Influential US MP tells Bush: let's ask Israel to reach accord with Holy See
Henry Hyde, Chairman of the Committee on International Relations of the US House of Representatives, has expressed concern about the lack of progress in negotiations between the Israeli state and the Holy See towards accepting the Fundamental Agreement and for the conclusion stipulated in it of a comprehensive accord about pending claims on economic and property matters.
Tel Aviv (AsiaNews) A year or so after his letter to then Secretary of State Colin Powell, which helped re-start the negotiations earlier suspended by Israel, the Chairman of the Committee on International Relations of the U.S. House of Representatives, Henry Hyde, has written to President George W. Bush, to express once more his concern for the Catholic Church in the Holy Land. Chairman Hyde, one of the most highly respected Member of the U.S. Congress, and a devout Catholic, shares, among other things, with the American President, his "concerns regarding negotiations between the Holy See and the State of Israel."
AsiaNews has now obtained from a reliable source a copy of that letter.
The influential Catholic statesman sends the President, together with his letter, a report on, among other things, Israel's attitude to the "Fundamental Agreement [which] is an historic international treaty signed by the Holy See and Israel ...[which] entered into force in 1994..." In spite of the many years that have passed since then, "The agreement has not been ratified by the Israeli Knesset [i.e. parliament], making it impossible for church institutions to uphold the provisions of the agreement in Israeli courts. As a result, these institutions are vulnerable." Moreover, the Fundamental "Agreement ... mandates a comprehensive agreement on all outstanding claims concerning economic and property matters" pending between the State of Israel and the Catholic Church. It was to have been achieved "within two years" of the entry into force of the Fundamental Agreement in 1994. Many more years "have passed since the treaty [i.e. the Fundamental Agreement itself] has entered into force, and still there is no comprehensive agreement" on those vital fiscal and property matters. As a consequence of that, the report concludes, there is a "need for the United States to urgently extend its political support for the successful resolution of the negotiations between the Holy See and the State of Israel. It is vital that there be a comprehensive settlement of all outstanding claims so the various agreements may be written into Israeli law, permitting the Church access to due process in Israel's democratic government, allowing Christian institutions to focus on serving the communities they serve". To this end Israel's "newly elected Prime Minister... should ensure that there is a team in place that is empowered [to negotiate] " and there should be allocated "sufficient time to negotiate an agreement."
As reported several times by AsiaNews over the years, the negotiations are principally aimed at obtaining Israel's recognition of the rights possessed by the Catholic Church at the time the State of Israel was created in 1948. Although the U.N. Resolution that authorised the creation of the Jewish State (Resolution 181 of 29 November 1947) had laid down, for example, that no taxes should be imposed on the Church's institutions, from which they were previously exempt, Israel has never formally acknowledged that the Church possessed any such "existing rights." Involved, in addition to internationally recognised tax exemptions, are matters concerning Church property, especially sacred places. As an essential part of normalising relations with the State, the Church is claiming restitution of lost religioius property, including the church-shrine in Caesarea - confiscated by the State and razed to the ground in the 1950's - and an important convent of Franciscan Sisters in Jerusalem, occupied since 1948 by the national university, the Hebrew University.
Even more importantly, the Church's possession of all sacred places is jeopardised by an Israeli law which reserves jurisdiction to the Executive - i.e. to politicians - in all disputes concerning "religious building or sites." This means that the Government may arbitrarily deny the Church access to the Israeli courts, and instead decide such cases in accordance with electoral or any other extraneous considerations, rather than in accordance with the laws governing property. In this matter the Church is not asking for any privileges, but only for the right of any property owner to have disputes decided in the courts and according the law.
The negotiations on all of these questions were formally begun only on 11 March 1999, and have continued sporadically since then. As reported in the media, Israel has repeatedly cancelled planned meetings, asked for extended intervals, and on 28 August 2003 Israel withdrew from the negotiations altogether. American interest in the matter greatly helped in bringing Israel back to the negotiating table (although meetings continue to be held only sporadically). Nonetheless reliable sources tell AsiaNews there is no end in sight. Meanwhile, on the ground, problems have multiplied for Church institutions, explaining the sense of urgency emphasised by the Hyde letter to President Bush.
Americans feel closely involved, both because of the large number of Catholic citizens in the U.S., and because American Catholics are generous donors to the Catholic Church in Israel, and want to be sure that their hard-earned money goes to the purposes, for which it is given, and not gobbled up in taxes, from which, in the U.S. itself, the Church (along with the Synagogue and the Mosque) is exempt, or to which the Church throughout the Holy Land has "existing rights" to exemption.
It remains to be seen whether the combination of the extraordinary abilities of Vatican diplomacy and the weight of American support, together with fresh thinking on the part of Prime Minister Olmert and his new Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni, will finally achieve the too-long-delayed "comprehensive agreement."
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