CHRISTIAN CHURCHES OF COMPLAINTS AGAINST ISRAELI NEW TAXES

AZG DAILY
18-05-2011

Arthur Hagopian from “Armenian Mirror Spectator” reports

The heads of Christian churches in Jerusalem have expressed grave
concern over renewed moves by the Israeli authorities to tax church
buildings and properties. While previous such moves have ended in
failure, the Israelis have not tried hard to mask their intention
to persist in their efforts to impose an “arnona” (property tax)
on properties owned by the various churches, including those which
have been vacant for some time. In a statement issued here this
week, a loose conglomeration of the 13 Christian churches officially
recognized by Israel, calling itself the “Heads of the Churches of
the Holy City of Jerusalem,” warned of dire consequences that would
ensue should Israel carry out its plans.

“Such imposition would constitute a radical departure from the
consistent practice of every previous state to have governed any part
of the Holy Land, including the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate,
the Hashemite Kingdom and the State of Israel itself,” the church
leaders said. “It would represent a significant worsening of the
conditions of the churches in the Holy Land. It would also be in direct
contradiction of the mandate of the United Nations Organization in
General Assembly resolution 181, of November 29, 1947, as it applied
not only to Jerusalem but also to the two national states that it
authorizes to be established in the Holy Land,” they warned.

The churches argued the Israeli move would be in contravention of the
so-called “status quo” agreements promulgated in the 19th century,
which have governed relations between the churches and governments
since Ottoman times. Under the terms of the status quo, the Ottomans
pledged to exempt church properties from taxation, recognized their
rights and granted them special privileges, in documents termed
“firmans.” One Ottoman ruler, Sultan Chakmak, even went so far as to
damn any “accursed [person] or son of accursed” who dared impugn on the
rights and privileges of the Armenian Church, in an edict engraved in
a marble plaque that hangs at the entrance to the Convent of St James,
seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Subsequent administrators of the Holy Land, like the Jordanians,
expressed their support of the status quo and adhered to its tenets.

The churches warned that “any erosion of the understanding of the
status quo agreements between the State of Israel and Christian
churches threatens the well-being of the Christian churches and their
ability to continue the various ministries of pastoral care, education
and health care which they provide.” They also complained that an
“arnona” on Church properties would “contradict the solemn promises
given to the Churches by successive Israeli governments, most notably
confirmed in the wake of the June 1967 war” that saw Israel overrun
Jerusalem and most of the West Bank. The church statement minced
no words in describing the Israeli move as “aggressive,” expressing
astonishment at the timing, in a hint at the unpredictable political
disturbances spreading across the region.

“The heads of the churches cannot understand how it could be in the
interest of the state to take such aggressive action with regard to
the churches, especially at this time,” it said. It urged official
relations to remain on a correct and friendly basis, confident
that “such will indeed turn out to be the continuing choice of the
government of Israel.” “The Heads of Churches believe this respect is
essential for the ongoing health of the relationship between the three
Abrahamaic faiths which exist in Israel as well as the relationship
each has with the government of Israel,” the statement said. The
churches are particularly concerned that the “abrupt imposition of
unprecedented new taxation on the Christian Churches could only come
at the expense of their ability to maintain their presence in the Holy
Land and to continue their ministries of pastoral care, education,
welfare and health.”

The heads of Churches in Jerusalem include the Greek Orthodox
Patriarch, the Latin Patriarch, the Armenian Patriarch, the Custos of
the Holy Land, and the Armenian Catholic, Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian
Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Maronite, Syrian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic,
Anglican and Lutheran archbishops and bishops.