February 23rd leaders of the EPF Palestine Israel Network (Rev. Cotton Fite, Bishop Cabell Tennis, Mr. Tom Trueblood, The Rev. Bob Tobin) met with Bishop Suheil Dawani in his office in Jerusalem.
He gave the delegation a thorough update on his legal situation and told them that he had just filed an administrative petition in the Jerusalem District Court to force the Israeli Interior Ministry to renew his Jerusalem residency permit.
The PIN leaders drafted the following statement concerning the Bishop's situation so that you will be able to explain the situation if asked.
IF-ASKED STATEMENT ON BISHOP SUHEIL’S STATUS
1. Suheil Dawani became Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem in 2007. As a native of Nablus, in the Occupied Territories of Palestine (West Bank), he is not an Israeli citizen and must obtain Israeli government permission in order to reside at St. George’s Cathedral in East Jerusalem, which Israel considers to be part of the State of Israel.
2. Upon his election, Bishop Dawani was given an “A5” Jerusalem residency permit by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior. A5 permits must be renewed annually, and Bishop Dawani was granted the first two renewals he applied for. However, when he applied for a third renewal in August 2010, his request was denied on the basis that certain “charges” of violation of Israeli law had been made against him.
3. Bishop Dawani vigorously denies these charges and requested the Ministry of the Interior make public any evidence it had against him. Letters protesting the Interior Ministry’s action were sent to the President and the Prime Minister of Israel by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary William Hague, and American Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori.
4. As of late February 2011 the Interior Ministry has neither responded to the letters nor renewed Bishop Dawani’s residency permit, although he was told by Ministry officials that the matter would be resolved. Accordingly, the Bishop brought a legal action in an Israeli court to force the Interior Ministry to renew the permit or present evidence supporting the alleged charges against him.
5. Because he holds a Jordanian passport, Bishop Dawani is still able to travel from Jerusalem to other locations in his Diocese, which covers the Occupied Territories, Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. However, lack of a Jerusalem residency permit means that he cannot remain in Jerusalem legally, and technically the Israeli government could at any time prevent him from returning to Jerusalem from an Episcopal visitation outside Jerusalem. So far he has not been prevented from returning to Jerusalem from visits outside the city. In addition, the family has lost their access to Israeli government-provided health insurance and must purchase more expensive private insurance.
