Reuters
Reuters - 2 hours 28 minutes ago
By Ari Rabinovitch
JERUSALEM - Israel and the Vatican are in talks to end a long-running
dispute over the ownership and tax status of religious sites in the Holy
Land, including a place revered as the location of Jesus's last supper.
Churches acquired large amounts of land around Jerusalem as the Ottoman
empire went into decline from the early 19th century, long before Israel
was founded in 1948.
Today, many official Israeli buildings sit on leased church land. But
agreement on the legal status of these ancient properties has evaded
governments and popes for decades.
"The new state naturally inherited the obligation to respect and observe
those rights created before it came into being," said a Catholic expert
on church relations with Israel, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Vatican was looking to safeguard its rights under international
treaties and customs that date back before the establishment of the
modern Jewish state, the jurist said.
One Jerusalem building in dispute stands in a narrow alley outside the
Old City walls. Its second storey is the Cenacle where Christians
believe Jesus held the last supper. Jewish tradition says the floor
below is the burial site of King David.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, head of the Israeli negotiating
team, says the Vatican would like control of the Crusader-era building,
which was a stop on Pope Benedict's whirlwind tour of the Holy Land last
year.
Israel wants to keep the "status quo" on ownership, ensuring its
sovereignty, while reaching a settlement over debts accrued over years
of taxes owed to the state by the church.
"We are more than willing to assure the church that we will keep all the
properties intact and protected," said Ayalon.
"It's really a matter of trust and relationship ... and I believe this
is the main issue," he told Reuters in an interview.
The Vatican seeks recognition of its "historic rights" to tax exemption,
and to set rules for protection of religious sites and the return of
what it calls lost church property.
The negotiators met this month but failed to reach a deal and agreed to
meet again.
Though only a handful of sites are being discussed, the outcome may have
an impact on future transactions, particularly in Jerusalem, where
religious institutions are huge land owners.
An Israeli official familiar with the talks said Israel was worried that
any broad concessions would set a precedent.
IMPROVING RELATIONS?
Relations between Jews and the Catholic church are uneasy. A visit last
May by Pope Benedict caused some controversy and his decision last month
to move wartime pope Pius XII a step closer to sainthood angered Jews
who believe Pius did not do enough to help Jews during the Nazi Holocaust.
In a gesture of reconciliation, Benedict paid his first visit to Rome's
synagogue on Sunday. But ties are coloured by the Church's past
anti-semitism and both sides remain cautious.
Israel has guaranteed the Church open worship in the Cenacle and would
consider offering it more involvement, but Ayalon said ownership was not
up for discussion.
Israel reserved the right to appropriate property especially to build
infrastructure for public safety, while guaranteeing it won't harm the
holy sites. The Vatican wants to prevent this.
"The Church wishes for safeguards against future 'taking' by the state
of her property," the Catholic expert said, as well as "the restitution
of certain properties 'taken' in the past."
The reference, he said, was to a church that had been razed in the
northern Israeli city of Caesaria in the 1950s.
Neither side would give details of the negotiations -- such as the
amount of tax involved or when a deal might be concluded.
"The sooner the better," said Ayalon, who travels to the Vatican in May
for the next round of talks.
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