Israel and Vatican Close to Signing Holy Land Accord

THE ART NEWSPAPER
By Lauren Gelfond Feldinger

Historic meeting with chief rabbi of Israel, Yisrael Meir Lau; the Vatican's Pope John Paul II;
and chief Islamic judge of the Palestinian Authority, Tayseer al-Tamimi in 2000

VATICAN CITY--- After two decades of talks, Israeli and Vatican officials are closer than they have ever been to reaching agreement over a number of disputed Holy Land sites, including the room in which Christians believe the Last Supper took place. The Israeli ambassador and Catholic officials in Israel would not give details, but a draft agreement outlines tax exemptions at non-commercial holy sites and gives more rights to the Vatican at key sites of Catholic interest in Jerusalem and Caesarea. The most controversial site in the draft agreement is Jerusalem’s Cenacle compound, which is important to Christians, Jews and Muslims. According to Masha Halevi of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, Christians venerate the space upstairs in the Cenacle, where the Last Supper is believed to have taken place, while Jews consider it a 13th-century holy site marking King David’s tomb. Muslims consider it the Prophet David’s burial site and it has been Waqf (Islamic Trust) property since 1551. [link]