Churches cry foul as 'tax war' flares up again in Israel (Aid to the Church in Need)

Officials of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem discussed the “tax war” in which Israel officials have threatened to confiscate and auction Armenian Apostolic Church properties to pay municipal tax debts.

“The issue of whether churches should be exempt from certain taxes, including Arnona [a municipal tax], has been debated for decades,” according to Aid to the Church in Need. Sami el-Yousef, CEO of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, said that “all the churches will go bankrupt if we have to pay.”

“Churches are being pushed in terms of paying taxes,” he continued. “Talks between the Vatican and the State of Israel began in 1994, and should have been agreed by 1996, but they are still negotiating.”