If there is an Israeli Company with 3 main shareholders and 2 of the shareholders (who form a majority) want a provision in the Company’s articles that the company will be committed to give 10 percent of the company’s net profits to a kollel and the third shareholder does not want the company to give of its profits to a kollel, can the other 2 shareholders vote in such a clause (which they would be able to under Israel’s Companies Law) al pi halacha?
Answer:
The basic halachah in partnerships is that full (100%) agreement is required for giving away assets, or profits in this case. Since all the partners own a share in shared assets, no partners can give anything away from the partnership against the will of a dissenting partner.
However, in the case of a company, it is known in advance that company decisions are made by shareholder vote, and a company is established in the knowledge that decisions will be made based on majority vote, as specified in Israeli Law.
Therefore, because this is known and accepted in advance, the majority decision will be binding even on dissenting partners, and halachah will concur with the decision according to the law.
In addition, the entire definition of a corporation is defined by the law (it isn’t an ordinary partnership), and the halachah will therefore generally follow the legal opinion.
I should note that I am unsure as to the legal status of such a decision. If I remember correctly, a decision to give away part of the profits requires a special majority, or something beyond the regular process of decision making (the reason being that the assumed purpose of a company is to maximize profits, and not to give away profits to charity). If there is no legal problem, you can go ahead.
Note that for all cases involving a dispute between parties, answers can only be given by way of advice.
