AJC Letter to Vatican Protests Accord with Palestinians

American Jewish Committee
Thursday, 17 February 2000

The American Jewish Committee has protested to the Vatican both the substance and timing of the Basic Agreement the Holy See signed Tuesday with the Palestinian Authority.

"We fear that this agreement could signal a setback in carefully nurtured positive Catholic-Jewish relations," AJC President Bruce M. Ramer and Executive Director David A. Harris wrote in a letter to Angelo Cardinal Sodano, the Vatican Secretary of State.

"Specific references to Jerusalem in the Agreement's Preamble constitute an ill-timed and gratuitous intervention by the Holy See in a matter that is central to ongoing, direct bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations," stated the AJC letter.

"The reassertion of long-standing Vatican policy regarding Jerusalem in an accord that essentially was intended to assure protections for Christian holy sites under Palestinian control, is a most unfortunate development that may further complicate an already sensitive peace process," wrote Messrs. Ramer and Harris.

"By linking itself so closely with the position of the Palestinian Authority, just weeks before Pope John Paul II is scheduled to make his historic pilgrimage to the region, the timing of this agreement makes it even more egregious."

The AJC leaders also noted in their letter that Israel, since 1967, has guaranteed open access to holy places of all faiths in Jerusalem.

They further pointed out that the Preamble contradicts the six-year old Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel.

Article Eleven, Section Two of the Israeli-Vatican accord states that the Holy See "...is solemnly committed to remaining a stranger to all merely temporal conflicts, which principle applies specifically to disputed territories and unsettled borders."

Messrs. Ramer and Harris concluded: "Clearly, the final political status of Jerusalem is a 'temporal conflict,' the resolution of which the Vatican had pledged to leave to the principal parties – Israel and the Palestinian Authority."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org