Franciscans and other religious treated like illegal immigrants 24 March, 2004 ISRAEL, (AsiaNews)

For the first time in over 50 years, Israel’s government has refused to renew visas belonging to some one hundred nuns, priests and other religious. Now the Holy Land Custodian Spokesman is appealing to Churches around the world for moral and legal support.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) – There has never been a crisis of the sort in the 56 years of Israel's existence as Church clergy and personnel are deprived of visas to remain in the country.

The crisis affects the lives and work of hundreds of priests, nuns and other religious who now must all live under clandestine conditions. They are subject to being stopped and questioned along the road and even arrested like illegal immigrants. Only last week, March 17, two Most Holy Rosary sisters were stopped by police and two days before that a Franciscan brother was also halted in his steps by security patrols.

The point is that these persons have been residing in Israel or the Occupied Territories for years. Yet requests to renew their visas or receive one for the first time now gather dust in Interior Ministry offices.

The visa issue is also a humanitarian problem. Some religious urgently need to leave Israel to be near their dying parents. Yet they can’t leave the country since they run the risk of not being able to renter Israel on their return.

The policy to not remit visas to Church clergy and its staff began during the previous government when Ministry of the Interior was headed by a Shas party fundamentalist. Then one year ago when a Shinui liberal secular party exponent took over the position it was hoped that things would change. However, the new interior minister and other government advocates have gone back on their promises to Church officials.

The visa stalemate also raises questions over the Fundamental Agreement the Holy See struck with Israel, an international accord now in its tenth year. The agreement recognizes the lawful right of the Church to bring in its own workers and carry out activities within its Holy Land institutions.

According to the estimates of some religious officials there are at least 100 “illegals”, while the number is ever increasing as visas expire every day and are not renewed. The cases especially concern those who entered the country legally but simply need to renew their legal right to stay. The situation involves not only Church personnel in Israel, but in the Occupied Territories as well since to enter areas under Palestinian control they must first pass through Israel.

In the past, bureaucratic procedures were smooth and transparent: priests assigned to serve the Church in the Holy Land had their visas automatically renewed every 2-3 years.

Yet Israeli authorities have kept completely silent, a reaction some define as a “rubber wall”. At first Church officials supposed delays were due to simple bureaucratic errors and slowdowns. Yet now the phenomenon is too widespread, lasted too long and has affected too many people to be understood as such. Now the Church in the Holy Land risks not having enough religious to make sanctuaries, parishes, hospital and schools function well. And all this is happening in pure silence while the Israeli government utters not one single opinion or explanation and without any proclamation of new rules and requirements.

Church leaders, bishops from the Holy Land and from abroad, have all turned to Israeli authorities for help, but have received only vague promises or answers. At the beginning of 2003 government authorities promised to discuss new procedures, but still nothing has come about.

Fr. David Jaeger, a Franciscan father and Holy Land Custodian spokesman, told AsiaNews: “The situation here is really amazing –Kafkesque, to say the least. We are dealing with a very serious problem indeed, one which is getting worse by the day. Promises made by top ranking government officials have not been kept so far. They won’t let us know their reasons behind the new policy. There are no official channels of dialog to bring about a resolution to the situation. For some time now the Catholic Church in the Holy Land has been appealing to the solidarity of other Churches worldwide. The country’s rulers must realize that the situation now involves the entire Catholic Church across the globe.”

Israel – Holy See: no apparent fruit after 10 years of diplomatic relations 9 March, 2004 ISRAEL – VATICAN, Jerusalem (AsiaNews)

Fr. David Jaeger, expert in Israel-Holy See agreements, says 10 years ago the Church took a courageous step in initiating diplomatic relations with Israel. Now Israel must show the same courage in returning to the bargaining table.

Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary since the “Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel” went into effect.

Thanks to this agreement, the Holy See has accepted Israel’s request to conduct diplomatic relations with the Vatican. Yet such relations are only the first step in a series of agreements which would have guaranteed the Church’s freedom and rights in Israeli territory. However 10 years after the historic accord was struck the Church in Israel is disappointed, disconcerted and worried.

In effect Israel has never transformed the Fundamental Agreement into law and hence Israeli judges state they cannot recognize it in a court of law. Likewise the only other agreement reached so far was (on the state recognition of legal status of ecclesiastical authorities in 1997), was not passed into state law.

However the most serous matter occurred on Aug. 28 2003, when the entire Israeli diplomatic delegation withdrew from all negotiations with the Holy See, while talks were underway to reach an extremely important agreement on safeguarding Church property and its tax exemption status. The pact was scheduled to be concluded by the 10th anniversary of the Fundamental Agreement.

Last July Israel’s foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, heralded the signing of the accord “within 3 months”. Yet since then Israel has refused to return to the bargaining table with the Vatican, despite its explicit commitment as part of the Fundamental Agreement established 10 years earlier.

Meanwhile, while lacking laws regulating its relations with the State of Israel, the Church finds itself if ever greater difficulty. With such stumbling blocks in their way, such as the absence of traditional exemptions from state taxes, Catholic organizations and institutions (e.g. St. Joseph’s Hospital in Jerusalem, among others) find themselves being dragged to court. Moreover, without such agreements in order, Church personnel are denied entry visas and stay permits for Israel.

Anxiety about the future has gotten worse due to the absolute silence the Israeli government has kept over its reasons for cutting diplomatic relations with the Holy See. And this is evidenced in various daily problems, like when Israeli troops invaded Jerusalem convents in order to built parts of the “Wall of Separation” (or “security barrier”, as the government prefers to call it).

AsiaNews asked the opinion of Fr. David-Maria A. Jaeger, Franciscan priest and one of the greatest legal expert in Holy See-Israeli agreements:

“The State must understanding that it has an absolute legal obligation to return to the bargaining table. Its commitment to do so is part of a solemn international agreement signed and ratified by the State of Israel –otherwise Israel would be defined as defaulting (on the original pact). As for the rest, the rules governing Church-State relations interest the State just as much as they do the Church. If the State wants the rules respected, it must not act like a defaulter. Israel cannot continue cutting itself off from negotiations for too much longer. The Catholic Church made an historic and courageous step, and with great foresight, in accepting to normalize its official relationship with the State of Israel. In return the Church’s legal status in Israel was promised to be normalized as well. I don’t think our interlocutors want to make this historical enterprise fail. The negotiations themselves were undertaken in an atmosphere of reciprocal trust and good will. And if the (Israeli) government accepts taking up talks again I foresee both parties obtaining good results.”

Fr. Jaeger says the reasons behind the stall in diplomatic relations are “unexplainable”. He stresses that Diaspora Jews have asked the government to reconsider its move and to take up talks again. “For me the 10th anniversary since the Fundamental Agreement went into effect brings back memories of great hope and urges us to continue having it,” Fr. Jaeger concluded. “Yet certainly this anniversary cannot be filled with a festive spirit.”