"Given the prosecutorial nature of the charges made, in the interest of justice and restitution, these expenses must be recovered by the Diocese from Bishop Dawani, personally, since the legal campaign was nothing more than a personal vendetta against Bishop Riah."

Riah argued that the best interests of the Diocese were not served, and as a result, the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem suffered an untold loss of esteem and dignity within the Church and beyond.

"This reprehensible and concerted effort to harass, humiliate, and persecute Bishop Riah must be investigated, and proper measures taken to ensure that the misuse of Church funds and power is never used in such a personally corrupt and malevolent way again. The hundreds of thousands of dollars carelessly spent on groundless allegations in legal and court fees must be repaid to the Church.

"In addition to recovering lost Diocesan funds, an investigation is imperative into other incidences of harassment and persecution by Bishop Dawani who abused his church authority by mistreating the former Bishop who served the Church for over 43 years."

In his press release Riah says an agreement was reached and signed by Bishop Dawani and the four Provincial Bishops in February 2007, paving the way for Bishop Dawani's installment, with no legal actions to be taken against Bishop Riah's family. He would not be targeted in any way. According to Riah this agreement was ignored by Bishop Dawani.

Riah said he was harassed and persecuted at the installation of Bishop Dawani (where he was personally invited to pass the Bishop's Staff to his successor, Bishop Dawani) where he found on his arrival that his portrait had been removed from those of other former Bishops hanging from the walls of the "Bishops' Lounge." "When I asked Bishop Suhail, he denied he knew anything about it. Lay Canon Sami Habiby found it in the office where Bishop Dawani was dressing." He asked Bishop Riah to forgive Bishop Dawani's lie and the slight, which apparently he did.

On another occasion (April 8, 2007), Bishop Riah was to preside over the Easter sunrise service at the invitation of the Church in Amman, which he said he he did at his own expense. "Instead of being joined in prayer by Bishop Dawani, I found out that the Jordan mobile he used and had committed to pay for, had been disconnected, on Maunday Thursday, at Bishop Dawani's demand, and that the church driver had been instructed not to render any service to me." Riah said he had been asked to bring his vestments, required for the service, from the Diocesan office in Amman. (Bishop Dawani was still not yet the Diocesan Bishop at this time.)

Riah said that on September of 2007, mediation was offered by an ecumenical group of clergy that included the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams; His Beatitude Michael Sabbah (then Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem); the Head of the Lutheran Federation, Bishop Munib Younan; the Head of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Mowafaq Tareef; and the administrator of the White Mosque in Nazareth, Sheikh Atef Fahoum, as well as by several others. "These overtures were rejected by Bishop Dawani without regard for the judicial power of the Church and the provisions made by the Central Synod regarding Provincial Tribunals."

Riah says that this snub and clear disregard for church protocols demonstrates that Bishop Dawani is unfit for office and should be removed.

"Bishop Dawani set into motion several retaliatory and discriminatory actions against myself and my family, who were highly qualified employees of the church school. These included firing my daughter, a US college graduate with honors, with a highly successful history as a fundraiser, claiming she was a former secretary of the Bishop's, when in fact she was employed by the school. Another act of retaliation was targeted against my son, a highly educated and qualified professional, who was summarily dismissed."

Riah said he had revived a dying school as Director for 16 years, increasing the number of pupils from 149 pupils and 11 staff, to 1710 pupils with 142 staff members, resulting in receiving the Israeli Ministry of Education's highest accolades. "Under his Directorship, the school had a balanced budget, but since his sacking, the school now has a significant debt of about US $4 million."

Riah says an investigation must be launched to determine the causes as well as the reasons for the high turnover of employees, especially within the school and Diocesan Finance Departments.

Bishop Riah said his wife was also harassed. "On one occasion she was viciously attacked after being invited by the Diocesan Finance Department to pick up long overdue stipend check on December 4, 2008. These checks had been deliberately withheld to inconvenience me and my family. On June 22, 2011, my wife and I were invited to pick up documents from the Diocese which we had formally requested. We were accosted while trying to enter the Jerusalem Cathedral for prayer. In another suspicious incident our family car was vandalized."

Riah said that an in-depth examination by the Minister for Labor, Dr. Ahmad Majdalani, found that Bishop Dawani and the Committee he chaired had improperly and illegally transferred Bishop Riah's apartment to a third party. Other issues of malfeasance include charging the school for Bishop Dawani's daughter's mobile phone expense, personal enrichment classes through various miscellaneous stipends, and registering the Ramallah Housing Society land in his own name. Riah claims this is against Diocesan regulations, which was later corrected by an order of the Palestinian court. Ramallah Housing Society funds of US $60,000 were withheld by Bishop Dawani and only released after a press report exposed the controversy, creating yet another scandal for the church and school under Bishop Dawani's leadership.

The former Bishop of Jerusalem says that as a result of the integrity and reputation of the Diocese, Bishop Dawani's conduct should be investigated with full restitution made to the diocese. "His misuse and abuse of ecclesiastical authority must be addressed and immediately resolved. The people of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem deserve better of their Bishop, or they deserve another Bishop."

Bishop Dawani's office did not respond to an e-mail from VOL regarding these charges.

The Rt. Rev. Riah Abu El Assal is the former Bishop of Jerusalem