The Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem and Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, the Rt. Revd Suheil Dawani has been denied the renewal of his “Temporary Residency Status” in Jerusalem. This action was taken when the A-5 permits held by himself, his wife and youngest daughter were revoked by the government of Israel, effective 24 September 2010.
Bishop Dawani was elected in 2007 as Bishop of the Diocese and was recognized by the State of Israel as the head of the Episcopal Diocese in accordance with the decision by the State of Israel in 1970 which acknowledged the Diocese as one of the thirteen recognized churches in Israel. All Anglican Bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem who have not held Israeli citizenship have been granted residency permits (A5) to allow them to live in Jerusalem where the Bishop’s residence, diocesan offices and cathedral are located.
Bishop Dawani, his wife and daughters had successfully renewed this permit, as required, in 2008 and 2009. On 24 August 2010, Bishop Dawani went to renew the permit with the Ministry of the Interior and was informed in writing that permits for himself, his wife and daughter would not be renewed because of allegations pending against the Bishop. The letter, in Hebrew, included the following: “Bishop Suheil acted with the Palestinian Authority in transferring lands owned by Jewish people to the Palestinians and also helped to register lands of Jewish people in the name of the Church.” There were further allegations that documents were forged by the Bishop. The letter also stated that Bishop Dawani and his family should leave the country immediately.
At least the article would lead one to think that Israel has a legal system in which the judgments of the executive may be openly challenged.
Isn’t he propped up by Schori and company?
Intercessor
Statman, What are the stats on the Jerusalem diocese?
A prayer for the ecclesiastical conflicts in this diocese is found [url=http://anglicanprayer.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/anglican-diocese-of-jerusalem/]here[/url]. Prayers for the nation of Israel may be found on our Middle East and Northern Africa [url=http://anglicanprayer.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/middle-east-menu/#more-15860]menu[/url].
I can’t help but wonder if a path of humility would have borne more fruit. In other words, if he, following the model of Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, had said something like, “I have never considered myself worthy to walk the same ground my Lord Jesus walked,” and had accepted the work permit offered to him by the Israeli government, might their hearts have been softened? Even if they had not revoked their previous decision, might they have been so touched by his demeanor that their attitude toward the Christian faith would be more open?
I say this freely acknowledging that I am unfamiliar with the Israeli officials.
5., where do you see he was offered a work permit instead?
#6
[url=http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_127421_ENG_HTM.htm]Here[/url]. about 3/4 of the way down the page.
7. Cheers! Not sure that makes any difference though, since work permits are still withdrawn at the whim of the gov’t, and passing between Palestine and Jerusalem isn’t exactly easy. If the Bishop had really done something malevolent, then I would expect a much stronger response from the gov’t, beyond “You can work here but not live here.”
Nice, nice catch, Jill — how interesting that they put that little tidbit deep in the story.