The Vatican and Israel are expected to sign an agreement establishing formal diplomatic relations by the end of January, according to sources close to the negotiations.
Cardinal John O’Connor, the archbishop of New York and the moderator of Catholic-Jewish relations for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, told rabbis representing the Synagogue Council of America that he expects the accord to be signed by Jan. 31 “irrespective of the peace process,” according to one witness.
“That’s important because he’s not linking what happens with the PLO and Israel to the Vatican establishing relations” with Israel, said Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld, co-chair of the Synagogue Council’s interreligious affairs committee, who attended the Dec. 2 meeting with O’Connor.
According to Avi Granot, the counselor for church affairs and ethnic relations at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, “all that remains is the signing of papers” for diplomatic relations to be finalized.
Working committees composed of Foreign Ministry staff from Israel and the Vatican were established in June to hammer out the details that would lead to formal relations.
The Israelis prefer to have an agreement signed by the end of 1993, but the Vatican has been working out “bureaucratic difficulties and has asked for a deadline of January,” Granot said.
While the “date has not yet been set, the impression everyone has is that it will not be postponed beyond January,” said Granot.
Most of the major issues that previously had posed an obstacle to diplomatic relations have been resolved, and remaining issues will be dealt with by committees after an agreement is signed, he said.
The “premise of the agreement is that whatever outstanding issues remain, they will be dealt with by the two parties after the establishment of relations, not that they should bar it,” said Granot.
One outstanding issue for which a special committee will be set up is the question of whether Catholic institutions in Israel will pay taxes.
Most, but not all, religious organizations in Israel are taxed.
One issue of concern to the Israeli government is maintaining the status quo that exists with other Christian denominations.
To avoid upsetting the delicate relationships, “government representatives in Israel are meeting with the leaders of other churches and going over the agreement with the Vatican with them so no one will feel it will damage relations,” said Granot.
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