*Jerusalem: *Christian leaders Sunday took the rare step of closing theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre, built at the site of Jesus’s burial inJerusalem, in protest at Israeli tax measures and a proposed property law.
It was not immediately clear how long the closure of the church, announcedby Christian officials at a news conference and which began at around noon(1000 GMT), would last.
The church is considered the holiest site in Christianity, built whereChristians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, and is amajor pilgrimage site.
“As a measure of protest, we decided to take this unprecedented step ofclosure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” Greek Orthodox, ArmenianApostolic and Catholic leaders said in a statement.
They said recent Israeli measures seemed to be “an attempt to weaken theChristian presence in Jerusalem”.
Christian leaders have been angered over attempts by Israeli authorities inJerusalem to enforce tax collection on church property they considercommercial, saying exemptions only apply to places of worship or religiousteaching.
Separately, Christian leaders say legislation being considered by Israel’sgovernment would allow church property to be expropriated.
“This abhorrent bill is set to advance today in a meeting of a ministerialcommittee which if approved would make the expropriation of the lands ofchurches possible,” the statement said.
“This reminds us all of laws of a similar nature which were enacted againstthe Jews during a dark period in Europe.”
*’Very disappointing’*
Confused tourists stood in front of the church’s closed doors inJerusalem’s Old City after the announcement as tour guides sought toexplain why they could not visit.
One man knelt and prayed as workers began putting metal barriers around theentrance.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement that the city was due 650million shekels ($186 million, 152 million euros) in uncollected taxes onchurch properties, which he called “illegal and irrational”.
Barkat stressed that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and all otherchurches were exempt from the taxes and would remain so, with the changesonly affecting establishments like “hotels, halls and businesses” owned bythe churches.
Christian leaders say the measure jeopardises their ability to conducttheir work, which includes not only religious but also social services tothose in need.
A separate bill seeks to allay fears of Israelis who live in homes on landspreviously held by the Greek Orthodox Church and which were sold to privatedevelopers, according to Rachel Azaria of the centrist Kulanu party, who isproposing the legislation.
Recent land sales by the Greek Orthodox Church have drawn fire from bothIsraelis and Palestinians.
According to Israeli media, the foreign ministry has been critical of theJerusalem mayor’s decision on church taxation, with officials saying themove was harmful to a decades-long status quo.
A Russian tourist in her 20s who only gave her name as Elona said “it isvery disappointing” that she could not visit the church on Sunday.
“It is one of the main religious attractions, and to us it was veryimportant to visit it because it is our first time (here),” she said.
She said she does not feel “her mission is accomplished” as she was onlyvisiting for a few days.