(JULIA FRANKEL. Time of Israel).
Though they’re major landowners, churches traditionally were exempt from property taxes; leaders call warning letters a ‘coordinated attack’ on Christian presence in Holy Land
Leaders of major churches have accused Israeli authorities of launching a “coordinated attack” on the Christian presence in the Holy Land by initiating tax proceedings against them.
While Israeli officials have tried to dismiss the disagreement as a routine financial matter, the churches say the move upsets a centuries-old status quo and reflects what they called mounting intolerance for the Christian presence in Israel and the West Bank.