Jerusalem wants to charge municipal tax to Christian churches

The city hall of the holy city for Christians, Muslims and Jews demands payment of "hundreds of millions of shekels from the main Christian denominations in municipal property taxes", Shomrim reported.

Each of the Churches negotiates separately. The Catholic Church, for example, hired a US lobbying firm to represent it in negotiations.

The investigation points out that the conversations are being conducted "under the auspices of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs", as the case has a strong diplomatic impact. Many of the properties in question are located in areas conquered by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967.

In this context, the payment of taxes to the Jerusalem City Council could be interpreted as a recognition of Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem.

At this time, Church properties are being inventoried as the parties try to define which properties will be subject to collection and whether there will be retroactive payment.

Churches are exempt from paying property taxes based on a law created during the British Mandate of Palestine (1922-1948), which grants tax exemption to religious, educational and health institutions.

In recent years, however, the city councils of Tel Aviv, Nazareth, Ramla and Jerusalem have started to charge taxes on this type of property, provoking a reaction from the Christian Churches in Jerusalem.

On July 1, 2024, Christian leaders sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, classifying these measures as a "coordinated attack on the Christian presence in the Holy Land", according to media outlets such as the Times of Israel at the time.

"At a time when the entire world, and especially the Christian world, is closely following the events in Israel, we find ourselves once again faced with an attempt by the authorities to expel the Christian presence from the Holy Land," wrote the religious leaders, including the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

Last year, Jerusalem City Hall went further and blocked the accounts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, a move that led the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to condemn the decision.

In response to Shomrim's report, Jerusalem City Hall released a note stating that it is maintaining a "dialogue with representatives of the city's churches to definitively resolve the issue of debts related to tax on properties that are not used as places of worship, in addition to obtaining the necessary documentation from institutions that are entitled to discounts or exemptions."

Documents obtained by Shomrim through a source involved in the negotiations reveal that meetings were scheduled with US politicians, including representatives of the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer; the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson; Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen; and the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter. The meetings were organized by the Livingston Group, a Washington-based lobbying firm hired by the Catholic Church.

According to the documents, the collection of municipal taxes was one of the main topics discussed at these meetings, which also addressed recent episodes of "Israeli Jews harassing and even attacking Christians in the Holy Land."

Violence against Christians in the Holy Land has increased in recent times. At the beginning of last month, representatives of different Christian communities denounced the escalation of violence and pressure on Christians in Israel.

The director of the Rossing Interfaith Center for Education and Dialogue, Hana Bendcowski, presented a report that documents 155 incidents against Christians in Israeli territory throughout 2025, including 61 physical assaults, 52 attacks on Church property, 28 cases of harassment and 14 acts of vandalism against Christian signs and symbols.

The report highlights that the attacks mainly affect members of the clergy, who report frequent episodes of spitting, insults and daily harassment. This situation has increased the perception among Christians that they are increasingly less accepted citizens, raising doubts about the future of these communities in the region.

East Jerusalem is the part of the city that is home to the Old City and some of the holiest sites for Jews, Muslims and Christians, such as the Western Wall, the Esplanade of the Mosques and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

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