A charity trustee who was previously disqualified by the Charity Commission for alleged Islamophobia has successfully appealed against his disqualification, making him the first person ever to do so.
Gary Mond, a trustee of Jewish National Fund UK (JNF UK), was disqualified from acting as a charity trustee or senior manager for two and a half years in 2023.
The decision to disqualify Mond was made by the commission after several historical social media posts made by him were perceived as being Islamophobic.
However, the commission’s decision has now been overturned on appeal, marking the first time that the regulator has had a disqualification order reversed.
Mond’s previous social media activity perceived as anti-Islam
Mond had previously been a trustee of JNF UK for 12 years before the regulator began to investigate his social media posts, which dated from 2014 to 2021.
In one such post, Mond said that if a large number of Muslims were elected as Labour MPs, “the Britain that we knew will have gone forever”.
In another, Mond claimed that “civilisation” was “at war with Islam”. According to the Telegraph, he has since clarified that he meant to refer to “Islamic fundamentalism” rather than the religion of Islam.
The commission also investigated posts made by others on Facebook which Mond had “liked”, including two by Pamela Gellar, an American far-right political commentator banned from entering the UK by the Conservative government in 2013 because of her anti-Muslim views.
His social media posts first came to the commission’s attention after news outlets reported them.
Tribunal ruled disqualification ‘not proportionate or necessary’
The commission subsequently disqualified Mond on the grounds that his online activity could have brought the charities he worked with into disrepute.
It is the shortest disqualification order that the commission has issued to date, although the tribunal nonetheless ruled last Thursday that it was not proportionate or necessary, and should therefore be reversed.
Mond: ‘The case was an appalling waste of taxpayers’ money’
Mond, who spent over £60,000 on his appeal according to the Telegraph, has repeatedly denied any suggestion that he is Islamophobic.
Mond told The Telegraph: “The outcome of this case, which was an appalling waste of both taxpayers’ money and my own, says infinitely more about the Charity Commission than it does about me.
“It shows that a government body is prepared to judge the suitability of individuals to be charity trustees on the basis of their political beliefs and not merely their behaviour in their charity work.
“As a trustee I worked hard and behaved entirely properly. I did not steal money, nor did I mismanage any charity. It should not be any business of the Charity Commission what I choose to write on social media on matters totally unconnected to charities.”
Charity Commission: ‘We will learn from this judgment’
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “The outcome of this case brings more clarity to trustees’ appropriate use of social media, underlining the need for all trustees to act in the best interests of their charity including while posting in a personal capacity. We note this judgment, and will learn from it.”
Civil Society Media reached out to the Jewish National Fund UK for comment.
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