GOJ DEFENDS MOVE ON GREEK PATRIARCH

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 002241

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2017
TAGS: PGOV SOCI JO
SUBJECT: GOJ DEFENDS MOVE ON GREEK PATRIARCH

REF: A. ATHENS 1021


B. JERUSALEM 225

Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) In conversations May 22 and May 24, the director of
FM Khatib's private office, Thamer Adwan, stressed to
Polcouns that the GOJ was carrying out its responsibilities
under the Jordan-Israel peace treaty and Greek church law
when it withdrew its recognition of Theophilos III, the Greek
Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, on May 12. Adwan noted that
Greek Orthodox Palestinians and Jordanians had complained to
the GOJ that Theophilos III had made no effort to fulfill
commitments he made to the GOJ to increase the number of
ethnically Arab clergy in the Patriarchate, or to guard
against new sales of church property. NOTE: Such sales led
to the deposition of Theophilos's predecessor, Irineos I, in
May 2005. END NOTE.


2. (U) According to Petra News Agency, the Jordanian Council
of Ministers issued a communiqu on May 12 withdrawing
recognition of Theophilos because "he failed to fulfill the
obligations he pledged to the government during his tenure."


3. (U) GOJ Spokesman Nasser Judeh defended the decision
during a May 14 press conference "because he (Theolopolis
III) failed to fulfill the obligations he made to the
government when he was appointed two years ago." Judah cited
bringing Arab Christian clergy into the Holy Synod, guarding
the inventory of Church property and "taking the necessary
legal procedures with respect to actions taken by his
predecessor" - a reference to the Patriarch's alleged failure
to act on the controversial East Jerusalem sale conducted by
his predecessor (ref A) - as obligations that were unmet.

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