La Croix International, France
Friday
Christians blast Israeli bill for threatening their property
Three churches object, claiming it would allow state to seize their buildings in Jerusalem
Three churches including one affiliated with the Catholic Church’s Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem are trying to block draft legislation in Israel that would strip them of property in Jerusalem, Israeli radio reported.
The bill that is being deliberated would allow the state to seize control of buildings in the historic city that the Greek Orthodox Church has already sold to private developers, according to albawaba.com.
The piece of legislation has been proposed by a member of the Knesset for the centrist Kulanu Party.
In objection, a joint letter threatening action has been sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by Jerusalem’s Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Nourhan Manojian, and Custos of the Holy Land Francesco Patton (affiliated with the Latin Patriarchate).
“We call upon you, Mr. Prime Minister, to act quickly and decisively to block this bill, whose unilateral promotion will compel the Churches to reciprocate,” the three religious leaders wrote.
“We strongly believe this bill constitutes a systematic and unprecedented attack on the Christians of the Holy Land and violates their most basic rights,” the letter continued.
Later in the missive they cite the bill as being one of the chief architects for “the crisis that developed between the Christian community in the Holy Land and the State of Israel last February.”
This was referring to a huge unpaid tax bill of US$186 million on church property that Jerusalem claimed it was owed at that time.
Israel courted controversy in July by passing a nation-state law that defines it as the homeland of the Jewish people and states that “the realization of the right to national self-determination in Israel is unique to the Jewish people.”
It also listed Hebrew as Israel’s official language.
Arab politicians responded by tearing it up in disgust and comparing it to apartheid and warning it signaled the end of democracy in the country.