A SMALL wooden ladder stands on a ledge above the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the spot where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. The ladder serves no purpose, but it has been moved only twice in the past two centuries. That is because all six Christian denominations that have a presence in the church must agree to rearrange things. They rarely do.
On February 25th, however, the church’s main occupants—the Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Armenians—showed rare ecumenical unity. They decided to close in protest against an attempt by city hall to tax commercial property owned by the churches, and a draft law in the Knesset that would allow the government to expropriate land sold by churches to private buyers. Church leaders compared the measures to laws “enacted against the Jews during dark periods in Europe”.
Two days later Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, stepped in. He said that a committee led by...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/2FdNb1C
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