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Published by
IsraelNationalNews.com, December 24, 2004
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Withdraws Suit
Against Israeli Paper |
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Irineos I, the
Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church in Israel,
has withdrawn and nullified a lawsuit he filed
against the Maariv newspaper to the tune of four
million shekels.
Irineos filed the
suit several months ago because the newspaper had
accused him of expressing anti-Semitic sentiments.
Earlier this month, however, Irineos withdrew his
suit, and even agreed to pay 10,000 shekels – plus
Value Added Tax – to Maariv to cover its legal
expenses. Sources say that a sense of humiliation
pervades the Church.
The Patriarch and the Church originally sued
Maariv over a series of articles between December
2002 and January 2004 claiming that Irineos had
taken anti-Semitic stances. The suit claimed that
the series was "organized as a series of dramatic
revelations during a critical period in which the
Government of Israel was debating whether or not
to recognize [Irineos] as Patriarch of the
Church."
The evidence against Irineos, which was also
quoted in Arutz-7 at the time, included two
personal letters he wrote to the late
arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat. On July 17, 2001,
Irineos wrote, "You [Arafat] are aware of the
sentiments of disgust and disrespect that all the
Holy Sepulchre fathers are feeling for the
descendants of the crucifiers of our Lord...
actual crucifiers of your people, Sionists [sic]
Jewish conquerors of the Holy Land of Palestine."
He then asks Arafat for his support, promising
that if he is elected head of the church, "rest
assured, Mr. President, that the rights of our
most beloved Palestinian people on the Holy City
of Jerusalem will find the most 'hot' supporter."
A second letter from Irineos to Arafat, dated
April 5, 2002, emphasizes Arafat’s “heroic
resistance” to Israel’s “illegal and inhuman
aggression” against Arafat’s headquarters in
Ramallah and Christian “holy sites” in Bethlehem.
Irineos signed the letter in large type as
“PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM AND WHOLE PALESTINE.”
In withdrawing the suit against Maariv and
agreeing to pay legal fees, Irineos wrote to the
newspaper that he is "putting aside any personal
interest on my behalf, because I feel that I am a
servant of God of Love and Forgiveness..." He did
not repeat the Church's previous assertion to the
effect that the letters were forged, but merely
wrote that Maariv had been "seriously mislead and
misinformed."
Regarding the "forgery" claims, Arutz-7 reported
as follows on Feb. 1 of this year:
"The police found that the letters' seals were
authentic, though they cannot vouch that the
contents were actually written by Irineos. Three
people, however, claim to have seen Irineos
actually write the letters. Arutz-7's Shimon Cohen
even quotes an affidavit provided to a Greek
Magistrates Court judge on Sept. 9, 2003 by one of
the three witnesses, in which he states, "I had a
strong argument with Mr. Irineos on the content of
this letter, [such as] the language and the
expressions against the Jewish people and Israel,
and also about the necessity of sending such a
letter to Yasser Arafat. I explained to him that
this letter stands in total contrast to his
previous behavior and declarations regarding his
attitude towards Israelis and Israel. Similarly,
it is very damaging to his own interests...
Despite my sharp objections to this, the
Metropolite Irineos insisted that this letter
would have a very strong echo in order to pressure
Israel to restore his name to the list of
candidates [for Patriarch]."
As head of the Greek Orthodox church, considered
the richest in Israel, Irineos has responsibility
for the church’s extensive land holdings. These
include the land on which the Knesset, Israel’s
parliament, was built; the Prime Minister’s and
the President’s official residences; parts of
Jerusalem’s wealthiest neighborhoods, and
locations in the Old City and in the new Jerusalem
neighborhood of Har Homa.
Arutz-7's Shimon Cohen reports that senior Church
figures say that the withdrawal of the suit is a
"blow" to the Church and a humiliation for the
Patriarch. They say that Irineos' consent to
withdraw the suit and pay legal fees allows him to
avoid intensive legal review of the case. In July
2003, Church sources alleged that Arafat tried to
prevent his friend Irineos from being replaced as
Patriarch - and framed the competitor for murder.
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