BICOM

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre reopened early Wednesday morning after the Israeli Government suspend the implementation of local tax collection plans opposed by church leaders.

The church was closed to protest a Jerusalem Municipality plan to collect property tax on church-owned properties that are not places of worship.

The move to close the church was also timed to coincide with a meeting by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, which had been scheduled to discuss a bill, to be applied retroactively, to allow the state to expropriate land in Jerusalem sold by churches since 2010 in return for compensation to the investors that purchased the properties.

The church is considered by many as Christianity’s holiest place, where it is believed Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. It is shared by the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations.

Following a three day standoff, the Jerusalem Municipality yesterday announced it will cease efforts to collect property tax from the churches. Earlier this month, the municipality attempted to start collecting a total of NIS 650m in tax from 887 properties. It stressed that the move only affected commercial properties, such as hotels, restaurants and offices and insisted other cities followed similar practices. It said that the churches collectively owe some NIS 186m ($53m) in back taxes.

The Israeli government also decided to freeze the legislation and to establish a team led by Minister for Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi, that will negotiate the sale of land in Jerusalem with the heads of the churches. The team, which will include representatives from the ministries of finance, foreign affairs and the interior and the Jerusalem Municipality, will also negotiate a solution to the issue of municipal taxes with church officials.

The Prime Minister’s office said: “Israel is proud to be the only country in the Middle East where Christians and believers of all faiths have full freedom of religion and worship. Israel is home to a flourishing Christian community and welcomes its Christian friends from all over the world.”

In a statement, the leaders of the three denominations in charge of the churches said: “We, the heads of Churches in charge of the Holy Sepulchre and the status quo governing the various Christian holy sites in Jerusalem – the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, the Custodian of the Holy Land and the Armenian Patriarchate – give thanks to God for the statement released earlier today by Prime Minister Netanyahu and offer our gratitude to all those who have worked tirelessly to uphold the Christian presence in Jerusalem and to defend the status quo.”