Vatican City, Feb 16, 2006 / 22:00 pm
The Vatican and the Catholic Bishops' Synod appointed on February 7, for the first time an Israeli citizen to preside over Israel's Catholic community as Archbishop of Akkra for the Greek-Catholic Melkite Church. The nomination was confirmed today by Pope Benedict XVI.
Minister Elias Shakur, a Palestinian, is the first Israeli citizen to be appointed to the position. This is also the first time in 200 years a Palestinian has been appointed. Until now, ministers from foreign countries, particularly from Lebanon, were appointed bishop.
Shakur will serve as bishop for the entire Catholic population of Israel. The Catholic Patriarch in Lebanon will appoint a separate bishop to preside over the Catholic population in East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Shakur told Haaretz, an Israeli news daily, that he was accepting his appointment at a "fairly difficult time for relations between Jews, Arabs and Muslims."