IMAGE: CNS photo/Debbie Hill
By Judith Sudilovsky
JERUSALEM (CNS) — Christian leaders in the
Holy Land announced they would reopen the Church of the Holy Sepulcher Feb. 28
after the Israeli government has set up a negotiating team to resolve a
municipal dispute over property taxes.
The heads of Christian churches expressed
“our gratitude to all those who have worked tirelessly to uphold the
Christian presence in Jerusalem and to defend the Status Quo,” the 19th-century
agreement that governs Jerusalem’s holy places.
They said they looked forward to bargaining
with the government committee “to ensure that our holy city, where our
Christian presence continues to face challenges, remains a place where the
three monotheistic faiths may live and thrive together.”
The committee’s formation was announced Feb.
27, two days after Christian leaders closed the doors of the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher, built on the site where tradition holds that Jesus was buried.
Church leaders sent out a brief press notice acknowledging they had received a
statement from the prime minister’s office concerning the crisis and said they
were holding consultations.
The church remained closed for a third day
as pilgrims continued to visit the square in front of the church, to pray,
kneel and sing hymns.
Although the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
was not being taxed, in early February the Jerusalem Municipality announced it
would begin collecting $186.4 million in property taxes from some 887
church-owned properties that were not houses of prayer.
The Israel Hayom newspaper reported that the
religious institution with the biggest tax bill was the Roman Catholic Church,
owing more than $3.3 million.
Among the properties slated to be fined was
the Vatican-owned Notre Dame of Jerusalem hotel, restaurant and conference
center across from the Old City. The director of the complex declined to
comment on the issue.
The Holy See and Israel have been in
negotiations over the status of its Jerusalem holdings since 1993, when
diplomatic relations were established.
The Israeli government said the team
negotiating the current tax crisis would consist of representatives of the
finance, foreign affairs and interior ministries as well as from the Jerusalem
Municipality. According to a statement from the prime minister’s office, the
Jerusalem Municipality will suspend the collection actions it has taken in
recent weeks.
The committee is also slated to look at the
issue of Jerusalem land sales by the Greek Orthodox Church. Church leaders
feared a bill in the Israeli parliament would allow for state expropriation of
church land. Media reported that work on the bill was suspended until the
committee could present its findings.
Earlier in February, some political
commentators suggested that the threat to impose taxes on church property was a
ploy by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to try to get more funding for his city from
the Ministry of Finance. Prior to this crisis, he had urged municipal workers
to go on strike, leaving the city buried in garbage in an attempt to get more
funds.
Despite rumors, sources told Catholic News
Service that church bank accounts had not been frozen, although at least the
Greek Orthodox Church had received a notice that such actions could be taken.
The church leaders said taxing commercial
properties decreases revenues for the church’s good works and breaches
“existing agreements and international obligations which guarantee the
rights and the privileges of the churches, in what seems as attempt to weaken
the Christian presence in Jerusalem.”
The church leaders’ closing of the Church of
the Holy Sepulcher during Lent, close to Easter, the busiest time for pilgrims,
drew international attention and condemnation.
In Amman, Jordan, Feb. 25, Mohammad
al-Momani, Jordanian minister of state for media affairs, called on “the
Israeli government to immediately reverse the decisions taken against churches
and respect its obligations under international law as an occupying power in
East Jerusalem.”
Under a 1994 peace accord with Israel,
Jordan is recognized as the legal custodian of Christian and Muslim holy sites
in Jerusalem. It is also only one of two Arab countries to have a signed peace
treaty with Israel.
In a statement made available to Catholic
News Service, al-Momani reiterated “Jordan’s absolute rejection of Israeli
authorities’ systematic measures to change the historical and legal status quo
in East Jerusalem’s holy sites, including Islamic and Christian property and
endowments as well as imposing further restrictions on Christian churches in
Jerusalem, the most recent of which was the Jerusalem municipality’s seizure of
church property and bank accounts on the pretext of not paying financial dues
related to building taxes.”
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Contributing to this story was Dale Gavlak
in Amman.
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Follow Sudilovsky on Twitter: @jsudireports.
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