It was revealed last week that the Greek Orthodox Church sold its rights in 500 dunams (125 acres) of land in the center of Jerusalem to an anonymous group of investors. For years, the land was leased to the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in agreements that are about to expire, but now the residents of the area have learned that the church sold the land to private developers.
There are more than 1,000 housing units on the land, in many buildings. The residents are in effect owners of their apartments only, but not of the land leased from the church and now sold.
The residents' future rights are unclear. Any of them wishing to sell their apartment faces difficulties because of the growing uncertainty, which also is also causeing the value of the apartment to drop.
On July 5, the Knesset will discuss the matter, at the request of MKs Rachel Azaria, Akram Hassoon, Yoseph Yonah, Mickey Levy, and Uri Maklev.
"The land was leased by the church to the JNF is the 1950s for 99 years. Buildings were constructed on it in which people have been living for decades," Azaria explains. "The residents knew that the agreements would expire within a certain time, but they assumed that the lease to the JNF would be extended for a further period.
"A few months ago, however, the Jerusalemites party on the Jerusalem City Council found out that, in 2011, private developers received a 200-year lease on some of the land, and that an additional investor group signed a similar agreement a year ago. Following this, the City Council received a flood of enquiries from residents of the area who did not know what the future held for them. Last week, a large gathering of the residents was held by the Jerusalemites party, and addressed by council member Itai Gutler and architect Yehuda Greenfield. The residents are demanding to know who among them is affected by the agreement between the church and the developers and who is not, what the agreements say, and what they mean for them."
But it must be admitted that people who bought an apartment in the 1950s knew that the land belonged to the church.
"Supposedly they knew and it's their problem, but in fact it's not like that. We are talking about people who have lived in these neighborhoods for decades and knew that they were dealing with the JNF. It's not a matter of one building or a few families, but very large and prestigious neighborhoods in the heart of Jerusalem. Hundreds of residents who assumed that the lease from the church would be extended never imagined that they would find themselves having to deal with private developers who will suddenly hold the land when the lease agreements expire. In such a situation they are liable to find themselves with nothing."
So what do you plan to do?
"I have asked for an early debate in the Knesset, in parallel with a petition that the residents have brought against the Jerusalem Municipality first and foremost in order to obtain information. The second demand is that someone should take the matter in hand and conduct negotiations with the developers on behalf of the residents, rather than each apartment owner having to deal with the developers themselves. This is a major event concerning a substantial part of Jerusalem and one that will affect its character. Theoretically, the developers could ask for additional building rights and build on open areas in exchange for extending the lease. It is therefore important that the state should intervene on the matter. The value of the residents' apartments is constantly falling, even in neighborhoods like Rehavia. Anyone who buys an apartment in these areas now is taking a risk, and that affects the value of the properties."
The Jerusalem Municipality said in a statement, "The municipality is cooperating with all those concerned. In a meeting with Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked, Mayor Nir Barkat described dealing with this matter and regularizing it as of the highest importance. Later, a meeting took place in the office of the director general of the municipality attended by representatives of the JNF, the Ministry of Justice, and others, and it was decided that there should be further joint action by all the bodies involved in order to put an end to the residents' uncertainty and to ensure continuation of the lease. All state bodies are taking coordinated action via several channels, and the officials of the church are also expected to cooperate on the matter."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 4, 2017
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