Oxfam rejects £5,000 donation from author

Howard Lake | 8 October 2002 | News

Oxfam GB has turned down a donation of royalties from a controversial book.

It is not often that charities can legitimately reject a donation. Oxfam GB, however, has done so in the case of a book by Ted Honderich, formerly Professor of Mind and Logic at University College, London. Honderich wished to donate his advance of £5,000 to the charity.

However, his belief that, as he told The Guardian, “Palestinians have a moral right to their terrorism” and related comments in the book caused Oxfam to state that it “cannot accept, endorse or benefit from certain opinions given in the book.” The charity added that “we do not endorse acts of violence.”

Read “Oxfam shuns £5,000 in row over book” by Owen Bowcott at The Guardian.

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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.