December 8, 2008
By Matthew Davies

A contentious relationship between the current and former bishops of Jerusalem led to an incident at the diocesan headquarters December 4 involving Suad Abu El-Assal, the spouse of retired Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal, who "went into a uncontrollable tirade causing destruction to office furnishings, hurling verbal assaults and inflicting physical damage to staff trying to restrain her," a diocesan news release said.

Meanwhile, an email from El-Assal's daughter, Rania, said that two assistants of incumbent Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem Suheil Dawani "started pushing" the retired bishop's wife, "dragging and fighting with her, until she fell flat on the floor resisting their attempt to pull her outside."

The incident is the latest development in an ongoing dispute between Dawani and El-Assal, who claimed ownership of the diocese's Christ School in Nazareth immediately after his retirement in March 2007 and set up a society to collect pupils' fees. The Israeli High Court in January ruled in favor of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem in a legal battle regarding the ownership of the school.

El-Assal's wife apparently made two visits to the diocesan offices on December 4 to collect payments due for her husband's pension for October and November.

"The first visit was uneventful, but upon her return ten minutes later and upon not receiving the response she had hoped for in her return visit, she went into a uncontrollable tirade ... culminating in the police being called in to calm the situation," the diocesan release said. "Bishop Abu El-Assal, who arrived in the midst of the situation, appeared either unwilling or unable to restrain his wife.

"Eventually, after a lengthy negotiation, the situation was defused, and Bishop Dawani declined to press charges out of respect for the office held by his predecessor."

El-Assal's press release referred to a "sneaky and humiliating way of handling the payment matter," to which "Suad simply announced that she will wait for as long as need be until they fulfill their promise to her." According to the press release, that announcement resulted in a "physical attack."

"Suad cried for help – having noticed Bishop Suheil go into his office – but there was no help. Neither her cries, her tears, nor the bruises on her face and on her neck, were enough to draw the attention of any ... Suad was rushed to the hospital where she was ex-rayed, checked and given a sick report for seven days; then called on the police and reported the incident."

El-Assal's daughter has sent out several bulk emails in recent months that have included inflammatory remarks about Dawani and called for his resignation.

Lawyers working on behalf of the diocese previously told ENS that El-Assal "does not want to accept Bishop Suheil as being the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem."

El-Assal had publicly endorsed another candidate who stood with Dawani in the 2005 election for bishop coadjutor of the Jerusalem diocese. Shortly after the election, El-Assal told ENS that he was not satisfied with the results and did not approve of Dawani taking over as his successor.

Episcopal News Service
Matthew Davies is editor of Episcopal Life Online and Episcopal Life Media correspondent for the Anglican Communion.