Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is defending a move to freeze church assets until they pay millions in back taxes to the city.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday closed its doors until further notice as church leaders angrily retaliated against what they see as a “systematic campaign” by Israel to harm the Christian community in the Holy Land.
Part of that is the recent decision by the Jerusalem Municipality to freeze churches’ assets until they cough up millions of shekels in what the city claims are unpaid taxes.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat holds a press conference at the Jerusalem Municipality regarding his dispute with the Finance Ministry over the city’s budget, on January 1, 2018. (Flash90)
“Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the places of worship of all churches are exempt from municipal taxes and that is the way it will stay,” Barkat tweeted.
“But does it sound logical that to anyone that commercial properties like hotels, halls and businesses be exempt only because they belong to the churches?”
“Why should the Mamila hotel pay taxes and the Notre Dame hotel, which is just opposite it, be exempt?” he asks.
Barkat says the churches owed some NIS 650 million in back taxes
“I’m not prepared for Jerusalem’s residents to have to shoulder these huge sums,” he says.
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