The city of Jerusalem, Israel, may take and auction property belonging to the Armenian patriarchy of Jerusalem due to tax disputes with the church.
The church is said to have not paid local taxes for decades, so they could lose their property “owned for centuries,” said the Armenian patriarchal prime minister in Jerusalem. A press release from the company said Tuesday. The administration is scheduled to take place on Monday over a church petition to stop the process. (Related: Trump Administrators investigate “Jewish hatred” and “support for terrorist organizations” at nine universities)
We desperately recommend sharing yet another emergency communicature. Targets and unfair taxes against religious groups in the Armenian district of Jerusalem are being collected unfairly. This crushing threat could be a precedent for all Christian communities in Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/1zh7sscmve
– Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem (@armenianquarter) February 18, 2025
The American National Committee on Armenia called the outlook in a social media post “a direct threat to the survival of all faith-based communities in the Armenian Christian Quarter and Holy Lands over the age of 1,700.”
Israel is set to tax, seize and auction properties owned by the Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/qlwu7yic3r
– anca (@anca_dc) February 18, 2025
The church argued at a press conference that the amount of the dispute was “never proven in judicial proceedings,” and that the debt violated the “law of limitations.” The patriarchy added that they were unfairly and selectively targeted by the authorities, and demanded that the Israeli government “quickly freeze all actions taken by the local government.” [the City of Jerusalem]” To them. They also requested that the government resume meetings with the church.
This is not the first time that the taxation of church property has involved competition in David’s city. The city of Jerusalem’s announcement in 2018 that it was about to impose taxes on church property led to both the Latin patriarchy of Jerusalem and the energetic and public head of the church. protest. Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox Churches all declared the decision a “coordinated attack on the existence of Christianity in the Holy Land.”
Israeli officials argued that the issue was a routine financial dispute. Israeli churches are major landowners and were traditionally exempt from property tax payments. The city’s 2018 decision to impose taxes on churches was intended to apply to land that was owned by the church but not used for worship purposes. The city claimed at the time that some of these properties were used in commercial practices, Yeshiva World News It has been reported.
“The economic damage caused by Jerusalem over the years following the state’s position [to not tax church and UN property] It’s nearly 1 billion [shekels]. Jerusalem residents must fund local government services for garbage collection, lighting, gardening and paved roads, raising huge sums that will help municipalities improve the city’s significant development and the services of its residents. There is no way to hinder it. Mayor of Jerusalem nir Baakt said:
