Posted on 02/25/2018 11:53:02 AM PST by WisconsinRep
The leaders of the major Christian sects in Jerusalem closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, for several hours on Sunday to protest an Israeli plan to tax their properties.
The Christian leaders responsible for the site issued a joint statement bemoaning what they called a “systematic campaign of abuse” against them, comparing it to anti-Jewish laws issued in Nazi Germany.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
they are trying to get out of paying taxes on commercial development properties...it costs the city just as much to serve and protect a church-owned commercial development as it does to serve and protect anybody else’s commercial development project.....this is just greed to try to not pay normal taxes for secular, money-making properties(And, closing the church is, of course, a ridiculous idea... Israel protects the church — at no charge — for free —from Muslim terrorist attacks, and will continue to do so even if its closed....but the priests really should keep it open .. there are people coming to visit from all over the world, after all...)
So, as Christians, we should support the “systematic campaign of abuse” of Christians in Israel?
Do Jews get to commercialize synagogues tax free too?
It may not be popular to say it here, but there is discrimination against Christian churches and Christian mission work in Israel.
I recommend Christian Witness to Israel, which brings the Gospel to Jewish people, and supports those who wish to convert.
Synagogues tax exempt, not Christian churches. It’s been labeled “discriminatory.”
‘Property tax exemption favors synagogues over churches’
Christians petition High Court for equal treatment under tax law, claiming full property tax exemption granted to Synagogues is discriminatory
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4202240,00.html
“It may not be popular to say it here...”
Oh, my friend. You don’t know what unpopular is if you think that’s a big deal! Here, I’ll show you what unpopular is:
I think all Jews should become baptized Christians!
And if you really want to go to “crazy unpopular”:
And after they all convert, I would love to buy them all delicious pulled pork sandwiches!
I visited Israel almost 4 years ago, and was at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Saturday. It was crowded with visitors. The Church is run by 3 separate Christian denominations, and I was struck by how it was the only church I can remember being in where there was no collection or any other attempt to get money from visitors. My thought at the time was that there must be a fairly severe conflict between the 3 Christian groups, something big enough that they apparently can’t collect money and share it, so they pass on collecting anything at all. Maybe things have changed since 2014.
Every Christian from Israel that I’ve ever met says that Orthodox civilians and police can be pretty unpleasant.
I’m surprised that no one really is commenting on this. It’s like everyone is scared to address the issue.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre closes over municipality’s tax demands
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Church-of-the-Holy-Sepulcher-closes-in-protest-of-new-policies-543558
‘Property tax exemption favors synagogues over churches’
Christians petition High Court for equal treatment under tax law, claiming full property tax exemption granted to Synagogues is discriminatory
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4202240,00.html
Churches cannot expect free city services for hotels and commercial properties. Hopefully, this can be negotiated successfully without too much inflammatory rhetoric.
Synagogues get a full tax exemption though, but Christian churches are getting taxed to the point of a tax revolt.
yesyes, i hear the same thing about the orthodox officials in Israel (and elsewhere)... mean
(and if anyone doesn’t want to pay property taxes, they can find many other ways of expressing their wishes or petitioning or writing to their representatives directly... without ruining Christians’ vacations by closing down one of the “main attractions” for their visits...)
ha!
yes INDEED...you and I should be so lucky as to suffer from that “systematic pattern of abuse!”
ha ha HA!
too much enemy propaganda, ha!
but just look at how the Muslim terrorists are slaughtering, murdering, bombing, knifing, torturing, and even crucifying Christians Christians in that part of the world...it is TERRIBLE
Be interesting to see which side the Dispys here in the US come down in favor of. It’s usually “Israel can do no wrong” when it is the Pali Christians being squeezed.
Does anyone have evidence that the specific legislation is actually discriminatory? This is claimed but not show either in the text of the legislation or by providing details of particular properties being subject to the tax.
This article gives a much broader perspective and there does not seem to be a discrimination issue per se. It is just a matter that the Church has held a lot of commercial investment properties for years without paying taxes. There does not seem to be any synagogue parallel, which is not surprising because, until the founding of the state of Israel 70 years ago, held far more land ownership in major metropolitan tourist areas (holy sites, etc.)
If Hillary had won, if the left wins the next election rest assured they won’t be like Jeff Sessions, they will come in with blood in their eyes. We can be sure the left will do (or try) the same to the churches here what the Israel government is doing to the church in this article - tax them out of existence.
Come to think of it, since the Israeli government is leftist (by that I mean anti-Christian, leftists are anti-Christian the world over), its really the same thing.
Sowing discord amongst Gods favored children? Say it ain't so.
A neighboring country to Israel has this tax law.
Recognized religious institutions and clergy, including all government-recognized Muslim, Jewish, and Christian organizations, received free utilities and were exempt from real estate taxes on religious buildings and personal property taxes on their official vehicles.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.