Israel backtracks on plans that enraged Christian Churches in Jerusalem

[Falcon29]

Israel backtracks on plans that enraged Christian Churches in Jerusalem

Israel has suspended a plan to tax Church property in Jerusalem following a backlash. A separate land bill has also been suspended pending negotiations with Church leaders.

Israel on Tuesday said it would suspend a controversial tax and expropriation bill that Christian leaders in Jerusalem had earlier described as a "systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land."

The Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic churches closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday in protest against the Jerusalem municipality's tax and land right plans.


The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been closed since Sunday in protest.

Suspension of tax collections

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it would:

• Suspend tax collection on Church properties.
• Suspend a proposed bill covering the sale and expropriation of church lands.
• Assemble a team to negotiate with Church leaders.

Church leaders have described Israeli plans as "an attempt to weaken the Christian presence in Jerusalem."

Jerusalem's original plans: Jerusalem's Municipality wants to tax church "commercial" properties, saying that churches have uncollected tax debts of roughly €151 million ($185 million). The tax plan would not affect places of worship.

A separate piece of legislation in parliament seeks to allow the Israeli government to expropriate land the Church sold to private land developers. The land bill, according to its drafters, is designed to protect homeowners from not having their leases extended.

Church shutdown: In protest Church leaders of all denominations on Sunday closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre indefinitely. Church leaders said Israel was trying to upset the status quo running back to the Ottoman Empire, and later the British Mandate in Palestine.

The Churches are major landowners in Jerusalem. They said both the tax and land rights changes would make it more difficult to fund operations.

Palestinian concerns: Palestinians are concerned the land purchases are designed to expand Israeli settlement construction in east Jerusalem, which they claim as the capital of a future state.
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http://www.dw.com/en/israel-backtra...ed-christian-churches-in-jerusalem/a-42761172

 

[BHarwana]

Israel is the enemy of Christians Muslims and Jews.

 

[Solomon2]

Can't see why for-profit businesses should be exempt from taxation or PD processes simply because they are owned by a religious organization.

 

[Falcon29]

Can't see why for-profit businesses should be exempt from taxation or PD processes simply because they are owned by a religious organization.

Shouldn't they be granted Israeli citizenship before they are obliged to pay taxes to the state of Israel? You realize this is in occupied Palestinian territory. Ideally a Palestinian government should be collecting taxes.

 

[Solomon2]

Shouldn't they be granted Israeli citizenship before they are obliged to pay taxes to the state of Israel?

Not for municipality taxes.

You realize this is in occupied Palestinian territory. Ideally a Palestinian government should be collecting taxes.

No, it's only called "occupied". Under international law it's part of the League of Nations' Palestine Mandate, complete with calls for Jews to "closely settle" the area and denying Arabs political rights, save those the Jews are willing to permit. Under Article 80 of its charter, Resolutions of the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council claiming otherwise have no legal merit.

 

[Falcon29]

Not for municipality taxes.
No, it's only called "occupied". Under international law it's part of the League of Nations' Palestine Mandate, complete with calls for Jews to "closely settle" the area and denying Arabs political rights, save those the Jews are willing to permit. Under Article 80 of its charter, Resolutions of the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council claiming otherwise have no legal merit.

I'm not getting into a non-sensical discussion with you, even then, under the British mandate or Jordanian rule the Churches were always exempt from paying property taxes. My point still stands, Israel has no legal authority over occupied territories and the Palestinians are not required to pay any property taxes unless there is a one state solution and Israel grants all of them citizenship.

 

[Solomon2]

I'm not getting into a non-sensical discussion with you, even then, under the British mandate or Jordanian rule the Churches were always exempt from paying property taxes.

That's a straw man fallacy because the issue isn't whether places of worship get taxed but whether for-profit businesses owned by churches get taxed.

My point still stands -

In the absence of legal arguments supporting your position, it does not.

 

[EgyptianAmerican]

Not for municipality taxes.
No, it's only called "occupied". Under international law it's part of the League of Nations' Palestine Mandate, complete with calls for Jews to "closely settle" the area and denying Arabs political rights, save those the Jews are willing to permit. Under Article 80 of its charter, Resolutions of the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council claiming otherwise have no legal merit.

1) Israel refuses to acknowledge the authority of the United Nations by disobeying U.N calls to end settlement Expansion in Palestinian territories therefore you cannot use the U.N as a scapegoat

2) That Mandate’s expiration date was on May 14-15, 1948. Idiot.

 

[Solomon2]

1) Israel refuses to acknowledge the authority of the United Nations by disobeying U.N calls to end settlement Expansion -

You didn't read. U.N. doesn't have binding legal authority in disobedience of its own Article 80.

That Mandate’s expiration date was on May 14-15, 1948 -

You'll want to read commentaries like this one for a fuller legal treatment, but the idea that once the Brits declared their administration of the Mandate was over it was O.K. to rob and murder Jews may appeal to you but has absolutely no basis in international law and clearly stakes out your moral position on such matters.