The Hon. (Dr.) Hiniduma Sunil Senevi - Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs

Jathika Jana balawegaya· Ratnapura· 5 June 2025 ·Oral question: Oral Question: Israeli Religious and Cultural Centres Established in Sri Lanka (Q.632/2025)

Religion & Culture

AI summary generated by gpt-5.5

The Minister stated that four Israeli religious centres have been identified in Pottuvil, Weligama, Thimbirigasyaya, and Ella. He said the Weligama and Ella centres are registered with the Registrar of Companies as of 21 April 2022, while the Pottuvil and Thimbirigasyaya centres are not registered. Regarding Pottuvil, he noted that officials could not obtain details from a responsible person during inspection, but public information indicated it is private property used by Israeli nationals, particularly during the tourist season, for religious activities.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Answer: (a) (i) Yes.

¶ 02 (ii) Four such centres have been identified: 1. Pottuvil Division 2. Weligama Division 3. Thimbirigasyaya Division 4. Ella Division

¶ 03 (iii) Of these four centres, two have obtained legal approval and two are not registered. The centres in Pottuvil and Thimbirigasyaya are not registered. The centres in Weligama and Ella are registered.

¶ 04 (b) The reason for non-registration of the Pottuvil centre is not known. When the Grama Niladhari conducted a field inspection, no knowledgeable person was present at the location to provide information; details were obtained from the public, who stated that it is private property and is not registered. It has also been learned that during the tourist season many Israeli nationals visit that place and engage in religious activities such as teaching religion, and that Israelis residing outside Sri Lanka also participate.

¶ 05 The two registered institutions at Weligama and Ella have been registered at the Registrar of Companies on 21.04.2022.

¶ 06 That is the answer.

Provenance

Source: Hansard, Thursday, 5 June 2025 ·No. 1750828922068945 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Hiniduma Sunil Senevi - Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 5 June 2025. No. 1750828922068945. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/21242