For a few weeks now, public opinion among the Arab public in general, and members of the Christian community in particular, has been booming and booming, after one of the strange transactions carried out by the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem was revealed. The Pope, in charge of the Catholic and Latin American communities in Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, and Cyprus, holds hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets under his responsibilities, and now sells about 300 acres in Nazareth, estimated at tens of millions of shekels, to a private entrepreneur.

The members of the Latin community found out about the deal after it was already implemented, after the developer and the church signed the agreements and funds were transferred. But even after this discovery, the real documents or data still fail to arrive, and in the meantime they are fumbling in the dark. Neither the purchaser, who is one of the wealthiest businessmen in Israel, answers their questions and neither the church officials agree to disclose the data and documents.

Only after dozens of community members organized and began protesting against the deal, went out in demonstrations and began seeking information, did church officials agree to speak with them. They urged residents to stop protesting, and announced that other areas would be allocated for community needs, primarily as self-build plots. However, the price the church requested for these lots was relatively higher than the market price, which added oil to the fire.

The explanation the community received from the Patriarchate in Jerusalem is amazing: the body has entered a budget deficit of about $ 100 million, and the sale of land was a last resort before economic collapse. The reason for the deficit, according to the explanations, is an economic adventure associated with the establishment of a Catholic university in the city of Madaba, Jordan. Members of the Latino community in Nazareth refuse to accept it. Many believe church representatives are hiding information, and above all, they do not understand why the establishment of a Catholic university in Jordan should come at the expense of church assets in their local community. Some accuse religious leaders of persecution and sale of church property, and feel that their interests, as a community belonging to a religious minority, are being neglected. In their opinion, the area sold could serve the community, and with proper investment, profits could be returned to the church and through the community. 

But the big concern is not real estate, but existential. Many members of the community fear a large wave of immigration among young Christians in Israel, a trend that almost eliminated the Christian presence in Iraq and harms the Coptic Christians in Egypt, and even the Christians in the Palestinian Authority. But without assets and land, the community will find it difficult to anchor its young people, especially in the age of globalization, which opens up to young educated opportunities and horizons abroad.