The Municipality of Jerusalem informed the Vatican that it is foreclosing the Israeli bank account of the Rotterdam church in the city due to an unpaid debt of five million dollars.
According to a report by Israel’s Channel 2 News Channel, the issue is in dispute between the church and the municipality and has the potential of growing into a full-scale diplomatic crisis between the Catholic Church and the state of Israel. The Israeli ambassador to the Vatican, who was informed of the issue by other Israel senior officials, is already involved in trying to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
Taxes and property: The municipality blocks the accounts of the Notre Dame in Jerusalem https://t.co/mCf4fUZIRa
— AsiaNews EN (@AsiaNewsEN) February 7, 2023
It should be noted that the Catholic Church, along with the Orthodox Church, own vast lands in the capital of Israel that are typically leased out to residents for symbolic amounts. Many of the ownership certifications date back hundreds of years, some even going back to the early crusades. Entire neighborhoods in Jerusalem are built on top of church lands, which are required to pay property taxes just like any other land owner in Israel.
As the city of Jerusalem plans on receiving the property tax debts from the Rotterdam Church, business owners in Jerusalem plan to appeal to the High Court on the issue, alleging discrimination, because the payment essentially needs to be paid by themselves in accordance with internal agreements.
La dette du Vatican envers la municipalité de Jérusalem menace de se transformer en crise diplomatique https://t.co/tSi6emE2mE
— i24NEWS Français (@i24NEWS_FR) February 6, 2023
The Jerusalem Municipality stated: "This is a seizure for non-payment of business property taxes only, which was imposed on the Notre Dame Hotel owned by the church. This is in light of the fact that the hotel operates as a business like any business operating in the city. The foreclosure was imposed after years of the hotel avoiding (and ultimately failing) to settle the issue with the municipality, despite repeated requests from the municipality."
This case is being conducted against the background of the increase in property tax rates in Jerusalem, in January 2023. Jerusalem, which is known for its high property tax prices, refused to freeze the nationwide price increase which stands at 1.37 percent.
Multi-million dollar #Vatican debt to #Jerusalem municipality threatens to turn into a political crisis between the states - #Israel @vaticannews_es @IsraelinHolySee @Jlm_city https://t.co/hfkRZRJANf
— Agencia AJN (@AgenciaAJN) February 6, 2023
Recently, the Jerusalem Municipality has been taking responsibility for the issue of real estate in the city in other aspects as well. Several weeks ago, the municipality announced new urban renewal projects, including plans to clear buildings and build over a thousand additional housing units in the French Hill, Arnona, and Kiryat Yuval neighborhoods.
