The arab Greek Orthodox Church institutions in Jerusalem, the Holy Land and Jordan made an appeal last Friday, calling on all international institutions and Human Rights organisations in the region to protect and defend Archimandrite Dr Theodosios Hanna. Last Thursday, 22 August, Israeli police arrested Archimandrite Hanna, spokesman of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. He was detained by Israeli Border Police at his home in the old city of Jerusalem and was then transferred to the Israeli detention and interrogation centre. Israeli police charged him with suspicion of relations with terrorist organisations, illegally entering an enemy countries (Syria and Lebanon) and incitement. Archimandrite Hanna said that he always visits Syria and Lebanon to attend religious and inter-religious conferences. When travelling to these countries he uses his passport issued by the Vatican. Moreover, it is well-established that churches are international institutions. This is the first time Israeli police arrested a religious leader. Israeli police confiscated Hanna's two passports, both his Israeli passport and his passport issued by the Vatican. Archimandrite Hanna said that he was intimidated and pressured by the Israeli policy to refrain from any political activity. He said "Israel claim that the Church should not interfere in politics, but this is a false claim, because the Palestinian cause has moral, political and religious dimensions. The Christians in the Holy Land are part of the Palestinian people and are subject to the same oppression as their Muslim brothers and sisters -- both are prevented from praying in Jerusalem." It should be noted that in Israel Rabbis are not prevented from participating in politics or political events.
