Portland Trust

The Portland Trust is a British non-profit organisation whose mission is said to be ‘to promote peace and stability between Israelis and Palestinians through economic development.’ The Portland Trust,Homepage, accessed 20 October 2010. It was founded in London in 2003 by Sir Ronald Cohen, co-founder and former Chairman of the private equity firm Apax Partners, together with Sir Harry Solomon, co-founder and former chairman and CEO of Hillsdown Holdings. The trust has offices in London, Tel Aviv and Ramallah. 
 
==People==
Name 	Role 	Date Appointed 	Date of Birth	Other trusteeships
Ronald Cohen 	Chair 	26 October 2004	 	
Jonathan Harel-Cohen 	Trustee	01 January 2023	 	R and S Cohen Foundation
Steven Kaye 	Trustee	01 January 2023	 	United Jewish Israel Appeal
Gila Sacks 	Trustee	01 January 2023	 	United Jewish Israel Appeal
Nicola Cobbold 	Trustee	01 October 2015	 	Global Steering Group for Impact Assessment
Michael Lawrence Davis	Trustee	17 May 2012 	 	Kemach Foundation
Harry Solomon 	Trustee	26 October 2004	 	Sir Harry & Lady Judith Solomon Charitable Foundation
===Trustees===
*Sir Ronald Cohen, co-founder (born 1945) is an Egyptian-born British businessman. In 1957, in the aftermath of the Suez War, Cohen fled with his family from Egypt to the UK as part of the exodus of Jewish refugees. He is reportedly worth around £250 million.Institutional Investor, http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/Popups/PrintArticle.aspx?ArticleID=1423897 accessed 1 March He is the Chairman of Big Society Capital, Founder Chairman of The Portland Trust (2003-) and Bridges Ventures (2002-2012); Founder Director of Social Finance Ltd (2007-2011) and Social Finance USA (2010-). In January 2005, Cohen became a Director of the British Museum. Cohen is also a member of the executive committee of the London based International Institute of Strategic Studies, a right-wing and neoconservative think tank.Ronald Cohen, About, accessed 1 March 2014 In 1972 Cohen founded Apax Partners, one of Britain's first and biggest venture capital firms. Apax has invested more than $2 billion in Israel with Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ) and Tnuva Food Industries Ltd. being two of the biggest and best known investments.Shahar Smooha and Shlomit Lann, ‘Riding to the Rescue of Israel’s Third Sector’, http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-1000856340, 24 June 2013, Globes, accessed 1 March 2014 In 1974 Cohen stood as the parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Party in Kensington North, and in 1979 he stood as its European candidate in London West. In 1996 he switched allegiance to the Labour Party, becoming a supporter of Tony Blair. In 2004, Cohen was the Labour Party's fourth largest financial supporter, after Lord Sainsbury, Sir Christopher Ondaatje and Lord Hamlyn. According to Robert Peston, Cohen has contributed £1.8m to the Labour Party.Robert Peston, Who Runs Britain?, Hodder and Stoughton, 2008 The Guardian reported that in 2006 Cohen ‘started to take over the role of government [Middle East] emissary from Lord Levy by meeting Israeli leaders, including the prime minister, Ehud Olmert’.‘Sir Ronald Cohen: Financier who is hoping for a peace dividend,’ The Guardian, July 7, 2006 About his connections to Israel, Cohen told the Times: ‘If you look at my history: born in Egypt, a refugee, married to the daughter of the commander of the Exodus who's an Israeli, there's an obvious connection between me and the region.’http://www.bollyn.com/who-really-controls-our-political-parties#sthash.ozRphSDA.dpuf accessed 1 March 2014 Cohen says he is a believer in two state solution for Israel and Palestine. In regards to the Portland Trust’s activities he claimed:
::‘I won't be involved in the settlements, and I think that our great challenge is not the 300,000 to 400,000 people who live beyond the Green Line, but the seven million people who live within it, a quarter of whom live below the poverty line and many of whom suffer from severe social problems, such as chronic unemployment, dropping out of school, and so forth. Personally, I want to support residents within the Green Line, and through the Portland Trust, Palestinians who reside beyond it.’Shahar Smooha and Shlomit Lann, ‘Riding to the Rescue of Israel’s Third Sector’, http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-1000856340, 24 June 2013, Globes, accessed 1 March 2014
*Sir Harry Solomon, (born 1937) is the founder of Hillsdown Holdings, one of the United Kingdom's largest food businesses. He was knighted in 1991. In 2010 he was elected Chair of the board of trustees of the Western Galilee College, a school in northern Israel. The college is supported by UJIA, the British wing of Keren Hayesod.WGC Newsletter, http://www.wgalil.ac.il/files%5C31.8.10_newsletter_september.pdf accessed 1 March 2014 In 1985 he established the Heatshide Charitable Trust.Heathside Charitable Trust, http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends59/0000326959_AC_20121231_E_C.pdf accessed 1 March 2014 In 2012 it made donations to various causes totaling £608,119 of which £150,000 went to the Portland Trust.Ibid. In 2009 it donated £126,000 to the UJIA. Solomon is also trustee of the Solomon Charitable Trust (founded in 1984). In 2011 it made a total of 37 grants worth £19,067 without specifying who the recipients were.THE SOLOMON FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2011
*Lord David Freud, former CEO of The Portland Trust between 2005-2008 after retiring as Vice Chairman from UBS Investment Banking, remains a Trustee and Director. His services had a valuation of £150,000 but they were included in the Trust’s accounts as gifted services.http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends29/0001106429_AC_20081231_E_C.PDF accessed 1 March 2014.Freud was appointed UK Minister for Welfare and Reform in May 2010.David Freud, David Freud Biography, The Conservatives, accessed 16-October-2010
*Mick Davis, (born 1958) is a South African/British businessman. He was Chief Executive of Xstrata from October 2001 to 2013 when it was bought by commodity trader Glencore. As a result Davis received a payoff of almost £75 million.Simon Goodley, ‘Mick Davis departs Xstrata with nearly £75m’ The Guardian,16 April 2013, accessed 1 March 2014 He is also Chairman of UJIA, and a member of the Jewish Leadership Council. He is on the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel, and a member of the World Executive of Keren Hayesod – Israel United Appeal.http://www.thejlc.org/author/mickd/ accessed 1 March 2014 In 2011 the Telegraph reported that Davis gave Michael Gove £7,500 to support him ‘in the capacity as an MP’.Holly Watt, and Heidi Blake,’City financiers fund Michael Gove's private office’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/8840033/City-financiers-fund-Michael-Goves-private office.html, Telegraph, 21 October 2011, accessed 8 March 2014 He is one of the main donors to the Conservative party, donating£500,000 in 2013 and £150,000 to in 2010/11.Christopher Hope, Xstrata's Mick Davis gives £500,000 to Conservatives
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10059773/Xstratas-Mick-Davis-gives-500000-to-Conservatives.html, 15 May 2013, The Telegraph, accessed 10 March 2014 Davis also funded the successful No2AV campaign, which fought to maintain the UK s current voting system in a referendum with £100,000.Ibid. In 2010, the JLC leader provoked widespread debate by criticizing Israeli policy on the peace process. He wrote: 'If… the world community no longer believes that a two-state solution is possible, we de facto become an apartheid state because we then have the majority who are going to be governed by the minority.Simon Rocker, ‘Shock over senior UK Jewish leader's Bibi criticism’ JC,18 November 2010, accessed 5 March 2014 In 2013 Davis reiterated his criticism of Netanyahu’s government in an online article for the Israeli newspaper writing that diaspora efforts to fight delegitimisation of Israel were being hampered by the actions of his government.Simon Rocker, Mick Davis: Bibi hinders peace efforts and diaspora's attempts to defend Israel, 28 November 2013. 
*Eival Gilady,CEO of the Tel Aviv office of the Portland Trust from 2005 to 2011.http://www.portlandtrust.org/about-us accessed 1 March 2014 Gilady was appointed Head of Coordination and Strategy at the Office of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in March 2005, and from 2001 to 2004 he served as Head of the Israel Defense Forces' Strategic Planning Division. He is considered the ‘intellectual father’ of the Gaza Disengagement plan http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/4146406.stm accessed 1 March 2014 Gilady is the Chairman and the co-founder of the Israeli-Palestinian Chamber of Commerce (IPCC).IPCC Board, http://www.ipcc.org.il/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=29&Itemid=68 accessed 8 March 2014 The IPCC was established to promote trade and commerce between Israelis and Palestinians, to create business opportunities and to improve the economic relations between the two peoples. He is also the Chairman of the Western Galilee College. 
*Yossi Bachar, Chairman of The Portland Trust in Tel Aviv and Chairman of the Board of Israel Discount Group. From 2003 to 2007 Dr Bachar served as Director General of the Ministry of Finance. During this period, he advanced structural reforms and privatisation processes, the most important being a comprehensive reform in the Israeli capital market known as the ‘Bachar Reform’. Dr Bachar was in charge of all the ongoing economic discussions between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.Portland Trust, http://www.portlandtrust.org/senior-management/yossi-bachar accessed 1 March 2014
*Samir Hulileh,Chairman of The Portland Trust in Ramallah and CEO of PADICO. He has held various management positions in the public and private sectors including Cabinet Secretary General of the Palestinian government during 2005-2006 and Assistant Undersecretary for the Ministry of Economy and Trade (1994-1997). Between 2004 and 2005 he was Chairman of the Palestine Trade Centre (PALTRADE) where he was elected as a board member for 2011-2013. He is the Chairman of Palestine International Business Forum, and a board member of Palestinian Banking Corporation, Palestinian-British Business Council, Palestinian-Russian Business Council, and Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS). He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Friends Schools in Ramallah and The International Chamber of Commerce and the Chairman of Birzeit University Alumni Association.Portland Trust, http://www.portlandtrust.org/management/samir-hulileh
*Kamel Husseini,the Managing Director of The Portland Trust in Ramallah and the founder of Ellam Tam, the first Communications and Public Relations Company in Palestine and funded by the Palestinian American Chamber of Commerce. Mr Husseini served as Ellam Tam’s Managing Director from 2000 to 2006 and as its Managing Partner from 2010 until July 2013.In 2011 it was revealed that Qorvis communications was serving as subcontractor to Ellam Tam.http://www.fara.gov/docs/5483-Exhibit-AB-20111020-34.pdf accessed 10 March 2014 Qorvis has also represented since 2009 an Israeli military hardware manufacture, Plasan Sasa Ltd and has a history of servicing regimes in the Middle East with a negative human rights record, including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.Business and Human Rights,http://www.business-humanrights.org/Documents/BahrainPRWatch accessed 10 March 2014
*Nicola Cobbold joined The Portland Trust in April 2007 and was appointed CEO in January 2009. Previously Cobbold worked as a lawyer, specialising in media and copyright. From 2001 to 2003 she was a trustee of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, a charity established in 1976 to combat discrimination and promote racial justice in Britain.Portland Trust,http://www.portlandtrust.org/management/nicola-cobbold accessed 1 March 2014
==Activities==
Since its launch in 2003, Portland Trust has consistently highlighted the important role of economics and in particular of the private sector in conflict resolution. To support this belief, in March 2013 it published a paper on ‘Lessons from Cyprus, Northern Ireland, South Africa and the South Caucasus’.TRUSTEES' REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PORTLAND TRUST FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012 In 2011 it organised an event in UK with Israel Business and the Palestine Britain Business Council which saw Tony Blair in conversation with Sir Ronald Cohen in front of British business leaders.Tony Blair Office, 'Statebuilding and Economic Growth key to getting Middle East Peace0, http://www.tonyblairoffice.org/quartet/news-entry/tony-blair-statebuilding-and-economic-growth-key-to-getting-middle-east-pea/ accessed 10 March 2014 In January 2012 the Trust hosted a lunch in London for the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.Portland Trust,Title here accessed 10 March 2014It also regularly publishes printed materials, including the monthly Palestinian Economic Bulletin which covers economic developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
==Finances==
The Trust is registered as a charity in England and Wales (charity no 1106429). 
2012
2013
Voluntary Income
1,507,295			
1,369,539
Investment income
609
140
Income from Charitable Activities
1,748
15,994
Total incoming resources
1,509,652
1,385,673
Total resources expended
1,410,417
1,430,487
Total Funds
671,834
572,599
In the London office there are five employees. In Tel Aviv there are six members and in Ramallah four members. In 2011 an unnamed employee was paid between £170,000 and £180,000.TRUSTEES' REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PORTLAND TRUST FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012 
===Grants===
* The R and S Cohen Foundation - £500,000 in 2012, £500,000 in 2011, £938,000 in 2009, £765,000 in 2008
* The Heathside Charitable Trust - £150,000 in 2012, £150,000 in 2011, £150,000 in 2009, £150,000 in 2008
*Mike Davis donated £187,502 in 2012TRUSTEES' REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PORTLAND TRUST FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012
*Robert Cohen donated £21,167 in 2012, which he received in prize money from the Rockefeller Foundation.Ibid.
===Grant Recipients===
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Recipient name / Project 	2007 	2008 	2009 	2010 	2011 	2012 	2013 	2014 	2015 	2016 	2017 	2018 	2019 	2020 	2021 	2022 	2023 	Total
Affordable Housing Programme 	29,613 	22,882 	19,704 	7,916 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	80,115
Agribusiness 	 	 	 	 	9,721 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	9,721
Agricultural Knowledge and Information Centre 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	8,649 	 	6,034 	13,911 	1,671 	 	 	 	 	 	30,265
Aspen Institute 	50,718 	57,280 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	107,998
Beyond Aid 	 	 	 	 	 	 	90,527 	112,003 	97,691 	103,561 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	403,782
Bosnia Publication 	 	 	6,210 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	6,210
British Council 	10,000 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	10,000
Corporate Leadership 	 	 	 	22,603 	12,870 	2,964 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	38,437
Development of a Social Capital Market in Israel 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20,446 	4,095 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	24,541
Economics in Peace Making: Lesson from Northern Ireland 	14,175 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	14,175
Exports Assessment 	 	44,583 	3,926 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	48,509
Galilee Loan Programme (repayment) 	208,290 	-57,219 	 	 	 	 	62,348 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	213,419
Gaza 	 	 	 	5,457 	 	 	 	 	27,049 	818 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	33,324
Global Social Impact Investment Steering Group / Social Investment Task Force	 	 	 	 	 	 	13,706 	132,470 	9,937 	13,616 	12,627 	 	 	 	 	 	 	182,356
Handicraft project 	7,249 	 	9,936 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17,185
Harvard roundtable 	 	 	 	10,673 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	10,673
International Institute of Strategic Studies 	 	15,000 	188,000 	47,000 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	250,000
Israeli-Europe Berlin Dialogue 	20,000 	20,000 	20,000 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	60,000
Israeli-Palestinian Chamber of Commerce (IPCC) 	 	 	40,584 	60,976 	60,870 	39,418 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	201,848
IT Education 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	6,531 	 	 	 	 	 	6,531
IT - Outsourcing 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	6,040 	 	 	 	 	 	 	6,040
Junior Economists 	 	 	 	11,039 	5,280 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16,319
Micro-entrepreneurs Training 	 	23,689 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	23,689
Microfinance Initiative 	 	10,556 	-33,447 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	-22,891
Moon Valley 	 	 	5,000 	10,000 	12,500 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	27,500
Local Suppliers for Affordable Housing 	 	12,162 	1,603 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	13,765
On the Way to Business in the Galilee 	 	 	16,234 	52,265 	-36,087 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	32,412
Palestinian Diaspora 	 	 	 	 	 	 	7,939 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	7,939
Palestinian Economic Analysis 	12,368 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	12,368
Palestinian Economic Bulletin 	43,301 	41,702 	45,853 	43,930 	49,805 	48,484 	46,373 	59,993 	45,309 	50,909 	53,579 	51,733 	 	 	 	 	 	580,971
Palestinian Investment Conferences (Bethlehem and London) 	 	62,860 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	62,860
Palestinian Trade Fair (London) 	 	6,154 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	6,154
Palestinian Private Sector Pensions 	 	7,562 	4,801 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	12,363
Political Risk Insurance 	9,198 	25,880 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	35,078
Prime Minister's Conference 	 	8,108 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	8,108
Renewable Energy 	 	 	 	 	 	52,493 	15,924 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	68,417
Role of Business Report 	 	 	 	 	 	 	8,054 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	8,054
Shefar'am 	 	 	 	 	 	 	9,588 	35,586 	35,208 	23,575 	7,019 	 	 	 	 	 	 	110,976
Social Finance Israel 	 	 	 	 	 	83,998 	355,687 	153,757 	163,721 	89,266 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	846,429
Social Impact Investment 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	21,719 	 	 	 	 	 	 	21,719
Tourism 	 	6,892 	2,724 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	9,616
Tsofen 	 	38,659 	32,488 	16,551 	16,522 	16,051 	15,857 	15,705 	16,386 	18,635 	20,700 	 	 	 	 	 	 	207,554
Type 2 Diabetes Development Impact Bond 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	13,326 	5,563 	1,739 	 	 	 	 	 	20,628
Ultra Orthodox 	 	 	 	 	 	20,901 	22,758 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	43,659
Other 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	11,458 	5,456 	227 	131 	 	 	 	 	 	17,272
Total: 	404,912 	346,750 	363,616 	288,410 	131,481 	264,309 	669,207 	522,258 	406,759 	325,196 	141,385 	61,805 	1,658,168 	1,977,524 	2,282,148 	3,181,660 	2,770,120 	15,795,708
Data sources: 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
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==Resources==
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Category:Israel