Worried about the economic narrow. After at the end of August the Municipality of Jerusalem has “frozen” with a unilateral decision all the bank accounts belonging to the Greek-Orthodox patriarchy, the pressure on Christian churches continues. The Patriarchate had immediately issued a note in which it reads that “it is our belief that the reasoning at the basis of this decision is linked to the issue of the Arnona”, a controversial property tax on which for years a hard dispute has been underway between the Municipality and the different churches that hold properties in Jerusalem. A ten -year CCORD had been signed between the churches and the state of Israel to exclude the collection of the tax on the properties belonging to Christian institutions. In 2018, however, the Municipality of Jerusalem decided that the exemption applies only to the properties used “for prayer, for the teaching of religion or for the needs deriving from this” with the exclusion of ownership put at the service of pilgrims. According to the Municipality, therefore, even now that there are no revenues because due to the war, pilgrimages are reduced to a minimum, Christian churches should pay the tax as if nothing had happened.
In recent days, the assembly of the ordinary Catholics of the Holy Land (Achl) discussed, in Jerusalem of the delicate question, “one of the most urgent challenges for the church in the Holy Land”, explained the Latin Patriarchate. Cardinal Pizzaballa, president of the ecohl, underlined “the critical moment that Catholic institutions face” because “the status quo relating to the Arnona tax has come to an end”. For this reason there is “the urgent need for institutions to prepare collectively and responsibly for imminent changes”. The assembly intervened by the lawyer Farid Jubran, “Advocacy and Policy Advisor” by Acohl, who also analyzed “the context of the current crisis and offered a clear guide on the best practices to be adopted and on the actions to be avoided”. The EcoHL legal office will accompany the institutions by offering them legal assistance and practical support to safeguard the mission and the rights of the Church.
Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, apostolic nuncio in Israel and apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine, reiterated the importance of “a coordinated effort and a constructive dialogue to face the tax issue of Arnona”.
The question also spoke in a meeting at the Orthodox patriarchy of Jerusalem, where Teofilo III, together with the leaders of the Armenian, Franciscan, Latin and Anglican churches, received the senators of the United States, Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley, for a “solemn declaration on the serious tribulations that Christians face in the Holy Land”. Teofilo III said that “every defense of the holiness of the cult strengthens the lively testimony of the Gospel in the same city in which the word was proclaimed for the first time and from where it spread between the nations”. During the meeting, the leaders of the Christian churches, including the new custodian of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ielpo, denounced “the repeated attacks on the churches of Gaza and the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City (managed by the Anglican communion of Jerusalem), the serious threat represented by the Israeli tax Arnona and the growing dangers that Christian families face to Taybeh throughout the West Bank ».
