World Vision Australia believe no truth in the charges against Gaza manager

August 8, 2016 by J-Wire Staff
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The CEO World Vision Australia Tim Costello has issued in a statement in which that the allegations of Mohammad El Halabi  by Israel for provides to Hamas.

The Rev Tim Costello

The Rev Tim Costello

Tim Costello statements say:  “On June 15th, 2016, Mohammad El Halabi, the manager of operations for World Vision in Gaza, was arrested on his way home from routine meetings. On the 4th August 2016 date, after 50 days in Israeli state detention, Mohammad was charged with providing support to Hamas. World Vision was shocked to learn of these charges against Mohammad.

World Vision programs in Gaza have been subject to regular internal and independent audits, independent evaluations, and a broad range of internal controls aimed at ensuring that assets reach their intended beneficiaries and are used in compliance with applicable laws and donor requirements. Based on the information available to us at this time, we have no reason to believe that the allegations are true. We will carefully review any evidence presented to us and will take appropriate actions based on that evidence.

World Vision subscribes to the humanitarian principles of impartiality and neutrality and therefore rejects any involvement in any political, military or terrorist activities and maintains its independence as a humanitarian aid agency committed to serving the poor, especially children. World Vision has detailed procedures and control mechanisms in place to ensure that the funds entrusted to us are spent in accordance with applicable legal requirements and in ways that do not fuel conflict but rather contribute to peace.

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. World Vision has been working in Israel/Palestine for over 40 years, striving to give hope to over 500,000 of the most vulnerable children, through education, health, child protection and resilience programs.”

Comments

18 Responses to “World Vision Australia believe no truth in the charges against Gaza manager”
  1. SamT says:

    No! Leon, I will not violently disagree! Like the Lebanese have determined, you will just have to catch another bus! Because we do not believe you! Just as the Lebanese in RIO reacted to 70 years on invasions, to Qana masacres. The world does not believe you any more!

  2. Leon Poddebsky says:

    Adrian and Samuel, you both underestimate Hamas’s ingenuity, resourcefulness and determination in their campaign to delete Israel.
    Shame on you.

  3. Liat Kirby-Nagar says:

    Well, of course, Tim Costello and World Vision administrators are shocked at the charges that monies have been misused. Costello’s vehemence and quick defensive comments regarding audits show his automatic shift to denial and defence mode. Instead, surely he should be more interested in making sure funding is used correctly and appropriately. That would be the most enlightened and mature response. But he’s running for cover.

  4. Henry Herzog says:

    Tim Costello once said that the 9/11 attack on the Trade Centre resulted from Muslims living in poverty; never mind that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack came from wealthy families. With Costello at the helm of World Vision, it’s more like myopic vision.

    • Leon Poddebsky says:

      I don’t think that it’s myopia.
      I think that it’s studied aversion to orthopia.

    • Adrian Jackson says:

      Most of them were Egyptians and Saudia’s in this 11/9 (11 September) attack.

  5. Andrew Barak says:

    There seems to be a growing disconnect between the NGO charities and their donors.
    I wrote to the Australian Government some years back concerned that taxpayer funds were being misdirected to fund terrorist infrastructure. I got a form reply that did not address my question. I wrote again and was advised that all programs were audited by independent NGO agencies. There is no direct oversight of the aid funds given to the PA by Australian Taxpayers (last year $70m) and that is concerning.
    It is possible that World Vision genuinely didn’t know about the fraud that Mohammad El Halabi is charged with. However even if this is the case then there are issues of negligent management, especially as these issues had been raised with them some time back. That the evidence is presented and they are still in denial over the allegations is outrageous. The correct reaction would not be to jump on the defensive, but to support the action taken by the Australian Government and resolve to work in cooperation with Israel to ensure donor funding reaches its intended recipients. Israel can accomplish this. Hamas is a terrorist entity and cannot.
    It also disturbs me is that Rev Costello is probably unaware or dispassionate to the environment of fear that hundreds of thousands of Israelis endure due to Hamas insurgency and missile attacks as bourn by recent history. He seems unconcerned for the victims of terror. The ongoing incitement of Hamas, and now evidence to show that World Vision is an enabler of terrorism should be enough to make him realise who he is dealing with. It is time for change.

  6. Gareth Smith says:

    The allegations against World Vision are consistent with Israel’s targeting of NGOs particularly foreign ones. B’Tselem, the International Solidarity Movement and Break the Silence, for example, have incurred the wrath of the government who are desperately trying to stifle eyewitness reports of gross human rights violations. Journalists have also been censored. Clearly the flood on social media of video clips and photos of Israeli brutality fuel the BDS movement which Israel is desperately trying to curtail. It has established a special intelligence unit to seek out those who support BDS with a view to deporting them. Try as it will to blind the world’s eyes to what its settler/colonialist regime is doing it will fail just like the colonial regimes of France in Vietnam and Algeria or Britain in India and Malaya. Intolerable as it is to many in Israel the challenge is to form a unified, secular state where all denizens of Israel/Palestine have equal rights.

  7. Leon Poddebsky says:

    Some decades ago a Christian Archbishop, Hilaryon Capucci, was caught abusing his diplomatic immunity by trying to smuggle armaments in his Mercedes car to Arab fighters against Israel’s existence.
    His church also issued strong denials I suppose.

    It will be instructive to learn if World Vision executives turned a blind eye to abuse of donations. After all, that organisation believes that Israel is the bad guy that is oppressing the unfortunate Arab people whose lives are dedicated to ridding the world of the Jewish nation-state.

  8. Jonathan Benjamin says:

    I’d be interested to hear about the “Israel” activities that comprise their “Israel/Palestine” presence. Perhaps Tim can elaborate on that.

  9. David Adler says:

    You can’t or won’t deal with a problem if your perspective is denial.

  10. Adrian Jackson says:

    Well said Rev Costello.

  11. john nemesh says:

    Shin Bet does not issue allegations of charges lightly.

    I would tend to accept the security forces statements unless proven wrong….which i very much doubt.

  12. Samuel Terry says:

    Stand tall Mr Costello. Further comments will be read with great interest!
    Regards and best wishes.

    • Leon Poddebsky says:

      Here’s a comment for you, “Samuel.”
      Zionism and Israel are the best thing that’s happened in the Middle East for the last 2,000 years.
      Zionism and Israel have brought to that region humanitarianism, constructive ingenuity, endeavour, progress and success. And, given the barbarism of their enemies, superhuman self-restraint!.
      If only Israel’s fanatical foes both in the region and without would allow common sense, realism and self-interest to overcome self-inflicted blindness, religiously-based conditioning and counterproductive genocidal inclinations, every one would benefit.

      I predict,”Samuel,” that you will violently disagree with my comments.

      To the degree that NGO’s like World Vision are genuinely concerned about the problems that some Arabs suffer [ and I don’t know how much of the expressed concern is fake and motivated by ‘the oldest hatred’], they should be blaming those who deserve their opprobrium, namely the Arab peace refusers and fighters for the deletion of Jewish rights.

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