Holy Land churches cry foul over Israeli legislation on lands

JERUSALEM: Three major Holy Land churches implored Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to prevent the advancement of a draft bill they said was aimed at expropriating their lands.

Heads of the Armenian, Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches in Jerusalem also accused the Israeli authorities of failing to keep a committment made just a few months ago that brought an end to a major crisis between the sides.

In February, the Jerusalem municipality began enforcing tax collection on church property, while separately lawmakers in the parliament worked on advancing a law that would allow expropriation of church property.

The church leaders in protest closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built at the site of Jesus´s burial in Jerusalem, following which Israeli authorities froze both the tax measures and the legislation, committing to a dialogue with the Christians over the issues.

Rachel Azaria, a lawmaker with the centrist coalition party Kulanu, recently renewed work on a slightly revised bill that does not mention churches but would let the state expropriate the rights over lands sold by such bodies in Jerusalem, while offering compensation.

In their Monday letter to Netanyahu, the Christian leaders slammed the "scandalous bill," accusing its backers of an "unprecedented attack against the Christians of the Land." "Certain elements in the government of Israel are still attempting to promote divisive, racist and subversive agendas, thereby undermining the Status Quo and targeting the Christian community on the basis of extraneous and populist considerations," they said.

The church leaders also said that despite the Israeli committment to communicate on these issues via a specially appointed committment headed by Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, "no dialogue whatsoever has taken place with us" since the end of February.

"We view such conduct, from those who promote the bill, as a flagrant violation and undermining of Your Excellency´s commitment and of the basic and fundamental freedom of worship," the church leaders said.