(CP) The Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem issued an pressing name for Israeli authorities to cease a authorities plan to grab and public sale off properties which have been within the possession of the Armenian Christian Patriarchate for over 1,700 years.
The patriarchate is embroiled in a authorized battle over an alleged municipal tax debt relationship again to 1994. Whereas the Municipality of Jerusalem has issued a foreclosures order for the property situated within the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Previous Metropolis, the church claims that the debt was imposed arbitrarily by a municipal official with out due authorized proceedings.
In a joint assertion from the Patriarchs and Heads of the Church buildings in Jerusalem, church officers condemned what they stated is an effort by the Israeli authorities to “implement a debt dedication with out judicial scrutiny, and in defiance of the governmental committee established to barter such issues in good religion.”
The property tax, recognized in Israel because the Arnona Tax, is an annual municipal property tax imposed on the residents of the locality. The tax, levied annually, covers the interval from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 of the identical 12 months.
However the patriarchate, which claims direct apostolic succession all the best way again to James the brother of Jesus, says accumulating on an unverified debt “undermines the liberty of faith” and will pose a menace to different Christian establishments in Israel.
“This motion undermines the liberty of faith, which is the muse of all different rights, since via a confiscation of belongings, makes an attempt to the best of existence of the Orthodox Armenian Church, depriving it of the mandatory financial assets to reside and function and depriving the native Armenian folks of the pastoral care of their Church,” the assertion reads. “This reckless transfer jeopardizes the Orthodox Armenian Patriarchate and units a dangerous precedent that might imperil Christian establishments all through the Holy Land.”
Quoting from 1 Corinthians 12:26 — “If one member suffers, all endure collectively” — the patriarchate referred to as on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and different officers to freeze all foreclosures proceedings and assist restart talks in an effort to attain “an amicable answer concerning this difficulty within the spirit of justice.”
Along with the federal government’s foreclosures menace, the Armenian Patriarchate additionally noticed a surge in assaults on Christians and church properties in Israel in 2023, in response to a report final June from the Jerusalem-based inter-religious group Rossing Heart for Schooling and Dialogue.
On Jan. 28, 2023, two younger Jewish males attacked a automobile carrying two Armenians close to an Armenian compound. And when the victims requested why, they have been pepper-sprayed within the eyes, in response to the Armenian Patriarchate.
The victims obtained hospital therapy and reported the assault to police. An hour after police apprehended one of many assailants, a big group of younger Jewish males tried to climb the patriarchate’s constructing with the intention of eradicating its flag and the Armenian flag.
Armenian males prevented them from doing so, inflicting the Jewish group to flee, however some members returned and began scary the Armenian youth, in response to the report.
Christians make up about 1.9% of Israel’s inhabitants, of which 75.3% are Arab Christians — 6.9% of the overall Arab inhabitants in Israel, in response to information from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics. Jews represent 73% of Israel’s 9.8 million folks, with Extremely-Orthodox members accounting for 13% of the overall inhabitants. Arabs represented 21.1% of the overall inhabitants.
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