Ownership of Mount Zion may soon be transferred to the Vatican. The Israeli government under the leadership of President Moshe Katsav has drafted a potential deal to hand over a portion of Mount Zion to the Vatican in exchange for a former Synagogue in Spain.

The property in question is a building complex located adjacent to the Zion gate of the Old City of Jerusalem. The complex currently houses the Diaspora Yeshiva, the Tomb of David, and the proposed site of the Upper Room where Jesus celebrated the last supper with his disciples. Mount Zion is also the location of the first holocaust museum in Jerusalem and currently displays thousands of items including a jacket warn by a Nazi officer sewn exclusively from sacred Torah parchment.

The Vatican intends to turn the area into an active church packed with statues, daily mass and idol worship of every kind and the Pope intends to turn Mt. Zion into the Vatican of the Middle East says Rabbi Mordechi Goldstein and Rabbi Shabtai Herman of Mt. Zion, Jerusalem for the Committee to Save Mt. Zion in an official statement released on the 16th of November, 2005. Mount Zion is one of the holiest sites in Israel for the Jewish people because of their claim that King David, King Solomon, and other kings from the Davidic line are buried in a cave on this very mountain. The building complex in jeopardy sits directly above this burial cave and houses the Diaspora yeshiva that has been in operation there for the past 38 years.

The Catholic Church claims the upper room to be the fourth holiest site in Israel. The Holy Sepulcher being the first, followed by the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth and the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, then the Upper Room. The building itself was built in the 14th Century by the crusaders and was later turned into a Mosque when overtaken by the Ottoman Empire. The Vatican became interested in the site after the late John Paul II held a mass in the upper room on his visit to Jerusalem in 2000. A Rome daily newspaper, Il Messaggero, indicated that the current Church administration is willing to "trade" the Church of Santa Maria La Blanca in Toledo, Spain for the control of the Upper Room complex. The Church of Santa Maria La Blanca was previously a Jewish synagogue until the Inquisitions of the 15th Century.

On November 1, 2005 the Holy See stated its intention to preserve and enhance the religious and historic character of this holy place in a released draft of the proposed deal. The document was initiated by Israeli President Katsav and is supported by several groups within Israel which include: the Ministry of Tourism, The Israel Lands Authority, the Department of Holy Sites, and the Ministry of Interior. A coalition of Jewish leaders from around the world has been fighting the proposed deal since February of 2005.