What World Vision Terror Allegations Mean for Israelis, Christians

I have been in non-profit work for three decades. In that time, I have seen mismanagement and questionable practices that, in one case, led me to leave a job because I couldn’t excuse these, and I had no standing to change them.

In the course of my career, I have read of other mismanagement, and no shortage of non-profit professionals being fired or arrested as a result of their actions.

When I heard about the alleged funneling of tens of millions of dollars to Hamas by international Christian organization World Vision to support the former’s terror network, I was shocked. It felt like the world record of mismanagement and corruption.

But part of me wasn’t surprised at all. Given the overlay of Hamas’ terror combined with ruthlessness controlling Gaza, it was inevitable and may just be the tip of the iceberg. As Avi Dichter, a senior Israeli politician with extensive intelligence background noted, it is only a “tiny example of the massive abuse of aid cash intended for Gaza residents that instead is used to fund Hamas.”

Dichter, who heads Israel’s Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee added, “The funneling of international aid to finance terror by Hamas and other violent Islamist groups in the Gaza Strip is widespread and the world is hideously naive as regards the scope of the problem.”

Dichter was speaking after Muhammad Halabi, a veteran Hamas member and manager of operations for World Vision in Gaza, was indicted in an Israeli court on a number of security-related charges for his central role in the financing of Hamas’ terror operations with charity funds.

According to Israeli investigators, Halabi was assigned to infiltrate World Vision in 2005 in order to siphon money for Hamas. Under his control, tens of millions of dollars of World Vision’s funds were diverted to Hamas to dig terror tunnels, buy weapons, and support other aspects of Hamas terror activities. 

“World Vision is only a small example,” Dichter said, noting that other organizations “know very well that they are funding Hamas.”

World Vision denied the allegations, insisting it conducts regular audits and evaluations to ensure financial aid in Gaza reaches those who need it. Via his lawyer, Halabi denied “all these accusations.”

In an interview on Israel Radio, Dichter added that almost all of the United Nations aid workers in Gaza are Hamas members. The terror group seized control of Gaza in 2007, singularly seeking Israel’s destruction, fighting three wars against Israel since. “The fact that (donors) recruited to help refugees and the needy, (don’t) understand that cash is being pumped for terror uses … is naive to the point of being hideous.”

“When you look at groups like the UN and enlightened countries that fall into the trap set for them by Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” said Dichter, “it is amazing to see the extent and power with which it plays out year after year after year.”

UNRWA, (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) is the UN body that deals exclusively with Palestinian “refugees” and employs 30,000 clerks for five million Palestinians. Dichter added “it is clear that the number of UNRWA clerks who are working for Hamas is close to 100 percent.” Recently there have been additional indictments against UNRWA employees as well.

I shared the news about World Vision and Hamas with friends who are senior staff at ministries that provide international humanitarian relief with a particular focus, or part of their efforts, in Israel. Some had heard about it and some hadn’t. None were surprised. All had strong words. Some allowed me to share them anonymously. Some declined to have me share them at all.

One friend wrote to me, “If the charges are proven it demonstrates a lack of control and oversight, given that the accusations claim it was a multi-year activity. Such an activity would have required the participation of many individuals over a protracted period. World Vision structure allows each office its own independent management and program decisions. By comparison, many other organizations require field offices to report directly to a centralized management on all budgets and approved activities. Careful attention in selecting field leadership in order that there are no conflicts of interests is vital. This puts multiple levels of control in place. Again, if these accusations are accurate, (and that isn’t known yet) one has to consider that when you play with fire you can get burned.”

Another Christian friend who knows Israel intimately and whose ministry funds many projects in Israel shared, “I saw the report that World Vision is denying that any of their funds were diverted to Hamas. Israel is normally careful about making such claims unless they have solid evidence. I tend to trust Israel more at this point. (World Vision is) experiencing major backlash over this from donors. Countries, including Australia, Germany and the UK have suspended payments to World Vision.”

It saddens me that anyone, particularly a Christian organization, at worst would be involved in supporting terrorism and, at best, would be negligent in properly supervising and accounting for their funds, but I’m not surprised. If these accusations against World Vision are true, it once again shows the ills of Replacement Theology that, at times during church history, has demonized the Jewish people and justified violence activity against God’s Chosen Ones.

Either World Vision knew what was happening and supported it, or they gave little attention to how the money was being used.  In either case, they are responsible and will suffer the consequences. The only way they can avoid that is to show there is no evidence of the transfers to Hamas. As they say on TV, stay tuned!”

It’s hard to say whether those who have withdrawn their support of World Vision are really shocked, or are simply upset that World Vision got caught, and by association making them, and their own vetting of whom they entrust charitable money, look bad.  Are they truly angry that their funds were used to support Hamas’ terrorism, or just that they look complicit for hiding their support of terrorism behind the cover of a Christian organization? Was it “only” careless or, God forbid, deliberate? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, World Vision would do well to start from scratch and cease all funding in Gaza to prevent further siphoning off of funds to support Hamas, unless and until they can guarantee their donors that they don’t. In fund raising, it’s common to place plaques recognizing donors’ contributions on buildings and other projects they have funded. If true, one has to wonder how many miles of Hamas’ terror tunnels are thanks to World Vision, literally, with or without plaques.

Other charities would do well to learn from this, and redouble their efforts to be sure that funds for projects meant for humanitarian relief, especially in areas like Gaza that are under control of less than clean authoritarian leaders, are actually getting to where they need to go, that the overhead is appropriate, and that there’s no mismanagement whether in bloated expense accounts, and certainly not in supporting terrorists. 

For those who wish to make a real difference in this part of the world and want to be sure the funds go to a worthy cause, please be in touch. There are many unsung heroes working in the Middle East meeting many needs, and with many more that need to be met. But those who don’t ask and fund organizations like World Vision blindly, risk becoming accomplices in a major fraud, and indeed a crime that puts innocent lives at risk. {eoa}

Jonathan Feldstein was born and educated in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six. Throughout his life and career, he has been blessed by the calling to fellowship with Christian supporters of Israel and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel. He writes a regular column for cn.mycharisma.com‘s Standing With Israel. He can be reached at [email protected].