Gaza Solidarity Telethon Scams Greeks

Last February, Greece's state-run TV ran a telethon to raise money for a Christian hospital in Gaza. The six-hour appeal raised $1.67 million. Now the JTA has discovered it was all based on a scam:

The hospital that was the focus of a campaign, which included the participation of Greece’s president and foreign minister, never actually existed . . . .

A JTA investigation revealed, however, that no Christian hospital was on the list assembled by the United Nations and the Red Crescent Society of structures in Gaza damaged and destroyed as a consequence of the Israel-Hamas war in January.

JTA spoke to two Palestinians living in Gaza who are active in or former members of nongovernmental organizations there, both of whom looked into the issue independently. Both reported that the only Christian hospital in Gaza, Al Ahli, was used during the war and did not receive a scratch. Al Ahli is financed by the Church of England.

This raises an awful lot of questions: Where did the money really go? Was this a deliberate fraud, or were well-meaning organizers themselves conned? Who is responsible for the fiasco? Lastly, isn't Israel owed an apology for being smeared? As the JTA points out:

One thing is certain: In a six-hour telethon loaded with Israel bashing, the Greek public was deceived that money contributed would go to rebuild a Christian hospital destroyed by the army of the Jewish state.

The BBC and Sky News treated a similar UK appeal like a hot potato, and nobody questioned the integrity of its organizers.

Posted at 03:27 PM