US embassy cable - 05VATICAN455

C O N F I D E N T I A L  VATICAN 000455 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/WE LEVIN; NEA/IPA; DRL/IRF DEATHERAGE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  3/7/2015 
TAGS: IS, KPAL, PREL, PGOV, VT 
SUBJECT: ISRAELI DIRECTOR FOR INTER-RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS SEES AGREEMENT 
WITH VATICAN IN MONTHS; HOLY SEE SKEPTICAL 
 
REF: Jerusalem 2754 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Peter Martin, POL, Vatican, State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C)  During a recent visit to Rome, Israel's MFA Director 
for Inter-Religious Affairs Barkan told Charge that agreement in 
principle on how to resolve the outstanding issues between the 
Holy See and Israel had been reached in a mid-February 
negotiating session between the two sides.  There were still 
details to work out, but he expressed confidence that all issues 
would be resolved within a few months.  Barkan attributed the 
sudden progress to a decision taken by PM Sharon in mid-February 
to resolve this issue because of the damage it was doing to 
Israel's image in the U.S. and elsewhere in the "Christian 
world."  Senior Holy See officials welcomed this apparent 
unblocking of the long-stalled negotiations, but have been 
privately skeptical that Israel will be able to resolve the 
issues in this timeframe.  End Summary. 
 
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Agreement Reached in Principle 
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2.  (C) During a dinner hosted by the Israeli Ambassador in late 
February, Israeli MFA Director for the Office of Inter-Religious 
Affairs Nimrod Barkan told Charge that the just-concluded round 
of negotiations with the Holy See had set the long-stalled talks 
on fiscal and legal matters on the road to resolution.  Barkan 
asserted that agreement in principle had been reached on "how to 
resolve the remaining issues."  There was still some work ahead 
to translate these "principles" into final agreements, he said, 
but he expressed confidence they could be worked out in 3-4 
months.  Barkan said that in his meetings with senior Vatican 
officials, including FM-equivalent Lajolo, he assured the Holy 
See that Israel was committed to bringing the negotiations to 
closure "to their full satisfaction." 
 
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Vatican Wants to Believe 
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3.  (C) Despite Barkan's unrestrained optimism, senior Vatican 
officials remain much more cautious.  "We have heard these 
promises before," Vatican Assessor Gabriele Caccia told Charge, 
"and we just don't know what to make of them."  He added, "we 
hope they are true, but experience has taught us not to get our 
hopes up."  Caccia's view was echoed by DFM equivalent Pietro 
Parolin, who said the late-February talks had seemingly gone 
well, and that further sessions had been scheduled. 
 
4.  (C) The Vatican's chief negotiator, Father David Jaeger, 
publicly confirmed that there had been "a good atmosphere" at 
the negotiating sessions, but added that he hoped that this good 
atmosphere would "be translated effectively in agreed texts." 
He also noted that he believed "ideas are available for a 
satisfactory solution" for both sides.  Privately, however, 
Jaeger told Poloff that the Israelis were mounting a full-court 
public relations campaign to overcome the negative publicity 
that has built up around their foot-dragging on these talks.  He 
said he had remained positive in the press so as not to 
undermine his counterparts.   Jaeger remains skeptical, however. 
  "It's one thing to say these things in the press, but another 
to bring a piece of paper to the table," he said.  He remains 
hopeful that the desire to get out from under the negative 
publicity will be enough to push the Israeli ministries involved 
to the needed compromises. 
 
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Sharon's Marching Orders 
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5. (C) When Charge noted to Barkan the Holy See's skepticism, 
Barkan and Israeli Ambassador Ben-Hur acknowledged that the Holy 
See had reason to be skeptical in the past.   He pointed out 
that the taxation and legal issues have implications for all 
other religious groups in Israel, adding that the way in which 
Israel resolves these issues with the Holy See will be seen as a 
precedent by other religious groups, including Jewish groups. 
For that reason, a number of ministries concerned had dug in 
their heels and refused to move.  In mid-February, however, 
Barkan said PM Sharon told his cabinet he wanted to get this 
issue behind him, because it was not worth "antagonizing the 
Christian world."  This decision had generated instructions to 
 
 
the negotiators that the Israelis believe will lead to agreement 
in the coming months. 
 
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Comment 
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6. (C) The Holy See has been aggressively pressing its case to 
resolve the final issues relating to the 1993 Fundamental 
Agreement over the past year, raising its concerns in meetings 
with the President, Vice-President, and Secretary, and engaging 
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to generate 
congressional and public pressure.  The Holy See is deeply 
concerned for the future of Christians in the Holy Land, and 
believes the continuing problems on immigration, pastoral care, 
schools, taxes and property have made life difficult for the 
remaining Christians, weakening the Christian presence in the 
region.  They believe that only forceful U.S. engagement will 
lead to a resolution, and will want to pull out all the stops to 
keep the pressure on now that an agreement seems to be within 
reach. 
 
HARDT 
 
 
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