European Phoenix -- After negotiations that lasted for four years, property under the ownership of the Greek Patriarchate was sold to Jewish buyers for $10 million. The deal was carried out through a British company [which re-sold the land to the Jewish buyers]. The buyers are the Azorim Company and entrepreneur Benny Nehemia, who had leased the site until now and built the prestigious King David Residence on it. There are 88 luxury apartments in the project, of which 50 percent are already sold and populated, including a penthouse sold for 7 million dollars.

According to Attorney Arieh Abramson representing the purchasers, the Patriarchate used to extend its leasing periods but avoided transfer of land ownership to Jews. “Even after the current agreement was reached between the sides, the Patriarchate sold the land to a British company, which sold it to Jewish entrepreneurs.”

The site, consisting of 1.5 dunams [.38 acres], is situated on King David Street in Jerusalem, close to the planned Waldorf Astoria hotel. The site is also near the David Citadel and King David hotels, the Mamilla shopping boulevard and the walls of the Old City. After finalization of the acquisition, the value of the King David Residence apartments is expected to rise by at least 20 percent.

The Patriarchate owns numerous plots of land in the country, most of them in Jerusalem. He is considered the largest land owner among the Christian churches in Israel. According to Attorney Abramson, “the Patriarchate owns many large plots of land in Jerusalem, such as the property of the Israel Museum, the Knesset building, the President’s Residence and the Mapu and Keren HaYesod streets.”

Attorney Allon Diskin, manager of the real-estate department in the office of Gideon Koren & Co., says that “if [the sale] represents a change in policy and not a one-time event, then this sale of church lands to private owners is an exceptional and dramatic occurrence.” Diskin claims that it is rare for church lands to be transferred to Jewish ownership, and such sales generally must receive authorization from the highest echelons of the church and even the Vatican. “The church policy [until now] was not to transfer ownership of its lands in Israel, but only to grant leases for limited time periods.”