JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem locked its doors and closed until further notice to protest a new municipal tax policy and a bill that would allow the Israeli government to confiscate some church land in exchange for compensation.

“We, the heads of Churches in charge of the Holy Sepulchre and the Status Quo governing the various Christian Holy Sites in Jerusalem […] are following with great concern the systematic campaign against the Churches and the Christian community in the Holy Land, in flagrant violation of the existing Status Quo,” read a statement from the heads of the churches in Israel:  Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, Custos Francesco Patton and Armenian Patriarch Nourhan Manougian, Haaretz reported.

“This systematic and offensive campaign has reached and unprecedented level as the Jerusalem municipality issued scandalous collection notices and orders of seizure of Church assets, properties and bank accounts for alleged debts of punitive municipal taxes.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The statement compared the decisions to “the laws of a similar nature which were enacted against the Jews during dark periods in Europe.”

The church, where Jesus is believed to have been crucified, buried and resurrected, is one of Christianity’s holiest sites.

Following the closing of the church, a Knesset committee on Sunday postponed discussion of the church lands bill, which would halt most of the major land sales in tony neighborhoods of Jerusalem carried out by the churches to private real estate companies.

Meanwhile, the Jerusalem municipality said it would collect about $186 million in what it said are back taxes owed by churches and international bodies with property in the city, according to Haaretz.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount