On Tuesday, an expert on Christian media said the evangelical relief group World Vision must recognize when it is used as a tool in the propaganda war against Israel and restore its evangelical roots if it wants to remain an effective Christian charity.
Christian Media Analyst for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) Dexter Van Zile commented during a timely conference call briefing hosted by The Philos Project. The call focused on the controversy surrounding World Vision’s Gaza employee Mohammed El-Halabi, who currently stands accused of funneling charitable donations to Hamas, a terrorist group.
According to The Wall Street Journal, World Vision International is now disputing Israel’s claim that Halabi used his status as a humanitarian aid worker to embezzle nearly $50 million in donations to fund terrorism and scout out Hamas terror tunnels. Kevin Jenkins, President of World Vision International, called on Israel to conduct an open, transparent process and hold a “fair hearing.”
Van Zile, who grew up in the United Church of Christ (UCC) before converting to Roman Catholicism, said this isn’t the first time World Vision employees have been accused of aiding anti-Israel activists. He noted World Vision staff have spoken at or sponsored events hosted by the anti-Israel Christian groups Friends of Sabeel and Christ at the Checkpoint. According to Van Zile, World Vision staff have vilified Israel in the Israel/Arab conflict yet remain neutral in all other political conflicts.
This narrative results in “misinformation given to donors who really want to help in the Middle East” and represents a departure from World Vision’s Christian roots and backbone in the face of injustices, Van Zile insisted.
“World Vision was founded in 1950 by Robert Pierce who wanted to use the Gospel to stem the tide of communism,” Van Zile explained. “When it started out it was largely American, with American donors who were largely Evangelical Protestants.”
He continued: “Then in the 1970s the organization started to become international, with European and Australian donors, people from where the organization was actually operating. This changed the worldview of the operation. Essentially, it kind of embraced this international, United Nations worldview and detached from its evangelical roots.”
Once World Vision embraced a “secular” United Nations style model, it abandoned a Gospel-centered worldview and consequently, says Van Zile, the push for a globalist worldview lends to diminished value placed on national sovereignty and this means overturning the ideological stronghold of Israel.
One major impetus for World Vision’s shift away from evangelicalism, according to Van Zile, was an early agreement the evangelical relief group made with pre-existing Christian charities in Europe. World Vision promised it would not intentionally solicit their donors. “So in order to do that, [World Vision] had to sort of go outside of the Evangelical world to get money. That was one of the factors that allowed it to embrace anti-Zionist organizations,” claimed Van Zile.
Even so, Van Zile pointed out that World Vision USA donors provide roughly 40 percent of the charity’s total global revenue. “So there’s a dichotomy. What we have is most of these supporters in the USA would be offended by the anti-Zionist propaganda [World Vision] has put out. But donors outside of the USA love it.”
Evangelical American donors can make a difference because World Vision does listen, said Van Zile. The charity’s leaders know they can’t alienate their donors without compromising their mission. “All of these institutions operate on the margins,” he noted. “Historically, World Vision has responded to complaints from donors. It cannot offend the sensibility of its donors.”
Donors can press to ensure their funds are not going to anti-Israel propaganda or terrorist activities and advocates like Van Zile are working to highlight the hypocrisies. But ultimately, he said, the decision to take action is “largely up to the Christians who support World Vision.”
On the other hand, World Vision needs to take responsibility for any mismanagement. “World Vision needs to take into account when one of its employees has been used to promote violence against Israel. Instead of helping children, Hamas has launched attacks that put children in harm’s way,” said Van Zile. “If that really is the case, World Vision needs to rethink how it operates in the Gaza Strip.”
Comment by Keith Sweat on August 31, 2016 at 7:58 am
Title works better as a declarative rather than an interrogative. Surprised we are not yet reading articles like this involving our UMC GBGM representatives
Comment by Dan Skogen on August 31, 2016 at 12:21 pm
Thank you for this article. World Vision has a history of anti-Israel actions. People need to know what kind of organization they are financially supporting.
Comment by Scott Gardner on September 1, 2016 at 7:23 pm
I believe World Vision receives considerable federal funding. Many such organizations would rather toe the line when it comes to political correctness, than risk losing their funding. I wish our religious charities and organizations would stop taking money from the government. I don’t believe that it is only the “Christian who support World Vision” that have pull here.
Comment by Alan on October 1, 2016 at 7:58 am
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-faqs-the-world-vision-gaza-scandal
Comment by Kingdom Ambassador on October 1, 2016 at 10:45 am
“Strictly speaking, it is incorrect to call an ancient Israelite a “Jew” or to call a contemporary Jew an “Israelite” or a “Hebrew.””
This is the very first sentence of the first chapter of 1930 Jewish Almanac entitled “Identity Crisis.” (Richard Siegel and Carl Rheins, eds., “Identity Crisis,” The Jewish Almanac, (New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1980) p. 3.)
Indeed! But today’s Jew’s are not the only ones with an identity crisis:
“Here’s a paradox, a paradox, a most ingenious paradox: an anthropological fact, many [Caucasian] Christians … have much more Hebrew-Israelite blood in their veins than most of their Jewish neighbors.” (Dr. Alfred M. Lilienthal, Jr., What Price Israel (Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery Company, 1953) p. 223.)
For more, see free online book “The Mystery of the Gentiles: Who Are They and Where Are They Now?” at http://www.missiontoisrael.org/mystery-of-gentiles/index.php.
Comment by Gregory Alan of Johnson on October 1, 2016 at 9:32 pm
The entity that went “public” (IPO) in 1948 as the supposed government of the land-mass “Israel”, known as STATE OF ISRAEL inc., is not a biblical fulfillment. Its whole history (1916 fwd) is an imitation of biblical fulfillment. If “World Vision” is moving from support of this entity, then more power (in the name of Yeshua) to them.
Comment by Richard S. Bell on October 1, 2016 at 10:58 pm
I have a question: how is it that U.S. evangelicals are so fanatically in favor of the non-Christian state of Israel that they would refuse support of World Vision?
Comment by Chris Gerber on October 5, 2016 at 3:27 pm
Because World Vision comes down on the side of opposition to the “non-Christian” state of Israel? Just my guess…
Comment by Richard S. Bell on October 6, 2016 at 4:58 pm
Well, I asked not why U.S. evangelicals refuse to support World Vision; the answer to that question is made plain by this article (and is as you guess). Rather, I asked why U.S. evangelicals are so fanatically in favor of the non-Christian state of Israel.
Comment by Chris Gerber on October 6, 2016 at 8:28 pm
Genesis 12:3
Comment by Richard S. Bell on October 7, 2016 at 12:08 am
The Lord said to Abram, (Gen. 12:3) “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Only a fantasy makes God’s promise to Abram any reason for U.S. evangelicals to favor the state of Israel. If you think otherwise, I beg you to help me understand your answer to my question by describing your fantasy.
Comment by Chris Gerber on October 9, 2016 at 9:18 am
I would but you seem to lack spiritual discernment.
Comment by Richard S. Bell on October 12, 2016 at 1:35 am
You give no reason for your opinion, but it seems irrelevant. How would spiritual discernment better help me understand what is clear in Scripture? In his letter to the Romans and elsewhere, Paul made plain that true Israel (as distinguished from ethnic or tribal Israel) is faithful
Israel — the body of believers in Messiah — and these alone are the true descendants and heirs of Abram. Paul just followed Jesus;
see, e.g., John 8:37-45. Unbelieving Jews are not heirs of Abram; Yahweh did not bring them back to the Holy Land to keep the promises Yahweh made to Abram.
Now, because you and I both can understand the clear teaching of Jesus and Paul with such spiritual discernment as we may have, my request of you deserves an answer. Describe the fantasy in which the Lord’s words to Abram recorded in Genesis 12:3 is a reason for U.S. evangelicals to so fanatically favor the non-Christian state of Israel.
Comment by Chris Gerber on October 15, 2016 at 2:00 pm
First of all, it is no fantasy. Let’s get that out of the way right away. The evidence of not supporting Israel is very evident in this current administration where the President obviously does not support Israel. I don’t need to explain that as it is evident in the news. The verse in question is stated very plain and as Israel practices Judaism which Christianity shares but goes further to the New Testament (Israel is partially blinded by God to the facts of the New Testament until such a time in the Tribulation when they will finally see Jesus as their Messiah). God blesses those that bless Israel and curses those that do not. Christianity is irrelevant. America does not bless Israel as they did before and people wonder why America has so many problems these days. Plain and simple, I have explained it. Now, this conversation is over with. I do not argue the word of God. The bible stands on its own merit. You are argumentative, as if trying to prove some superfluous trivia or belief of your own. In the end, you either agree or disagree with what the Word of God says and accept the blessing or consequence for that.
Comment by Howard Green on October 2, 2016 at 10:25 pm
When you see ignorant, lopsided, anti Israel, and anti Jewish propaganda……understand where it originates from. Satan hates Israel, it’s people, and it’s God. It may not be politically correct to stand in solidarity with Israel, but history will prove it’s the right thing to do.
We can choose not to remain silent despite the onslaught of anti-Jewish rhetoric from the divestment and social gospel crowd. World Vision has joined the ranks of the Jimmy Carters, BDS crowd, and a growing number in the evangelical church who want to distance themselves from support for Israel because their “vision” (excuse the pun) is clouded with pandering to the soft sell generation who can’t stand absolutes.
One absolute being God’s proclamation of blessing and cursing in regard to His covenant people.
http://concerningthetimes.com/the-replacements-and-israel/
Comment by HoldFast on October 3, 2016 at 1:42 pm
We have a close friend who works for World Vision in the Middle East. He told us several years ago that it was staffed mostly by Muslims. We were SHOCKED that World Vision would hire members of an anti-Christ religion to represent them in that part of the world, both in regard to evangelism and the likelihood that donations would go astray. (The Koran emphatically declared that Allah has NO SON, so Allah and Yahweh cannot be the same God. In fact it is emblazoned on the ceiling of the Dome of the Rock that Allah has no son. And it is Satan who is the author of this deception.) Apparently they’ve fallen for the Chrislam lie of Warren and others. Isn’t Satan clever, and diabolical? But World Vision should know better!
Comment by Richard S. Bell on October 6, 2016 at 5:13 pm
Now you have stated a good reason for U.S. evangelicals to refuse support of World Vision. It makes all the difference whether or not a cup of water is offered in the name of Christ. I assume that a Muslim could only offer a cup of water; he could not offer it in the name of Christ.
In the same vein, let me ask this question: if it had Jews on its staff, would you be “SHOCKED that World Vision would hire members of an anti-Christ religion to represent them in that part of the world”? Jews say that they agree about only thing: Jesus is not Messiah, i.e., Jesus is not the Son of God, i.e., the Holy Trinity and Yahweh cannot be the same God. Would you say it is Satan who is the author of this deception too?
I am asking, in another way, the question I asked previously: why are U.S. evangelicals so fanatically in favor of the non-Christian state of Israel?
Comment by HoldFast on October 6, 2016 at 6:02 pm
I suppose since Muslims think of Jesus as a prophet (though a significantly lesser figure than Mohammed) and that he will be returning with the Mahdi, they could be said to honor Him in some respect, but not as the Son, which proves they don’t worship the same God as Christians do, and the fact that they could embezzle monies and give it to the jihadists is nothing to snivel at. Your question is a good one re: Jews working for World Vision. If it’s still a specifically Christian organization, then it doesn’t seem to make sense. Unless one would argue that they might be evangelized working there, and maybe that is what World Vision is thinking. Still, I don’t think I would do it if I were “in charge.” Ecumenism that obliterates legitimate differences (such as who God truly is) is not from God. As for evangelicals supporting Israel, it’s mainly because Scripture says whoever blesses Abraham will be blessed (Gen.12:1-3) and whoever curses him will be cursed. It’s true that Israel is for the most part a secular, even atheistic, nation (though there are Orthodox and Messianic Jews there in large numbers), but the Bible indicates that it is Yahweh who brought them back into the land of their inheritance and one day soon (as the Trib unfolds) they will repent and receive Jesus as their Messiah. The devil, however, wants to wipe them off the face of the earth before that happens (and he’s using the Muslim nations to do it) because Jesus told Israel, “You will not see Me again until you say ‘blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.'” So if Satan can eliminate them before they ever say that, he thinks he can prevent Jesus from coming back at all and he can continue to be the “god of this world.” That’s why Israel needs to be preserved and protected as a nation, so they can reach that place of repentance and we can all benefit from Jesus’ return.
Comment by Richard S. Bell on October 7, 2016 at 12:36 am
In his letter to the Romans and elsewhere, Paul made plain that true Israel (as distinguished from ethnic or tribal Israel) is faithful Israel — the body of believers in Messiah. Paul just followed Jesus; see, e.g., John 8:37-45. Unbelieving Jews are not heirs of Abram; Yahweh did not bring them back to the Holy Land to keep the promises Yahweh made to Abram.
Satan is wrong to think that he can prevent Jesus from coming back. Either Satan misunderstood what Jesus meant or Satan is deceiving people about what Jesus meant. It is interesting that you go along with Satan in this error.
I wonder whether the reason you give for supporting the state of Israel is indeed the reason that many U.S. evangelicals would give. If it is, U.S. evangelicals ought to read the whole Bible and think harder about who belongs to true Israel, God’s chosen people, heirs to the promise.
Comment by Dennis Richardson on February 10, 2020 at 4:59 am
I saw this coming in 1984 when Stan Mooneyham was fired & Ted Engstrom was hired. Solving social justice issues instead of saving souls, forgets that Jesus Christ will NOT save humanity thru human institutions. These institutions avoid the greater need to enter HIS Kingdom now with their profession of faith.