Shivat Zion
 Shivat Zion  (Zionism)    | |
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| Shivat Zion encourages British people move to illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. |
Shivat Zion (Return to Zion) is a British non-profit that was set up in 2022 as “the only Aliyah NGO in the UK officially recognised by the Jewish Agency for Israel” to assist British Jews move to Israel.
Declassified investigation
In April 2026, Declassified UK filmed 'Emily', an undercover reporter, in conversation with Jonathan Vigné, the group’s “encouragement officer”, who talked about the support Shivat Zion would give to settlers moving to Efrat – an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. Vigné boasted that the group could obtain UK tax subsidies for its work. He also described living near “Arabs” — Zionist code for indigenous Palestinians — was the only downside:
- "You’re next to the Arabs. You’ll hear their mosques. But apart from this, it’s a great living standard."[1]
Call for sanctions
The film sparked a discussion in Parliament, where MPs called on the UK government to impose sanctions on Shivat Zion, along with Vigné and the charity’s CEO, Shraga Evers, who also lives in Efrat. Shokat Adam said:
- “Declassified UK has found that Israeli charity Shivat Zion is helping British citizens to move to illegal settlements.
- “That breaks international law; and, to rub salt in the wound, British taxpayers are implicated, as the charity claims UK gift aid.
- “Will the Secretary of State assure the House that she will look into the matter urgently and sanction any organisation, charity or otherwise, complicit in Israeli illegal land grabs?”
Yvette Cooper dodged the question, saying:
- “No one should be building illegal settlements in the West Bank.
- “We would expect any organisation in the UK, and people living in the UK, to abide by international law.”[2]
Words, no action
The government promised to take “concrete steps” to counter the expansion of settlements. However, it appears to have taken no action whatsoever. It even refused to explicitly condemn Shivat Zion.
The deputy leader the Green Party, Mothin Ali, said that Shivat Zion’s offer to help settlers was “disgraceful”. He called for the Charity Commission to take action, adding:
- “The police should urgently investigate whether there are potential criminal liabilities.”[3]
