Tensions have continued to escalate between the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Jerusalem municipality with the latest skirmish over a demand for significant property tax payments called the “Arnona tax” – a levy imposed on property owners in the municipality.
The dispute began two years ago and reignited in February, when a hearing session was scheduled before a district court about an alleged debt of 21 millions shekels (about $5.7 million) and with the threat of foreclosure on patriarchate properties.
CNA spoke with Bishop Koryoun Baghdasaryan, the director of the real estate department of the Armenian Patriarchate who, since Jan. 11, 2023, has been in charge of all the real estate properties in the Holy Land – Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan. “We received tax bills 12 days after I was appointed, in January 2023, together with the noti-fication that the execution bureau was instructed to be-gin foreclosure proceedings due to the alleged Arnona de-bt,” Baghdasaryan explained.
The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem have issued a statement expressing “great concern” over the incident and voicing their solidarity with the Armenian Patriarchate. “This reckless move,” they wrote, “jeopardizes the Orthodox Armenian Patriarchate and sets a perilous precedent that could imperil Christian institutions throughout the Holy Land.” Thanks to public pressure as well as adverse weather forecasts, the hearing was once again postponed until further notice. “At the moment, the situation is on hold,” Baghdasaryan explained, but the situation remains tense, since “it could rise again at any time.”