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Last update - 00:00 11/02/2007
Israel demanding right to buy Greek Orthodox church property
By Meron Rapoport

Israel is demanding that the Greek Orthodox patriarchy conduct a census of all church property in Israel and the Palestinian territories ahead of its sale or long-term lease, and to give Israel the first right of refusal on the property.

Israel is also asking that the property purchased by Jewish organizations in the area of Jerusalem's Jaffa Gate will "remain in the hands of the Israeli lessees," according to a document obtained by Haaretz.

The document bears the signature of attorney Renato Yarak, a former senior State Prosecution official. Yarak, the former head of High Court petitions in the State Prosecutor's Office, and another attorney, Rami Mugrabi, said cabinet minister Rafi Eitan gave them the document on January 18.
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Eitan is a member of the ministerial committee dealing with matters pertaining to the patriarchy.

The two attorney's represent Theophilos, who was elected patriarch by the Greek Orthodox Synod about a year and a half ago, and who has since then been working to obtain Israel's recognition as patriarch.

Sources close to Theophilos said his attorneys were told that the acceptance of the clauses in the document were a condition to Israel's recognizing him as patriarch. Theophilos' attorneys rejected the conditions as an "illegal and extraneous" intervention in church matters.

The most problematic clause is the one dealing with properties at the Jaffa Gate. It states that the patriarch and the author of the document must arrive at a process by which "the hotel" at the Jaffa Gate will remain in the hands of its Israeli lessees.

The property, consisting of three hotels, was sold to a company in the Virgin Islands, with members of the Ateret Kohanim association, which settles Jews in the Old City, acting as intermediaries.

However, the legality of the deal has been challenged in courts. Patriarch Irineos, who was dismissed from his post by the Greek Orthodox Synod after the sale of the hotels to Jews came to light, claimed that he and the Synod had not approved the power of attorney as required by law. The demand by attorney Micha Kirsch, representing Irineos, that the deals be canceled, is now before the District Court in Jerusalem.

Irineos also said his dismissal by the Synod is illegal and that he wants the government to continue recognizing him as patriarch.

The ministerial committee of which Eitan is a member is to inform the High Court of Justice of the government's stand on the matter.

The document delivered by Eitan to Theophilos' attorneys shows that a central issue occupying the committee is how to ensure that Greek Orthodox church assets will be sold to Jewish bodies or to the state.

Eitan refused to comment, saying that the matter was currently before the court.

The Greek Orthodox church owns tens of thousands of dunams of land in the Galilee, central Israel and Jerusalem.

A senior legal official said that if the cabinet would indeed condition its agreement to recognize Theophilos on a doubtful legal deal now before the courts, such a condition was "ugly" and did "not look good."
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  1.   Israel has no right 08:47  |  Christian Jerusalemi 11/02/07
  2.   Greek Orthodox property 09:28  |  Lebanese Admirer 11/02/07
  3.   First refusal on occupied land? 09:37  |  Johny 11/02/07
  4.   Brow beating or politics or law. 10:16  |  H.H.M 11/02/07
  5.   Other people`s property. 10:23  |  JW 11/02/07
  6.   Buy more Jerusalem land 11:07  |  Zionist 11/02/07
  7.   Where the ugly deeds began..... 11:25  |  Esther 11/02/07
  8.   Demanding 11:31  |  john 11/02/07
  9.   Property laws in the Common Law countries 11:38  |  Vitaliy, Esq. 11/02/07
  10.   TO IDIOTS # 1 - 7 , ISRAEL HAS THE RIGHT TO EXPROPRIATE : 12:28  |  MOSHE 11/02/07
  11.   To No. 10, On Idiots 13:18  |  Marcos 11/02/07
  12.   if it was arab/muslim/pal selling his private land 13:22  |  Joseph E . 11/02/07
  13.   to Idiot number 10 13:33  |  idiot number 1 11/02/07
  14.   To #10 14:00  |  Jose 11/02/07
  15.   Xtian invaders and occupiers of Jewish homeland 14:02  |  Yacov 11/02/07
  16.   This is not right! 14:11  |  Anna 11/02/07
  17.   this is like something out of the Godfather 14:23  |  SD 11/02/07
  18.   demanding #8 14:25  |  Jo Jo 11/02/07
  19.   The Church owns nothing in Israel to begin with. 14:35  |  Steven 11/02/07
  20.   Property laws in Occupied Land? 14:41  |  Lebanese admirer 11/02/07
  21.   ABOUT TIME 14:48  |  Avraham 11/02/07
  22.   Israel`s fundamentalists blunders 15:11  |  Chrsitian Australian 11/02/07
  23.   CHURCH IS ILLEGAL OCCUPIER! EXPROPRIATE NOW!!! 15:38  |  Meir Libny 11/02/07
  24.   Israel`s historic land 15:48  |  Samaritan 11/02/07
  25.   DON`T SELL TO JEWS 15:54  |  Stevel 11/02/07
  26.   #22 Xtian Australian: Your theft of other peoples land 16:26  |  Yacov 11/02/07
  27.   Do not go there 16:53  |  Dr Steen Harald 11/02/07
  28.   Land in Jaffo 17:35  |  Mike 11/02/07
  29.   #27 Dr. Steen Harald from the Land of Luther 17:36  |  Yacov 11/02/07
  30.   Hands off Christian property 17:39  |  Rami 11/02/07
  31.   This is a major mistake by the Israeli govt. 23:31  |  Patricia 11/02/07
  32.   #26 Yacov 00:20  |  Christian Australian 12/02/07
  33.   anyway isn`t this Israeli disrespect of their own courts??? 00:38  |  SD 12/02/07
  34.   Should we allow Jews to own property in USA? 01:20  |  JJ 12/02/07
  35.   Believe Haaretz Commie lies at your own risk 01:29  |  Jake 12/02/07
  36.   #32 Christian Australian 03:06  |  Yacov 12/02/07
  37.   #23Meir Libny, about the ISRAEL`S TOURIST INDUSTRY... 03:09  |  Maureen Ann 12/02/07
  38.   knesset sits on land it leases from greek orthodox church 03:28  |  topanga 12/02/07
  39.   McGill University 04:29  |  Steve 12/02/07
  40.   #19 wow...such hate 07:25  |  Elokim 12/02/07
  41.   #19 wow...such hate 07:25  |  Elokim 12/02/07
  42.   #19 wow...such hate 07:26  |  Elokim 12/02/07
  43.   #35 Maureen Ann 08:19  |  Linichka 12/02/07
  44.   Prophets from Gallilee went barefooted but the Catholic Church am 10:35  |  Absolute Sweden 12/02/07
  45.   Yacov 10:48  |  Phillip 12/02/07
  46.   to yacov 11:26  |  carlos 12/02/07
  47.   #44, Absolute Sweden, be reminded of one detail 15:33  |  zmogus 12/02/07
  48.   Greek Church 14:58  |  Alexandra 18/09/07
  49.   Zion 07:56  |  Elev 21/01/08
  50.   Why??? 04:10  |  Gologota 20/09/08
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