Two historic properties in central Jerusalem, valued at tens of millions of shekels, stand at the center of what Anglican organizations operating in Israel describe as a sophisticated and serious fraud case. A key figure in the story is a former Hassid who converted to Christianity – according to the organizations, this former Hassid allegedly planned a scheme to take over the properties, which was planned over several years.
To prevent the takeover, the organizations petitioned the Jerusalem District Court for temporary ex parte restraining orders, which were granted.
According to the organizations, the case began in 2020, when Mordecai Veberman began an unexpected approach to the Anglican Church and was even officially baptized into Christianity. During these years, Veberman found employment at CMJ (Church's Ministry among Jewish People) – a British organization founded in 1809 that has operated in Jerusalem for nearly 200 years. This is the parent organization to which the Vincent Association and the Israeli Trust of the Anglican Church belong, which operate the church's school and hold the historic properties.
According to the organizations, as time passed, Veberman grew closer to Vincent's CEO, Father Darryl, who recently left his position. Veberman managed to infiltrate the community ranks, expressed interest in joining the pastoral track in the church, worked in the organizations and established personal relationships with key figures in CMJ in Israel and abroad. The trust that CMJ representatives placed in Veberman "The trust that CMJ representatives placed in him was so complete that, because most organization representatives do not speak Hebrew, they signed Hebrew documents at his request without receiving translations, relying entirely on his explanations of their content."
According to the organizations, last month they accidentally discovered a shocking detail – companies that according to the court petition are owned by Veberman and his business partners, hold agreements that are purported to be sales agreements for two real estate properties – the Anglican school at 82 Hanevi'im Street and the old "Voice of Israel" building at 25 Petruschka Street.
The school, purchased by the church in the 1840s, is a complex spanning 15,058 square meters (162,089 square feet). The school educates approximately 230 students annually from kindergarten through high school, many of them children of diplomats staying in Israel. According to the organizations, this is a property whose value is "priceless." The "Voice of Israel" building at 25 Petruschka Street was purchased by the organization in the early 20th century.
In any case, according to the documents accidentally discovered by organization personnel, the Petruschka Street building was allegedly sold for 7.5 million shekels (about $2.2 million), and the Anglican school for 60 million shekels (about $17.9 million).
According to the documents, at the signing ceremony, the companies owned by Veberman and his business partners were supposed to pay Vincent Association 9 million shekels (about $2.7 million) for the school and 1 million shekels (about $300,000) for the Petruschka Street building. However, according to the organizations, no sales transactions were discussed.
The sale of the Anglican school and the Petruschka building was not on the agenda, and in any case the transactions were not properly approved by the organization institutions and CMJ. Moreover, the signatures were allegedly accompanied by a forged seal (according to the organization, it has had no seal for the past five years), and the two people who appear as alleged signatories cannot read Hebrew and never intended to sign sale agreements. According to the court petition, the signatures on the sale agreements on behalf of the organization in Hebrew were obtained by deceiving office holders who do not speak Hebrew.
As part of the petition, the organizations claim that Mordechai Veberman and his attorney, Kobi Ifrach, used forged documents and false powers of attorney designed to create an impression of a sale approval process in the organization's institutions.
According to the organizations, the only transaction discussed with Veberman and his partners that was actually approved was a combination deal in the Petruschka building, and that it was agreed that Vincent Association would remain the landowner. According to them, the subject of selling the school was not discussed at all. The organizations are represented by attorneys Odelia Ofer and Goni Blumfeld from the Herzog Fox Neeman law firm.
The petition further claims that Veberman "played a double game" – on one hand he acted as someone who belonged to the community of believers and claimed he was interested in donating money to the organizations and helping them, and on the other hand allegedly planned to defraud and deceive them and take over their properties. The organizations said that discovering the transactions clarified that this was a "Trojan horse," and that they intend to file a police complaint.
Attorney Kobi Ifrach stated, "First, I have no personal acquaintance with Mordechai Veberman. I met him two years ago in another transaction where I represented the other side. Second, I have never forged documents and/or powers of attorney. Third, some of the signatories are Hebrew speakers and are indeed proficient in reading and writing. Fourth, I have never presented any false document. I am sorry that a large and respected law firm accuses a colleague of serious matters with unrestrained attacks before checking the facts. I am confident that the court will decide that no fault was found in my work as the church's attorney."
No response was received from Veberman by the deadline for closing this edition and publishing the story. His response to the court has also not yet been filed.
Ironically, just days ago the British Christian newspaper Evangelicals Now published a celebratory article about Veberman from CMJ's annual conference. In the article, he was presented as a success story – a former military rabbi who converted to Christianity and told a gathering of 400 people how he "came home" to Messianic Judaism. "I stand before you not as someone who left Judaism, but as someone who found its fulfillment," Veberman was quoted as saying. Days after that, the organizations discovered the affair.
