The Current Situation in Jerusalem

At present there are approximately three hundred homeowners, and almost twelve hundred people, in Jerusalem, may it be rebuilt and reestablished. This about the situation you will find at any point in time, for the homeowners of Jerusalem pay community taxes, which range from 12 to 30 and 70 kuruş per annum, apart from the royal tax. There are no profits to be earned in the land, nor is there commerce, while there are many expenses and the price of food is on the increase, and this is why the number of residents is steadily decreasing. On occasion, one cannot find any well-known, respectable individuals there, as they are unable to feed their families. Right now, the homeowners contribute some 400 kuruş toward community taxes, which is like a drop in the ocean, as the required amount is roughly 6,000 kuruş.

Therefore, to further the settlement of the land of Israel, it is right and proper that the entire diaspora should ordain that whoever lives in the land of Israel is exempt from taxes, that is, that he should pay no more than the yearly royal tax. This will aid the settlement of Israel. If there is no general consensus on a decree of this kind throughout the lands, that the rest of the world should bear the yoke of this city, the situation in Israel will never be rectified, and Jerusalem will be unable to shake off its bad reputation.

In our many sins, every gentile nation does more than what we have specified here, for to ensure the presence of homeowners, they exempt certain individuals from taxes of all forms, and the church authorities pay everything on behalf of the ministers and judges of the city. Thus, there are wealthy individuals among them who own thousands of kuruş and yet do not pay anything—all is covered by the funds of the churches, whether the Franks, the Armenians, or the Greeks.

It should also be enacted that if the number of residents of the holy city of Jerusalem increases, they should agree that some of them must go and live in other areas of the land of Israel, as the Ishmaelites have decreed a limit upon the population of the city, and furthermore the community will suffer if there are too many people. Consequently, it is a good idea to declare that only a specific, restricted number of homeowners may reside in Jerusalem, and those who arrive later must go to live elsewhere.