GREECE REQUESTS U.S. INTERVENTION IN JERUSALEM

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 001021 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2017 TAGS: PHUM KRIF PREL GR SUBJECT: GREECE REQUESTS U.S. INTERVENTION IN JERUSALEM PATRIARCH AFFAIR Classified By: AMBASSADOR CHARLES RIES. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (U) This is an action request for Department. See paragraph 8. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: On May 18, MFA Secretary General Charalambos Rocanas requested U.S. assistance in defusing the leadership crisis in the Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church following the May 12 decision of the Jordanian Council of Ministers to withdrawal recognition of Patriarch Theophilos III. Rocanas said that while the immediate reason for the Jordanian decision was Theophilos' unwillingness to appoint a favored Arab as bishop and his failure to recover land in east Jerusalem sold to the Israelis by his predecessor, behind the decision were various nefarious interests, including Jordanian real-estate power Prince Gazi, the Russian Orthodox Church, and Hamas. Rocanas requested the U.S. quietly ask Jordanian King Abdullah not to ratify the Council of Ministers' decision and ask the Israelis to end their two-year non-recognition of Theophilos. Rocanas cited the U.S. interest in maintaining the autonomy and religious freedom of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, stemming the growing hegemony of the Russian Orthodox Church, and keeping Hamas radicals out. END SUMMARY. A COMPLICATED ISSUE -------------- ¶3. (C) On May 18, Ambassador was invited to the MFA by SecGen Rocanas at the instruction of FM Bakoyannis to request U.S. help in resolving the leadership crisis in the Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church following the May 12 decision of the Jordanian Council of Ministers to withdrawal recognition of Patriarch Theophilos III. Rocanas painted a complicated picture of competing religious, national, and financial interests that contributed to the crisis. The ostensible reason for the Jordanian de-recognition decision was Theophilos' purported unwillingness to follow-through on a previous commitment to appoint more Arab bishops. Rocanas said Theophilos had been "blackmailed" into making this commitment, but that he nevertheless was willing to meet it. He had, in fact, already appointed an Arab priest, although another had recently died. Theophilos, however, was drawing the line at elevating Arab Orthodox Archimandrite priest Christophoros to the position of bishop, as some powerful Jordanians wished. Another immediate reason for the Jordanian decision, according to Rocanas, was anger amongst Jordanians at Theophilos' failure to recover land in east Jerusalem sold to the Israelis by previous Patriarch Irenaios. Irenaios continues to enjoy official recognition by Israel, which Rocanas said was further complicating the situation and weakening Theophilos' position. NOTE: The Israeli position could be reversed, however, following an expected May 21 ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court on Theophilos' petition to gain recognition by the Israeli government. END NOTE. NEFARIOUS INTERESTS -------------- ¶4. (C) Behind these immediate reasons for the Jordanian decision, however, Rocanas cited a number of other more sinister causes. One was Jordanian Prince Gazi bin Muhammad, who had been appointed by King Abdullah to manage religious affairs, though Theophilos believed he lacked qualifications. Rocanas said Gazi wished to exploit religious shrines for personal gain, noting his plans to develop as a paid tourist attraction the site on the River Jordan where some believe Jesus was baptized. Theophilos refused to be part of such exploitation and had "no interest in commercialization." ¶5. (C) Rocanas suggested that Gazi, in turn, was cozying up to the Russian Orthodox Church for support. Rocanas pointed out that Putin recently visited Jordan, and there are indications that Jordanian attitudes toward Theophilos hardened following Putin's visit. Rocanas said the GoG was afraid Gazi was aligning himself with Russian interests in weakening the Greek Orthodox Church. On top of all this, Palestinian Hamas was piling-on by publicly calling on the Palestinian Authority to remove its recognition of Theophilos, who they believed was remiss in not acting more aggressively to reverse Israeli land purchases approved by Irenaios. WHAT IS TO BE DONE? -------------- ¶6. (C) Rocanas said the GoG believed the key to defusing the crisis was to persuade Kind Abdullah not to ratify the ATHENS 00001021 002.2 OF 002 decision of the Council of Ministers. The Greeks had approached the Jordanians, telling them that the decision was ill-timed and contrary to Jordanian law, which held that the Council of Ministers was only empowered to ratify decisions of the Orthodox Synod, not take decisions regarding the Church on its own. The GoG believed that the King would support Theophilos if he understood the situation, but access to him was blocked by Prince Gazi and Director of the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) Muhammad Dhahabi, who "is more powerful than the Jordanian Prime Minister." FM Dora Bakoyannis would travel to Jordan during her Middle East trip in June, but thus far she had not been granted an audience with the King. The King's brother was visiting Olympia in Greece this Sunday, and Rocanas would try to discuss the situation with him. ¶7. (S) Rocanas was asking for U.S. assistance because of the access they believed we had to the King. Moreover, the Greeks understood that our Embassy in Amman had special access to Jordanian Intelligence chief Dhahabi. The Greeks were not requesting us to get them or Theophilos an audience with the King. Rather, they wanted us to discuss the situation with the King quietly. They also asked that we discuss with the Israelis th%)r fai,5re t/ recgg.ize Theophilos, which was incReasingly not in their interest, given growinc Arab oppoSitioj to the Patriarch. For the U.S.Q the queqTign should be one of religioUs freedom and respect for the autonomy of the Greek OrthodoX Patriarchate in Jerusalem. The centuries-old Patriarchate was one of the few instit54ikn1 that straddles the Arab-Israeli divide in Jerusalem and the West bank, he added. Rocanas said the U.S. also had an interest in stemming the rising tide of the Russian Orthodox Church's hegemony and keeping Hamas radicals out of the situation. ¶8. (U) Action requested: Washington guidance for responding to the Greek request. RIES