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On borrowed time By Meron Rapoport Tags: Israel, Knesset Tenant Ehud Olmert does not intend to move out of his official residence, on Jerusalem's Balfour Street, in the near future. In interviews he granted the media before the Passover holiday (the traditional pre-Independence Day interviews were canceled this week, due to the prime minister's new imbroglio, details unknown), Olmert promised that he would run in the next elections, and win - a victory that would give him a five-year extension on his "lease" on the Prime Minister's Residence. But even if Olmert survives all the challenges to his position, whether political or legal, his problems as a tenant are liable to come from another direction. His landlord, the actual owner of the land on which the house stands, may well demand that Olmert, even if he wins the next election, vacate the asset because of inheritance problems. The owner of the land on which the prime minister's Bauhaus-style house stands is called the Greek Orthodox Church. The fact is that it owns practically the entire neighborhood. The church owns 520 dunams (105 acres) in the neighborhoods of Rehavia and Talbieh, the residential heart of West Jerusalem. The President's Residence, the Chief Rabbinate and, further west, the Knesset building - along with many hundreds of residential buildings - stand on this expensive land, each dunam of which has a value of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Advertisement Over the past few weeks, this vast parcel of real estate has been at the center of a serious row within the Greek Patriarchate, involving power struggles, personal animus, a great deal of politics and huge sums of money. A conservative estimate, puts the value of the land alone, not including the construction on it, at half a billion dollars. At present, these 520 dunams are in the hands of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the Israel Lands Administration (ILA). But this possession is temporary. The Greek Orthodox Church leased the lands to the JNF in 1951 - for a period of 99 years. At the time, right after the establishment of the state, that may have seemed like an eternity. But in the meantime, the state has celebrated its 60th birthday, and in another 42 years it will be expected to return the keys to the Church. The idea that the fate of the land on which the Knesset stands rests in the hands of priests who sit in the stone courtyards of the Greek Orthodox Church compound, in the Christian Quarter, causes many members of the Israeli administration to break out in a cold sweat. Uncertainty about the future of these lands has already led to one unsavory affair. In 2000 the JNF gave $20 million to two ultra-Orthodox businessmen, who promised that with their connections they would be able to convince the Greek patriarch, who heads the church , to agree to extend the lease with the JNF for an additional 99 years. The payment was made in cash, because the patriarch at the time, Diodoros, did not fancy checks or credit cards. But the outlay seemed worthwhile: $20 million for an area whose value was 20 or 30 times that amount. Basis for a thriller The ultra-Orthodox pair, Yaakov Rabinowitz and David Morgenstern, returned successfully from their assignation in the patriarch's court with a signed contract in hand. There was just one problem: The signatures on the contract were forged. A few months ago, after a long trial, which brought forth testimony that could serve as the basis for a thriller - featuring priests carrying suitcases stuffed with millions of dollars, a greedy patriarch on his deathbed and Jewish wheeler-dealers who feel at home in the patriarchate - the two were convicted of fraud and the use of forged documents. To date, it is not clear where the $20 million paid out by the JNF for the lands disappeared to. In recent months the deal took on new dimensions, thanks to the selection of a new patriarch, Theophilos III, whose appointment was approved by the government only a few months ago. Last week the transaction being arranged with the JNF was presented to a committee established by the Holy Synod, a kind of board of directors of the patriarchate. And then the storm erupted. The synod's members discovered that the patriarchate had agreed to turn over these hundreds of dunams in the center of Jerusalem for a payment of a mere $9 million from the State of Israel. "The patriarchates' lawyers explained the transaction, and the JNF attorney was also present at the meeting," says one of the associates of Patriarch Theophilos. "And then one of the bishops began to shout: 'This area is worth a billion dollars, there are hundreds of buildings there, why are you selling it for $9 million? ' The JNF representative asked him: 'Tell us, what do you want? For us to evacuate all the tenants from Rehavia?' He said: 'If necessary, evacuate. It belongs to us.'" Theophilos' people are convinced that there is a political background to this aggressive approach. A Palestinian background, to be more precise. The Greek Church has in recent years been undergoing a process of increasing "Palestinization," they say. This process is understandable. Almost all the church's believers in Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan are Arabs. The entire senior priesthood, however, is Greek. This contrast between the rank-and-file and the priesthood creates tension. The fact that for generations, Greek patriarchs have been selling church lands to the State of Israel, to Jewish businessmen or even to Jewish nonprofit organizations, has only intensified this tension. This strain is actually what led to the downfall of the previous patriarch, Irineos, after it turned out that he had provided a proxy that allowed for the sale of three hotels just inside Jaffa Gate to the far-right Jewish Ateret Kohanim association. In an exceptional move, the synod removed Irineos in 2005 and elected Theophilos as his replacement. For almost three years, though, Israel refused to recognize his election, and conditioned a change of its position on a guarantee by Theophilos that he would be ready to sell assets to the State of Israel in general, and to Jews in particular. Theophilos refused to sign such a guarantee, although behind the scenes he explained to anyone in Israel who wanted to listen just what his policy was: He would not agree to sell assets to the State of Israel or to Jews beyond the Green Line, but he was ready to do business if it concerned properties within Israel proper. In Rehavia, for example. That was one of the reasons why last December the government finally recognized Theophilos as the legal patriarch. The Knesset, no charge Those church members who expressed opposition to the new transaction claim that their reasons are entirely practical. The area is worth a fortune, and there is no reason to give it up for such a small sum, they say. Elias Khouri, a well-regarded lawyer and a member of the Greek Orthodox community, says he is looking only for a transparent process. "I spoke with assessors and they said that the land alone is worth $600 million, without the houses," says Khouri. "This is property belonging to the community here. It should enjoy the fruits of the transaction, and therefore it has to be represented in this transaction. The transaction as it has been presented amounts to rape and robbery on the part of the state." Sources close to the bishops opposed to the transaction say they are even willing to "give a gift" to the State of Israel and to bequeath it the land on which the Knesset stands, free of charge. But they are not willing to give away the rest of the 520 dunams for a song. The sources say that they see the deal as presented to them as being, in effect, the payment exacted from Theophilos for recognition by the Israeli government. "It looks like governmental bribery," says attorney Khouri. Theophilos' associates adamantly reject these arguments. "We are only waiting for them to be heard so we can sue those who are uttering them for slander," is the comment of one. But it is undeniable that contacts regarding the Rehavia deal between Theophilos and the state began even before Theophilos received official recognition. In any case, the patriarch's people feel that the opposition is above all political. "The opponents receive their power from the PA," says one of them. He says that after details of the transaction became known, the Jordanian government and the PA also asked for explanations from the patriarch. "We don't understand what's going on here," say one associate. "Even in order to sell lands within the Green Line, we need the approval of the Palestinian Authority?" Khouri, who is considered close to the PA and even headed a PA investigative committee that "acquitted" the previous patriarch, Irineos, from responsibility for the sale of the hotels at the Jaffa Gate, denies these things. "It's true that the PA is opposed to the sale of church assets beyond the Green Line, and mainly in Jerusalem, to Israel or Israeli groups," says Khouri. "But as far as I know, the PA has no opposition to transactions made by the Greek Church within the Green Line, and the same is true of the Jordanians. The fact is that the church representative in Jordan spoke in praise of the transaction. He would not have done so without the approval of the government." Opposition groups in the church also wonder about the urgency for concluding the deal. Theophilos began serving as patriarch only a few months ago, and the leasing arrangement in Rehavia has another 42 years to go - it hardly expires tomorrow morning. One of Theophilos' associates has an explanation. Although the pair of ultra-Orthodox businessmen were convicted of using forged documents, he says, it is quite clear to the church that they did not operate alone, that they had accomplices inside the patriarchate. "Do you believe that 15 people came to the patriarch on a Friday afternoon, and no one in the patriarchate knew or heard?" wonders the source, referring to the occasion when Diodoros presumably signed the forged document. "It doesn't work that way." This assertion is supported in the ruling by Jerusalem District Court Judge Moshe Gal, who convicted Rabinowitz and Morgenstern. Although the patriarchate brought the initial lawsuit, it does not emerge clean from Judge Gal's ruling. "The suspicion of a possibility of fraud on the part of the patriarchate, and even on the part of the patriarch himself, was on the agenda at all times," writes Judge Gal. "We cannot dismiss the involvement of bodies within the patriarchate [in the forgery of documents]." "Rabinowitz and Morgenstern are not suckers," say those around Theophilos. "If they are pressured, they will reveal everything, will take out tapes with monks receiving money." This may actually be the goal of those within the patriarchate who are fighting the new transaction, they are saying there. They want to blow up everything. The new deal is liable to prevent the exposure of this unpleasant past. Parallel to the criminal procedure, there is also a civil procedure under way, in which the patriarchate is requesting to have erased from the land registry a "caveat" in favor of the JNF, which is based on the documents of "the deal" attained by Rabinowitz and Morgenstern. Strangely, although the criminal proceeding determined that the documents were forged, the JNF claims in the civil proceeding that the transaction is valid and that the caveat should be left in place. If it turns out that senior elements in the patriarchate really did collaborate with the fraudulent transaction, the court may accept the position of the JNF, and then the church will be left with neither the lands nor the money. Yet another reason offered by Theophilos' people in favor of signing a deal now, even cheaply. Elias Khouri says these reasons are not serious. He does not believe that it is possible for one court to give approval to a transaction after another court has proved that it was based on forged documents. "The state cannot sue people for forging documents, on the one hand, and on the other claim that the same transaction is kosher," he explains. In the circles around Theophilos, they are convinced that the transaction will be approved in the final analysis. There is already a majority in favor in the synod, they say, and at the moment only a few technical details await completion. The sum of $9 million being bandied about is also a distortion, they say. To this amount must be added additional sums that the state is committed to transferring to the patriarchate over the years. "Everything will be done in a transparent manner, and everyone will see that this is a good deal," promises a colleague of the patriarch. Opponents of the transaction are not sure that things will be so easy. At the ILA and the JNF they preferred not to comment on the deal being formulated. Officially, they respond that they are "not familiar" with the possibility of a new transaction. Off the record, they say that any publicity can only "help the Arabs." But it's not certain that only the state is involved in this transaction. The trial of Rabinowitz and Morgenstern provided a clear indication that private businessmen were interested in the Rehavia deal. And a private businessman who receives 520 dunams in the center of Jerusalem for $9 million will really be making a good deal. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Grass is greener For the cannabis-growing residents of Lebanon, recent fighting has been a blessing. Piggy bank savings Welfare Minister Herzog unveils a plan to open savings accounts for every Israeli child.   1.   F..the Orthodox Church,they profess revering poor shoeles fisherm 13:52  |  Absolute Sweden 09/05/08   2.   TELL BISHOPS THEY ARE HEIRS TO ROMAN OCCUPIERS OF HOLYLAND THAT B 16:08  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 09/05/08   3.   ?????????????? 16:30  |  Dirk 09/05/08   4.   Christian properties 18:15  |  Anthony 09/05/08   5.   to voice of moshiach 18:19  |  Anthony 09/05/08   6.   The free market is the free market 18:37  |  David G 09/05/08   7.   How about the Anti-Semites/Quasi Monothiests do the following... 19:08  |  Laurence 09/05/08   8.   Greeks should pay reparation for murdered Greek Jews 19:39  |  Lionit 09/05/08   9.   There`s a very simple solution 19:41  |  Gaon Yerushalmi 09/05/08   10.   Who owns the Suez Canal ? 19:46  |  Straight Talk 09/05/08   11.   ????????????????????????? 20:16  |  jack 09/05/08   12.   and how did exactly the Greek Patriarchate acquire the ownership? 20:16  |  Genuine Tosefta 09/05/08   13.   no 6 20:29  |  Anthony 09/05/08   14.   borrowed time???? 20:54  |  ljf-canada 09/05/08   15.   #10 21:16  |  Gaon Yerushalmi 09/05/08   16.   Is it something in the air? 22:19  |  Motic 09/05/08   17.   Why worry? 22:20  |  Yossi 09/05/08   18.   Reply to # 8 22:23  |  Joseph 09/05/08   19.   is $$$$ all u care about PT1 22:34  |  dimitrios 09/05/08   20.   is $$$$ all u care about PT2 22:35  |  tsarouhtsis 09/05/08   21.   is $$$$ all u care about PT3 22:38  |  dimitrios 09/05/08   22.   no 15 22:56  |  Anthony 09/05/08   23.   Yossi 17 23:00  |  Anthony 09/05/08   24.   15 23:02  |  Anthony 09/05/08   25.   Shocking Revalation 23:30  |  ARTH 09/05/08   26.   #22 00:05  |  Gaon Yerushalmi 10/05/08   27.   Easy Solution 01:39  |  Rustam 10/05/08   28.   to no 18 01:45  |  Anthony 10/05/08   29.   Politics and money. 03:42  |  mike davis 10/05/08

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