Recently the Christian mega-charity World Vision was exposed and publicly shamed by the Nation of Israel for allowing diversion of donor money to the Hamas terror organization. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted the following report on its website:
http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Issues/Pages/Behind-the-Headlines-Hamas-exploitation-of-World-Vision-in-Gaza-to-support-terrorism-4-August-2016.aspx
Following is a summary of the report taken from an article by Caroline Kendal:
“60% of World Vision’s annual budget for the Gaza Strip was diverted to Hamas.
40% of funds for civilian projects were given in cash to Hamas combat units.
Funds for the needy in Gaza were diverted to Hamas for the construction of terror tunnels and the purchase of weapons.
A Hamas military base was built using $80,000 received from the United Kingdom.
Funds were diverted to purchase weapons in the Sinai,
Food for the needy was transferred directly to Hamas military units.
Money for injured children in Gaza was diverted to the families of Hamas terrorists, fraudulently listing their children as wounded.
Money for psychological support, education and health in Gaza was used to pay the families of Hamas terrorists.
Salaries were paid to Hamas terrorists and activists, registered as employees of World Vision.
Costs for legitimate projects were inflated, with the difference going to Hamas.
Straw companies were established to launder money.
1/3 of World Vision’s allowances for the unemployed went to members of the proscribed Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Aid for farmers was diverted to Hamas activists.
Logistical aid was given to the proscribed, terrorist, arm of Hamas.
A greenhouse project was used to hide where terror tunnels were being dug.
Aid for fishermen was used to provide motor boats and diving suits for Hamas’ military marine unit.
Trucks bringing supplies would unload their goods at Hamas warehouses instead of legitimate World Vision warehouses.
Humanitarian aid donated for the residents of the Gaza Strip was given almost exclusively to Hamas terrorists and their families. Non-Hamas members almost never received any benefit.
Visits to Israel under cover of work for World Vision were used to mark GPS points for attack tunnels to emerge in Israel.”
Pretty serious charges but not necessarily surprising. I’d like to remind everyone of the giant red flag the Lord gave us in March of 2014 about the extent to which World Vision had departed from the Biblical world view in its declaration of support for “Gay Marriage.” My 2014 article on that is posted here:
There’s a lesson here about Christian institutions having a tendency of losing their Biblical grounding and adopting worldly compromises the larger and more prosperous they become. Harvard University was established to train young men for Bible-centered ministry and look at it today. How far behind Harvard are the average Christian colleges today? In what condition are the giant para-church organizations that waged “culture war” so boldly in the 1980s? There’s tremendous pressure on Bible based entities these days, and the more their focus is on money, or preserving the institution rather than the founders’ vision, the more they compromise.
As compromises go, hostility to Israel and appeasement of LGBT militants seem to go hand-in-hand among those who claim the name of Christ.
I’m not of the camp that holds that Israel can do no wrong (as their American-style pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality laws make clear – though I strongly suspect US foreign-aid arm-twisting is behind these policies). I also know there are many wicked Jews like George Soros and Paul Singer working mightily to undermine the Biblical foundations of western civilization. But that doesn’t discredit the many Torah-faithful Jews around this world any more than the existence of pseudo-Christians discredits those who actually abide in Christ and follow the Bible.
Importantly, my Bible tells me that the Jews are intended to be in the Holy Land in these last days, fulfilling the purposes of God, if not always living up to His standards in the process. And as a practical matter, my knowledge of history and current events tells me that if the Jews weren’t there, the most radical of Islamists would be. So I have absolutely no hesitancy in supporting what I perceive as the Biblical House of Judah in the form of the Secular State of Israel.
The “world vision” of the Bible remains very much centered on the Holy Land and the role of the Jews in it, even though the vision of some Christians on the matter has become like that of the world.
