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Spero News
July 30 2010
Israel: Israel threatens to cut off water supply to Church of the Holy Sepulchre
For nearly a century, various governments in the Holy Land gave free
water to the basilica and pilgrims as a sign of courtesy. Now the
Jerusalem Municipality also wants it to pay for past consumption of
water. Confusion and concern among the Christian Churches: we
agreement among all the groups who ...
Friday, July 30, 2010By Asia News
Tel Aviv ` The Churches of Jerusalem are perplexed and concerned by
the municipal authorities threat to cut off water supplies to the
basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. Since water supplies were first
operational in the area, successive governments have always provided
access to the Holy Sepulchre free of charge as a public service to the
pilgrims and act of courtesy to the religious, Catholic and
non-Catholic, who custody the sanctuary.
So did the British government in the Holy Land (1917-1948), the
Jordanian (1948-1967) and so far the Israelis. But now Israeli
municipal authorities have stepped up pressure and threats to cut off
water supplies unless a tax is paid, not only in future but also for
all water supplied since 1967.
The revelations were made to AsiaNews by sources in the Basilica, who
prefer not to be identified in the hope that the city authorities will
have a change of heart. The curious fact is that the payment requests
are directed to a nonexistent entity, "the church of the Holy
Sepulchre." An administration that does not exist, since the ancient
basilica is governed by a special, internationally recognized, legal
regime, known as the "Status quo". The "Status quo" means that the
spaces, time, and functions are divided between the Catholic Church,
represented by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land and several
groups of non-Catholic monks, primarily Greek and Armenian but also to
a lesser extent, Copts, Ethiopian and Syrian Orthodox.
An expert of Church-State relations in the Holy Land contacted by
AsiaNews, said: "The question of paying for the past use is clearly
unfounded, because it was a conscious choice and consistent political
of all the successive states that ruled in Jerusalem both de facto and
de jure, to offer this courtesy to those who officiate and those
visiting the Holy Sepulchre of Our Lord Jesus Christ [and also to many
other churches in the past]. As for the future, nobody denies that
nowadays the supply of water could be seen as a 'commodity' for which
you should always pay a fair price. However, in order for this to be
applied to the whole of the Holy Sepulchre, specific agreements must
be reached between first among the different users regarding the
splitting of costs for the consumption of water in common areas, and
then you will have to install separate water metres so that it can be
demanded that each group of monks pay for what they consume. In fact
it is a rather complex legal and technical transaction, which can be
addressed only by mutual agreement and not to the sound of threats and
warnings, addressed to nobody in particular'.
With some hesitation, the scholar concludes: "But in the end, is it
worthwhile for the Israeli authorities to remove an appreciated
courtesy practiced by all other states that have controlled the area?
It's likely that whoever had this idea will now have to consult with
the Office of the Prime Minister or the Foreign Ministry to reach a
more lenient conclusion".
Source: Asia News
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=37415&t=Israel%3A+++Israel+threatens+to+cut+off+water+supply+to+Church+of+the+Holy+Sepulchre
From: A. Papazian
July 30 2010
Israel: Israel threatens to cut off water supply to Church of the Holy Sepulchre
For nearly a century, various governments in the Holy Land gave free
water to the basilica and pilgrims as a sign of courtesy. Now the
Jerusalem Municipality also wants it to pay for past consumption of
water. Confusion and concern among the Christian Churches: we
agreement among all the groups who ...
Friday, July 30, 2010By Asia News
Tel Aviv ` The Churches of Jerusalem are perplexed and concerned by
the municipal authorities threat to cut off water supplies to the
basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. Since water supplies were first
operational in the area, successive governments have always provided
access to the Holy Sepulchre free of charge as a public service to the
pilgrims and act of courtesy to the religious, Catholic and
non-Catholic, who custody the sanctuary.
So did the British government in the Holy Land (1917-1948), the
Jordanian (1948-1967) and so far the Israelis. But now Israeli
municipal authorities have stepped up pressure and threats to cut off
water supplies unless a tax is paid, not only in future but also for
all water supplied since 1967.
The revelations were made to AsiaNews by sources in the Basilica, who
prefer not to be identified in the hope that the city authorities will
have a change of heart. The curious fact is that the payment requests
are directed to a nonexistent entity, "the church of the Holy
Sepulchre." An administration that does not exist, since the ancient
basilica is governed by a special, internationally recognized, legal
regime, known as the "Status quo". The "Status quo" means that the
spaces, time, and functions are divided between the Catholic Church,
represented by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land and several
groups of non-Catholic monks, primarily Greek and Armenian but also to
a lesser extent, Copts, Ethiopian and Syrian Orthodox.
An expert of Church-State relations in the Holy Land contacted by
AsiaNews, said: "The question of paying for the past use is clearly
unfounded, because it was a conscious choice and consistent political
of all the successive states that ruled in Jerusalem both de facto and
de jure, to offer this courtesy to those who officiate and those
visiting the Holy Sepulchre of Our Lord Jesus Christ [and also to many
other churches in the past]. As for the future, nobody denies that
nowadays the supply of water could be seen as a 'commodity' for which
you should always pay a fair price. However, in order for this to be
applied to the whole of the Holy Sepulchre, specific agreements must
be reached between first among the different users regarding the
splitting of costs for the consumption of water in common areas, and
then you will have to install separate water metres so that it can be
demanded that each group of monks pay for what they consume. In fact
it is a rather complex legal and technical transaction, which can be
addressed only by mutual agreement and not to the sound of threats and
warnings, addressed to nobody in particular'.
With some hesitation, the scholar concludes: "But in the end, is it
worthwhile for the Israeli authorities to remove an appreciated
courtesy practiced by all other states that have controlled the area?
It's likely that whoever had this idea will now have to consult with
the Office of the Prime Minister or the Foreign Ministry to reach a
more lenient conclusion".
Source: Asia News
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=37415&t=Israel%3A+++Israel+threatens+to+cut+off+water+supply+to+Church+of+the+Holy+Sepulchre
From: A. Papazian