The Jerusalem Municipality recently informed the Prime Minister's Office and the Finance, Foreign and Interior ministries that it plans to begin collecting about 650 million shekels ($190 million) in unpaid property taxes from 887 church and U.N.-owned properties across the city.
The move will not apply to actual houses of worship, which are exempt from municipal property taxes, but to assets owned by the churches that are used for purposes other than prayer, some of them commercial.
To date, the state has demanded that the municipality refrain from collecting these debts, in light of previous agreements with the churches.
However, the city has obtained the legal opinion of international law expert Professor Gabriel Halevi, who examined in depth the legal aspects of church institutions and the U.N.'s obligation toward the Jerusalem Municipality. Halevi found unequivocally that there is no grounding for the state's position, that the agreements between the state and the churches do not apply to the Jerusalem Municipality, and that the municipality is required by law to collect the debts.
As a preliminary measure, the municipality has put a lien on the bank accounts of a number of churches, among them the Anglican Church, which has accrued a debt of NIS 7,214,228 (about $2.1 million), the Armenian Church, which owes NIS 2,011,996 ($587,000), the Greek Orthodox Church, which has a debt of NIS 570,946 ($166,000), and the Catholic Church, which owes NIS 11,981,103 ($3.49 million).
"The financial damage caused to Jerusalem over the years as a result of the state's position amounts to nearly NIS 1 billion [$292 million]," the city said in a statement.
"It cannot be that residents of Jerusalem need to pay out of their pockets for municipal services such as trash collection, landscaping and the paving of roads for churches and the U.N. The funds can significantly assist in the city's development and improve services for residents."
The municipality said that exempting businesses and other properties owned and used by the churches from municipal property taxes is discriminatory and is liable to lead to additional claims for exemptions on the grounds of discrimination and inequality, something that could exponentially jeopardize the city's financial stability.
"If the state does not allow us to collect the taxes for the benefit of Jerusalem's residents, we will not hesitate to appeal to the High Court of Justice," the municipality said. "Alternatively, if the state is interested in the continuation of the current situation, we demand that the state provide full indemnity for these amounts. Either way, we will no longer agree to Jerusalem residents paying this amount."
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said, "Let the state compensate us and return the funds allocated for the city's development, or we will collect them as required by law."
