the Claimant's case is that this was a relationship based on personal
contact and where the charity represented it had a pressing need for
funds. The Claimant may well be somewhat naïve in imagining that the
memorandum clearly and satisfactorily recorded the true nature of the
agreements that he alleges existed in respect of either sum of money,
but that commercial naivety may need to be assessed in the context of
the background noted above.
80.
These conclusions are further supported by the evidence of Mr Fisher called by the
Defendants and whose evidence was heard on live link from Israel. His evidence was
given in a clear and forthright manner. His evidence is of some importance although
it relates only to a small part of the case. He had never met or heard of Rabbi Meisels
before the telephone call on the 23rd December. He was very used to dealing with Mr.
Lichtman and had almost daily telephone calls with him and acted on his instructions
with respect to withdrawals and payments from the Trust’s Israeli bank account. He
had experience of banks, business opportunities and the regulatory scheme for
international transfers in Israel. He acted on a commercial basis for the Trust and if
introduced to someone by Mr. Lichtman would offer his commercial services and
advice to that other business.
81.
The conversation he had with Rabbi Meisels on this occasion lasted a minute or so. It
was put to him by Mr. Crystal that this was a business call. His reply was in the
following terms:“I don’t know if it was a business call or not. I think Mr. Lichtman wanted to
calm down Mr Meisels, I was presented with someone who said he was Meisels”
(emphasis supplied)
He subsequently declared that he was not a psychologist and cannot say what Mr.
Lichtman’s motives were in asking Rabbi Meisels to speak to him.
82.
The impression that Mr. Fisher had of the purposes of Mr. Lichtman asking Mr Fisher
to speak to Rabbi Meisels is a pointer to the nature of the first of the two transactions.
Why would any re-assurance be needed of the charity’s ability to convert money into
dollars if the transaction was merely a donation by a generous donor to the general
purposes of the charity? It is also of potential significance that Rabbi Meisels was
never introduced to Mr. Fisher as a donor. If there was a need for calming down or reassurance this was likely to be in the context of the anxiety of Rabbi Meisels to
understand whether dollars were immediately available at the Israel end of the
transaction. It is impossible to see why that should be of importance if this was a
conversation leading to a mutually agreed gift.
83.
There was another aspect of Mr Fisher’s evidence that may be informative. He gave
evidence that he was never a trustee of YLJT as averred by the First Defendant. It
seems that his signature to the trust documents was obtained by way of
misunderstanding as to what the First Defendant told him he was signing. Mr Fisher
thought he was being made a signatory to the bank account for ease of commercial
arrangement. He never agreed to be a trustee. The First Defendant says he did. This is
not a central issue in the case but it provides some evidence of the First Defendant
being over optimistic in interpreting what others have agreed to.