Published by Jerusalem Post, March 20, 2005

Patriarch urged to resign over land scandal

The Greek Orthodox Church called on Jerusalem Patriarch Irineos I to resign on Saturday in a move to quell Arab anxiety over reportedly secretive Jewish land acquisitions in Jerusalem's Old City in which the cleric was allegedly involved.

A report in Ma'ariv on Friday implicated Irineos in a multimillion-dollar deal that transferred sensitive land in largely Arab portions of Jerusalem to two groups of foreign Jewish investors, who were not identified.

In a news conference held Saturday in Ramallah, Palestinian Greek Orthodox leader Marwan Tubasi called on Irineos to step down. Though Tubasi could not confirm the transaction, he said any such deal would have been unauthorized by the consensus of the Holy Synod, and thus void.

"These lands are Palestinian lands, not lands from Crete or Greece," Tubasi told reporters. "We call on the Greek government to intervene and facilitate the inquiry."

"We condemn this behavior and we demand the resignation of those behind this deal, if it proves to be true," added Greek Orthodox Church official Atallah Hanna.

The Greek Orthodox Church owns large tracts of real estate in east Jerusalem and within the walls of the Old City. While legal, Jewish land purchases in the eastern part of the city are seen as a betrayal to Palestinians.

Nicolas Papadinos, an aide to Irineos, allegedly brokered the deal with Jewish investors seeking to bolster the number of Jews in the holy city. The sale included properties in Umar Square, most notably, the Imperial Hotel.

The alleged land sale shocked Arab residents and business owners in the area, although they did not know whether the report was true. The owners of the Imperial Hotel, an Arab landmark that frequently hosts meetings for Palestinian officials, deny having knowledge of the property's sale.

"This city is not for the Greeks or the Jews or the Arabs," said Abul Walid Dajani, the manager of the Imperial Hotel. "This city is a house of religion for the whole world."

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei immediately formed a committee to investigate the allegation made in the Ma'ariv report. "It is dangerous and a clear indication of the Israeli plan that targets the holy city," Qurei said. He said the plan includes buying up land "through secrecy, through fraud...all with the goal of making Jerusalem Jewish."

A number of Jewish groups have quietly purchased dozens of properties in east Jerusalem at top prices in recent years in efforts to bolster the Jewish claim to the area and prevent the city from being divided.

Officials with Ateret Cohanim, one of the groups active in such efforts, said they knew nothing of the latest deal.

In the 1990s, the Greek Orthodox Church sold a large tract of land in east Jerusalem around what is now the neighborhood of Har Homa to Jewish investors, enraging Palestinians.



Volume 7 Number 12 - Tuesday, March 22nd, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY