By Chelsen Vicari, JuicyEucmenism—
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, 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 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.”