The Government of Israel has agreed to hold up its implementation of the appointment of the anti- Semitic Greek Orthodox Church leader Irineos as Church Patriarch until Tuesday, and in the meantime was to provide a detailed response today to two legal suits against the appointment.
The Cabinet decided to approve the controversial appointment a week ago by an 11-6 vote. Opponents of the deal, which for a long while included the Shabak, police, the Jerusalem Municipality and other security elements, say that Irineos' close relations with Arafat, together with the fact that the Church controls many important lands in Israel, render the appointment too risky.
In light of claims by Irineos that the anti-Semitic letters allegedly by him to Arafat have been forged, 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]."
One of the suits against the appointment has been filed by a Greek Orthodox Church leader in the Galilee, who cites procedural grounds bordering on deceit. Most specifically, the petitioner says that the Church falsely staged a "state ceremony" in Yad Vashem honoring a Church leader. Many Greek Orthodox Church members are against the centralization of the Church in Jerusalem.
The second petitioner, represented by well-known Atty. Dan Avi-Yitzchak, essentially makes the same claims that the Shabak and police made until recently. The exact nature of his case, however, remains classified.
The Cabinet decided to approve the controversial appointment a week ago by an 11-6 vote. Opponents of the deal, which for a long while included the Shabak, police, the Jerusalem Municipality and other security elements, say that Irineos' close relations with Arafat, together with the fact that the Church controls many important lands in Israel, render the appointment too risky.
In light of claims by Irineos that the anti-Semitic letters allegedly by him to Arafat have been forged, 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]."
One of the suits against the appointment has been filed by a Greek Orthodox Church leader in the Galilee, who cites procedural grounds bordering on deceit. Most specifically, the petitioner says that the Church falsely staged a "state ceremony" in Yad Vashem honoring a Church leader. Many Greek Orthodox Church members are against the centralization of the Church in Jerusalem.
The second petitioner, represented by well-known Atty. Dan Avi-Yitzchak, essentially makes the same claims that the Shabak and police made until recently. The exact nature of his case, however, remains classified.