Lousy Station Siting: Swirling Controversy Surrorunds Germany’s Latest “New Alltime Record High” Temperature
- 2025 Study: Cloud Effects Reduce Downwelling Longwave Radiation, Overriding The CO2 Impact
- 3 New Studies Find Increasing Trends In Solar Radiation Since The 1980s – Easily Explaining Warming
Aletho News 