Middle East Council of Churches Condemns Freezing of Jerusalem Patriarchate’s Accounts
Council calls Israeli measures “an assault on Christians and all Palestinians”
JERUSALEM —The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) has sharply condemned the decision of Israeli authorities to freeze the bank accounts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and to impose heavy taxes on its properties.
In a statement released under the title “Regarding the occupation authorities’ freezing of the bank accounts of the Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, imposing heavy taxes on its properties, and assaulting some of its properties,” the Council described the move as “an assault on its parishioners and on the people of Palestine as a whole.”
The MECC warned that freezing the accounts “paralyzes the ability of church institutions to function normally and serve the people and prevents aid from reaching them at a time when they are most in need.” It stressed that the financial restrictions follow “decades of direct attacks on and confiscation of Patriarchal property in more than one location in Palestine,” with the ultimate aim being “the targeting of the Christian presence, and the Palestinian presence in general, on the land of Palestine—the land of the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and the launching of the message of salvation.”
The Council, which brings together Orthodox, various Oriental, Catholic, and Protestant churches across the region, emphasized its half-century mission of “preaching and working for justice and peace.” It urged the international community and ecumenical partners to act, calling on them “to demand the implementation of international agreements and respect for international humanitarian law, and to exert the necessary pressure to dissuade the occupying forces from carrying out these aggressive and destructive actions.”
The MECC includes the Orthodox Churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, and Cyprus, alongside other Christian traditions, and has long sought to defend Christian communities in the Middle East.
