Key facts
- Two UK charities, British Friends of Yehuda Yaale and Achisomoch Aid Company, have donated over $1.3 million to Ohr Somayach.
- A third UK charity, UK Toremet, has facilitated donations to Ohr Somayach.
- Ohr Somayach, an ultra-Orthodox religious education institution, has received approval to expand into Sheikh Jarrah.
- The approved expansion plan includes an 11-story building with classrooms and dormitories.
- The land for the expansion is in East Jerusalem, considered occupied territory under international law.
- Achisomoch Aid Company is established to advance religion in accordance with the Orthodox Jewish Faith.
A Middle East Eye investigation has uncovered financial ties between three UK-registered charities and Ohr Somayach, an ultra-Orthodox religious education institution with plans to expand into Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
Two British charities, Achisomoch Aid Company and British Friends of Yehuda Yaale, have collectively donated over $1.3 million to Ohr Somayach since 2013. Achisomoch Aid Company, based in London, has contributed 2.13 million Israeli shekels ($704,000), while British Friends of Yehuda Yaale has donated 1.8 million Israeli shekels ($597,000). A third UK charity, UK Toremet, has acted as a facilitator for these donations.
Ohr Somayach, founded in 1972, operates a campus in Maalot Dafna, an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem on land considered occupied territory under international law. The institution received approval on April 20, 2026, from the Jerusalem District Planning Committee for a new 11-story building in Sheikh Jarrah. This building, planned for a site currently used as a car park, will include classrooms, dormitories for hundreds of students and teachers, and an underground basketball court. The expansion plan faced over 12 years of delays and opposition from local residents.