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hey guys heres some more proof that israe3lis aren't like all anti armenian. AND THIS IS A HIGH UP GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL. check it.

 

see for yourself.

 

ISRAELI MINISTER AFFIRMS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

 

Washington, DC -- Israeli Minister of Education Yossi Sarid marked the 85th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide Monday, pointedly drawing attention to the significance of his official presence at the memorial gathering in Jerusalem.

 

In a powerfully-worded statement released in Washington, DC by the Armenian National Institute, the Minister said, "For many years, too many years, you were alone on your Memorial Day. I am aware of the special significance of my presence here today, along with other Israelis. Today perhaps for the first time, you are less alone." He stated also: "I am here, with you, as a human being, as a Jew, as an Israeli, and as Education Minister of the State of Israel."

 

The Minister also noted that it was a Jewish ambassador of America to Turkey, Henry Morgenthau III who in 1915 was among the first and most determined in telling the world about the massacres, and ultimately, genocide then taking place in Armenia.

 

"The Minister's statement in Jerusalem on Memorial Day is deeply moving, and at the same time, most encouraging to Armenians seeking worldwide affirmation of the Armenian Genocide," said Robert A. Kaloosdian, Chairman of the Armenian National Institute (ANI) Board of Governors. "Last April, an ANI delegation traveled to Armenia with the grandson and great-grandsons of Ambassador Morgenthau and they were widely honored there. We are pleased that the Israeli administration also remembers Ambassador Morgenthau and publicly applauds those, like him, who speak out against genocide, this crime against all humanity."

 

The Minister of Education concluded his statement with a commitment to ensure that the Armenian Genocide be included in the Israeli secondary school history curriculum. Its inclusion has previously been blocked by the foreign ministry, which fears possible repercussions on Israel's relations with Turkey. The current Turkish government continues to deny the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

 

The Armenian National Institute is dedicated to the study, research, and affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.

 

* Attachment: Speech of the Minister of Education Yossi Sarid, Jerusalem, Israel, dated April 24, 2000. (See below)

 

(For more information or to arrange interviews with the grandson of Ambassador Morgenthau, Henry Morgenthau IV, or Dr. Rouben Adalian, Director of the Armenian National Institute, please call 202/ 383-9009.)

 

 

Speech of Mr. Yossi Sarid, Minister of Education of Israel, at the Armenian memorial gathering, morning of April 24, 2000.

 

I join you, members of the Armenian community, on your Memorial Day, as you mark the 85th anniversary of your genocide. I am here, with you, as a human being, as a Jew, as an Israeli, and as Education Minister of the State of Israel.

 

Every year, Armenians gather in Israel and all over the world to remember and to remind the world of the terrible disaster, that befell your people at the beginning of the last century.

 

For many years, too many years, you were alone on your Memorial Day. I'm aware of the special significance of my presence here today along with other Israelis. Today perhaps for the first time you are less alone.

 

The Armenian Memorial Day should be a day of reflection and introspection for all of us, a day of soul-searching. On this day, we as Jews, victims of the Shoah should examine our relationship to the pain of others.

 

The massacre, which was carried out by the Turks against the Armenians in 1915 and 1916, was one of the most horrible acts to occur in modern times.

 

The Jewish ambassador of America to Turkey in those days, Henry Morgenthau, described the massacre as "The greatest crime in modern history." Morgenthau did not predict what was in store later in the 20th century for the Jews, the Shoah, the most terrible of all is still in front of our eyes.

 

The person who was most shocked and shocked many people was the Prague-born Jewish author, Franz Werfel, with his masterpiece The Forty Days of Musa Dagh. The idea for writing the book was born in March 1929, when Werfel visited Damascus on his way to Palestine. He wrote: "The pitiful scene of the starved and mutilated children of the Armenian refugees gave me the last push to redeem the cruel fate of the Armenian people from the abyss of oblivion."

 

The book that appeared in German in 1933 shocked millions of people. Adolf Hitler was then in power. The Forty Days of Musa Dagh was thrown into the flames along with other forbidden books. The book was translated into Hebrew in 1934, and influenced many young people in Eretz Israel including me.

 

For me and for many youngsters my generation in Israel, The Forty Days of Musa Dagh had a formative effect on our personality and our world outlook.

 

Today in Israel very few youngsters have heard about Musa Dagh, very few know about the Armenian Genocide. I know how important the position of the Jews, and especially the attitude of the State of Israel to your genocide, are for Armenians in the world. As Minister of Education of the State of Israel, I will do whatever is in my capacity in order that this monumental work The Forty Days of Musa Dagh is once more well known to our children. I will do everything in order that Israeli children learn and know about the Armenian Genocide. Genocide is a crime against humanity and there is nothing more horrible and odious than Genocide. One of the objectives of our education - our main objective - is to instill sensitivity to the harm to the innocent based on nationality alone. We, Jews, as principal victims of murderous hatred are doubly obligated to be sensitive, to identify with other victims.

 

We have to evoke among the young generation natural and deep indignation against manifestations of genocide in the past, in the present and in future. Genocide is the root of all evil and we have to make supreme political and educational efforts to uproot and extirpate it.

 

Whoever stands indifferent in front of it, or ignores it, whoever makes calculations, whoever is silent always helps the perpetrator of the crime and not the murdered.

 

In 1918, Shmuel Talkowsky, the secretary of Chaim Weizmann wrote with the approval of Weitzmann, an important article entitled "The Armenian Question from a Zionist Standpoint."

 

Among other things, he said. "We, Zionists, have deep and candid sympathy for the fate of the Armenian people. We do this as human beings, as Jews and as Zionists. As human beings our motto is: I am a human being. Whatever affects another human being affects me."

 

"As Jews, as an ancient exiled people we suffered in all parts of the world. I dare say, they made us experts of martyrdom. Our humanitarian sentiments are so sharpened that nobody matches us. The suffering of any nation no matter how foreign to us or how far from us, affects deeply the chords of our souls, and created between us and the suffering nation a profound sympathy which we can call the "brotherhood of affliction." Among the nations who suffer in our neighborhood there is no nation whose martyrdom is more similar than the Armenian people. As Zionists we have several reasons to sympathize with the Armenian Question. As Zionism by its essence is nothing but the Jewish expression of the demand for national justice, it is natural and logical, that the struggle of a nation for emancipation arouses in us a profound interest. We are convinced that in that region of the globe--the Middle East -- the birthplace of our nation -- Eretz Israel, is only a small part of it, will secure peace and prosperity when the well-defined national aspirations will be fulfilled (to the maximum extent possible.) In our view, a free and prosperous Armenia, free and prosperous Arab land and free and prosperous Eretz Israel are the three pillars on which will be built peace and calm in the Middle East."

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The Jerusalem Post

Thursday, June 15 2000

 

A tragedy offstage no more

By Leora Eren Frucht

 

(May 11) - The decision by Education Minister Yossi Sarid to include the Armenian genocide in the national curriculum is a significant step toward counteracting Israelis' often deliberate ignorance of the atrocity, writes Leora Eren Frucht.

 

When Hitler ordered his death units to "exterminate without mercy or pity men, women, and children belonging to the Polish-speaking race," he was confident that the world would overlook the mass murder.

 

"After all," he asked rhetorically on the eve of the 1939 invasion of Poland, "who remembers the extermination of the Armenians?"

 

For a moment last month it seemed as though Israel was determined to answer that question with a resounding: "We do."

 

At a ceremony in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, Education Minister Yossi Sarid bemoaned the fact that Israeli students know next to nothing about the 1915-1916 genocide - in which some 1.5 million Armenians, one-third of the Armenian people, were killed by Turks - and declared his intention to change this.

 

"I will do everything so that Israeli pupils will study and learn about the Armenian genocide," he declared at the April 24 memorial, where he announced plans to introduce a chapter on genocide into the national history curriculum which would include references to the Armenian genocide.

 

He also promised to try to acquaint Israeli youth with Prague-born Jewish writer Franz Werfel's The 40 Days of Moussa Dag, the 1933 novel whose graphic depiction of the Armenian plight "shaped a generation in Israel," noted Sarid, but is unfamiliar to most students today.

 

THE SPEECH and plan marked a sharp departure from the traditional Israeli attitude toward the Armenian genocide, which has for years been downplayed and, some say, even denied by Israel, mainly because of vociferous objections by Turkey.

 

Ankara maintains that there was no genocide - a claim leading scholars have dismissed as part of an extensive campaign of denial.

 

"Outrageous," is how Prof. Deborah Lipstadt described the Turkish position.

 

Lipstadt, the American historian who defeated Holocaust denier David Irving in a highly-publicized libel trial in a London court last month, said in an interview last year with The Jerusalem Post: "The Turks have managed to structure this debate so that people question whether this really happened." She was one of 150 scholars and writers who signed a Washington Post ad last year decrying the Turkish denial of the Armenian genocide.

 

Another signatory was Prof. Yehuda Bauer, academic director of Yad Vashem and a leading authority on the Holocaust.

 

"If you accept the UN 1948 definition of genocide - which we and many other nations have done - then there can be no argument [about calling this a genocide]," Bauer told the Post.

 

But in Israel, the Turkish position - that there was no genocide - has prevailed for years, with the Foreign Ministry playing an active part in suppressing any mention of that dark chapter in Ottoman history.

 

Anxious to maintain close ties with Ankara, the ministry has tried - and frequently succeeded - in canceling academic conferences, educational programs, and even TV shows mentioning the Armenian genocide.

 

OVER THE years, the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) has repeatedly canceled scheduled screenings of programs dealing with the subject - including a British documentary, Passage to Ararat, and a seemingly innocuous film on the Armenians living in Jerusalem's Old City.

 

Years after one such incident, Yosef (Tommy) Lapid, now Shinui party leader and MK, admitted that as IBA director-general he had canceled a documentary on the Armenians under pressure from then-Foreign Ministry director-general David Kimche, who warned him that angering Ankara could harm efforts to help Syrian Jews escape via Turkey.

 

Prof. Israel Charny, founder and executive director of the Jerusalem-based Institute on Holocaust and Genocide, said that in 1982 he resisted Foreign Ministry pressure to cancel what was to be the first Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide, and was to include a session devoted to the Armenian case.

 

More than half the scheduled participants withdrew, among them Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, who was to have been president of the conference. (Wiesel rejected a Foreign Ministry demand to cancel the Armenian session, but withdrew from the conference when Charny turned down a ministry request to move the venue from Jerusalem to Europe, a compromise Wiesel supported.)

 

Bauer said he never experienced pressure but was "advised" by the Foreign Ministry to keep the Armenian issue out of the public eye - advice which left him feeling "uncomfortable."

 

In 1989, the Israeli Embassy in Washington actively lobbied to block a US congressional measure to commemorate the Armenian genocide. In that instance, the Foreign Ministry chided embassy officials for their excessive involvement in an issue that embarrassed Jerusalem.

 

ISRAEL'S official, though unspoken, policy on Armenia has also kept government representatives away from the Armenians' commemoration of the genocide, held every April 24 - the day in 1915 on which 300 Armenian leaders were rounded up, deported, and killed in Turkey, setting off the beginning of an 18-month campaign of deportation and mass murder.

 

With the exception of former absorption minister Yair Tzaban, who attended the ceremony in 1995, Sarid is the only minister to participate in the memorial. Not surprisingly, Sarid's speech prompted an outcry in Turkey that included a protest to Israel's charg* d'affaires in Ankara.

 

In response, a Foreign Ministry source was quoted as saying "it's a pity that Sarid made a decision on such as sensitive topic without consulting us first and without raising the subject in any government forum."

 

The pragmatic reasons for Israel's position are clear. Turkey is one of Israel's most important and strategically positioned allies in the region, a Moslem ally with which Israel has growing military ties.

 

When France adopted a bill in 1998 recognizing the Armenian genocide, Turkey promptly suspended the signing of a $145 million defense contract.

 

BUT realpolitik has its price. In siding with Turkey, Israel has placed itself in the uncomfortable - and bitterly ironic - position of colluding with a denier of genocide.

 

"There has been a tendency here to ignore the subject [of the Armenian genocide]," said Bauer.

 

"And on the part of some Israelis there is even support for denial," added the Holocaust expert, who praised Sarid's decision.

 

"Israel's attitude has very definitely constituted denial," asserted Charny.

 

The Lipstadt-Irving trial showed the world that denial of genocide can be done in sophisticated and indirect ways, added Charny, citing similarities between Irving's claims and the type of arguments made by deniers of the Armenian genocide.

 

"In the wake of that trial, it becomes much more difficult to engage in double-talk about the Armenian genocide - the kind of double-talk we Israelis have been guilty of. We are left with a choice: Are we going to allow people to distort a genocide the way Irving does?"

 

THERE IS another reason why Israelis have preferred not to confront the Armenian genocide, one that has nothing to do with Turkey.

 

Few will say it aloud, but many fear that acknowledging the Armenian genocide will call into question the uniqueness of the Holocaust and somehow diminish its weight.

 

"For years it was a sin to mention genocide of other people," said Charny. "If you did, you were viewed as disloyal and a traitor to the Jewish people. This attitude of 'we're not gonna talk about the goyim's suffering' is a sad phase of immaturity and a betrayal of our ethics."

 

"As Jews and as human beings we should care very deeply about other people who were victims of genocide. And we should realize that doing so does not diminish the enormity of the Holocaust," said Charny, who edited the recently published Encyclopedia of Genocide.

 

In response to Sarid's decision, Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes Remembrance Authority, issued a press release saying it "supports the teaching of the subject of the Armenian genocide in schools and does not think that this will harm the study of the Holocaust, and that, if anything, the opposite is probably true."

 

"The way to establish the uniqueness of the Holocaust is by comparison," explained Bauer of Yad Vashem.

 

"The Holocaust was unprecedented. In order to establish that there was no precedent, you've got to compare it with other genocides. So I am very much in favor of teaching the Armenian genocide."

 

In fact, without putting the Holocaust into perspective, words like "unique" and "unprecedented" are fast becoming empty slogans for many Israeli students, said one educator who is deeply involved in the subject.

 

THE HANDFUL of educators who have exposed their students to the Armenian genocide - which is not part of the school curriculum - have seen surprising results.

 

Since 1995, Orit Shimoni, a teacher at Ramot Hefer High School in the Sharon region, has taught the subject to her 11th-grade history students. Interestingly, she said, the students emerged with a much deeper awareness of the Holocaust.

 

"They told me that learning about the Armenian genocide had shown them how easy it is to simply forget and ultimately deny a genocide. They were shocked and shaken by this," said Shimoni.

 

"They felt it was more important than ever to read and talk about the Holocaust constantly in order to ensure that it is never forgotten."

 

The study module used by Shimoni was developed by Dr. Yair Auron of the Seminar Hakibbutzim State Teachers' College and was initially slated for use in a country-wide pilot program for 11th-grade history students.

 

Called "Sensitivity to the Suffering of the World: Genocide in the 20th Century," the program was written by Auron in 1994, following a decision by then education minister Amnon Rubinstein to introduce the study of the Armenian genocide into the school curriculum.

 

The program - separate from the study of the Holocaust - was to have looked at genocide in general, focusing mainly but not exclusively on the Armenian and Gypsy examples.

 

But Auron's study program was rejected by an Education Ministry committee which called it unbalanced. Proponents of the program suspect that Turkish pressure may have been the real reason for its rejection - a charge denied by the Education Ministry.

 

WHATEVER the reason, the result is not open to debate. Rubinstein's decision was not implemented and, with the exception of a few classrooms in the country like Shimoni's, the vast majority of Israeli high-school students do not study the subject of genocide - with the obvious exception of the Holocaust - from a broad perspective.

 

Auron, whose book on the Armenian genocide, The Banality of Indifference, was published in the US last month, applauded Sarid's decision to teach the topic.

 

He said that surveys he has conducted on college and university students show that some 85 percent know very little or nothing about the Armenian genocide, a fact Sarid referred to in his speech last month.

 

It's not clear whether Auron's original program on genocide is to be revived.

 

"I don't care whether it's my program that is used or another one - as long as the subject is taught," said the historian, who now teaches a similar course to college students at Seminar Hakibbutzim and is developing one for Tel Aviv's Open University.

 

If the Armenian genocide is taught, as Sarid promised, it will be as part of an elective course on genocide, probably one of some 20 or so topics that high-school students specializing in history can choose from. That's not quite a revolution, but it's still a sharp policy change for Israel - and a first step in breaking a national taboo.

 

But if, as appears increasingly likely, Sarid carries out his threat to resign over the transfer of funds to Shas's educational system, then for most Israeli students, the Armenian genocide will most likely revert to the dustbin of forgotten history.

Edited by Vigil
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Is Turkey's relationship with Israel a "brotherly" one or could it just be described as blackmail?

 

It seems to me that if Israel does not grow some balls it may end up being Turkey's bitch for a long time, but again that is just some observational facts.

Edited by Vigil
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turks and israelis are taught to think the same way ( by their goverment). They have occupied someone elses lands ( the least they have done), and they continuesly deny that.

 

as for the armenians, they real defenders of israel, avoid to mention them or the palestinians in the same context if they are dicussing politics and israel.

Plz, we dont give a damn if they LIKE us or not. What really matters is what they DO and not say.

Edited by koko
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  • 2 years later...
Is Turkey's relationship with Israel a "brotherly" one or could it just be described as blackmail?

 

It seems to me that if Israel does not grow some balls it may end up being Turkey's bitch for a long time, but again that is just some observational facts.

Turkey and Azerbaijan have become Israel's bitches. Azerbaijan is Israel's second largest supplier of oil, and the REAL intent behind the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline was to get Caspian oil to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, from there it is a short Mediterranean cruise down to Israel, and these oil barges would be protected by the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean (the Fifth Fleet is in Bahrain in the Persian Gulf protecting oil barges there). Israel will be getting her oil easier this way.

 

The same Israel that is rapidly Judaizing Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, holy to Christians, is becoming all Jewish, the Palestinian population living in the area (known to Arabs as Jabal Zaytoon) being moved out. Islam and Christianity have become captives to Zionism. Christian Palestinians have suffered the most, caught in the middle of a daily battle between Israeli settlers who are Jewish extremists of the worst kind (plus the brutal Israeli army) on one side, and radical Islamic groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad on the other. Thousands of Christian Palestinians have left Palestine, and the Land of Christ is becoming devoid of Christians.

 

One reason Turkey supports Israel is because Turkey like Israel, is a pariah in the world of civilized nations, and like Israel, has very few friends. So countries with no friends find each other. Another reason is, Turkey hates Arabs...the Arabs joined the British in kicking the Turks out during WWI (now as much as I despise Turkey and its Ottoman past, if the Arabs had not employed British help for their liberation, the Zionist state of Israel would not have been created, and neither Turkey nor Azerbaijan would have their Jewish protector around...so the irony is, this actually benefited the Turks in the long run)...also Turks wonder why Muslim Arabs would join non-Muslim British in kicking out Muslim Turks. But then Turks take very little time to look at how they oppressed the Arabs throughout Ottoman rule.

Edited by Iran Forever
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Turkey and Azerbaijan have become Israel's bitches. Azerbaijan is Israel's second largest supplier of oil, and the REAL intent behind the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline was to get Caspian oil to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, from there it is a short Mediterranean cruise down to Israel, and these oil barges would be protected by the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean (the Fifth Fleet is in Bahrain in the Persian Gulf protecting oil barges there). Israel will be getting her oil easier this way.

 

The same Israel that is rapidly Judaizing Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, holy to Christians, is becoming all Jewish, the Palestinian population living in the area (known to Arabs as Jabal Zaytoon) being moved out. Islam and Christianity have become captives to Zionism. Christian Palestinians have suffered the most, caught in the middle of a daily battle between Israeli settlers who are Jewish extremists of the worst kind (plus the brutal Israeli army) on one side, and radical Islamic groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad on the other. Thousands of Christian Palestinians have left Palestine, and the Land of Christ is becoming devoid of Christians.

 

One reason Turkey supports Israel is because Turkey like Israel, is a pariah in the world of civilized nations, and like Israel, has very few friends. So countries with no friends find each other. Another reason is, Turkey hates Arabs...the Arabs joined the British in kicking the Turks out during WWI (now as much as I despise Turkey and its Ottoman past, if the Arabs had not employed British help for their liberation, the Zionist state of Israel would not have been created, and neither Turkey nor Azerbaijan would have their Jewish protector around...so the irony is, this actually benefited the Turks in the long run)...also Turks wonder why Muslim Arabs would join non-Muslim British in kicking out Muslim Turks. But then Turks take very little time to look at how they oppressed the Arabs throughout Ottoman rule.

 

Very well said!

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Don't fool yourselves. Brits are the same bastards as the Turks. They should equally share the responsibility for the Armenian genocide with Turks and Germans.

 

PS: The modern Arab (Moslem) terrorists are stupid. Instead of killing indiscriminately and thus antagonizing the whole world against them, they should target only Anglo-Saxons and Jews, because those are their real enemies.

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  • 9 years later...

TRIPADVISOR. DO NOT FORGET TO WALK THROUGH ARMENIAN QUARTER WHEN VISITING JERUSALEM

16:14, 28 July, 2015

JERUSALEM, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. The most famous tourist information
center Tripadvisor made a list of sights which are mandatory to be
visited during a holiday in Jerusalem. As "Armenpress" reports, the
list titled "30 places that must be visited in Jerusalem" includes
also ceramic art center of Armenian masters located in the old city
of Jerusalem and the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem.

"Ceramic art center in the old city of Jerusalem is one of the rare
places where one can buy unique ceramic items made by the hands of
Armenian masters. They will become both reminiscence and the best
present from Jerusalem", the article informs.

As concerns to the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem, it was found that
it is one of the most favorite places of tourists.

"The Armenian quarter of Jerusalem is a part of the local color of
this fantastic city. It is the best place for leisure, where it is
necessary to walk. This is a part of the city which is exceptional,
unique, interesting and one will never forget it once they visit it.

The city square is in harmony with the surrounding streets. The narrow
streets, unique buildings, the market are so harmonious and combine
several centuries and cultures. It is just wonderful to walk through
the narrow streets of the quarter, breath the air full of history and
be happy by the fact that you managed to feel the spirit of the past",
the article says.

The specialists of Tripadvisor make different rankings based on the
notes made by both tour guides and tourists.

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/813531/tripadvisor-do-not-forget-to-walk-through-armenian-quarter-when-visiting-jerusalem.html

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Roads and Kingdoms
Jan 24 2018
From the Homeland to the Holy Land
Photographer: Anush Babajanyan, It was the Armenians’ turn to clean the tomb of Jesus. We stayed well into the night, at the Holy Sepulcher church in Jerusalem, watching the small group of people carefully wiping down the tomb and refilling the oil lamps.

The priests cleaned with a certain habit, but the pilgrims did it with awe and tears in their eyes. It was an incredibly special moment for them, to simply clean the church on the piece of land where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and buried.

A small nation with a large diaspora, Armenians administer some of the most valued Christian sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and elsewhere in Israel, like the Holy Sepulchre, the Saint James Cathedral, the Church of the Nativity, and the Tomb of Saint Mary. They have shared that responsibility with Catholics, Orthodox Greeks, and other smaller groups since 1852, when the Ottoman Empire brokered an agreement that persists to this day.

Anush-Babajanyan-8.jpg?zoom=1.5625&w=130Women pray in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank.
Anush-Babajanyan-2.jpg?zoom=1.5625&w=635
Anush-Babajanyan-11.jpg?zoom=1.5625&w=63
1: An Armenian pilgrim sweeps the floor around the edicule that encloses what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus Christ. 2: Archbishop Sevan Gharibian, the Grand Sacristan of the Armenian Apostolic Patriarchate of Jerusalem, walks after a procession in the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem.
Anush-Babajanyan-6.jpg?zoom=1.5625&w=130Armenian women pray in the Grotto, which is believed to be the cave where Jesus Christ was born, in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
Anush-Babajanyan-7.jpg?zoom=1.5625&w=130As the Armenian Apostolic service is over, a worker starts letting in people of other nationalities who are not allowed in during the Armenian service. Armenian priests hold church services inside the Grotto twice a day.

Armenians have lived in Jerusalem for centuries. Unlike many places around the world, they settled here before the genocide of 1915. According to several historical accounts, they began arriving in the 4th century after officially converting to Christianity. Today, the Armenian Quarter makes up one-sixth of Jerusalem’s Old City.

There are between 700 and 1,000 Armenians in Jerusalem today, according to various sources. But there are concerns about the community’s future. One has to be Armenian to own a house in the Armenian Quarter, and continuing unrest in Jerusalem, coupled with a general feeling that Armenians are not welcome as an ethnic group, have meant the neighborhood is in peril.

For pilgrims who visit from Armenia, it is the holy sites of Jerusalem and Bethlehem that draw them there; not the local community, with whom they have little contact. Christian pilgrims, including Armenians, will continue flooding the Holy Sepulcher and Nativity Church as long as they continue to believe.

Anush-Babajanyan-3.jpg?zoom=1.5625&w=130Young men study in the Theological Seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Seminary will mark its 175th anniversary in 2018. It currently teaches 21 students, but is expecting 18 more in the coming days. Most of them come from Armenia.
Anush-Babajanyan-12.jpg?zoom=1.5625&w=63
Anush-Babajanyan-10.jpg?zoom=1.5625&w=63
1: Children play outside Sts. Tarkmanchatz Armenian School in Jerusalem. 2: Arpine Yezigelyan’s grandson plays on the sofa in there home in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. The portrait on the wall shows Yezigelyan with her husband, who was a carpenter at Saint James Cathedral and died several years ago.
Anush-Babajanyan-5.jpg?zoom=1.5625&w=130Students of the Theological Seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem wait outside the Cathedral of Saint James in Jerusalem.
Anush-Babajanyan-9.jpg?zoom=1.5625&w=130An Armenian priest’s dog barks on the roof of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2018/armenians-in-jerusalem/
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  • 1 month later...
YNet, Israel

Feb 25 2018



Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre shut in land policy protest



Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian church leaders say holy site, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried, will be closed until further notice in protest against Israeli taxation affecting church property.


Reuters|Published: 02.25.18 , 13:19


Church leaders in Jerusalem shut the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday in protest at a new Israeli tax policy and a proposed land expropriation law which they called an unprecedented attack on Christians in the Holy Land.


Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian church leaders said the holy site, a popular stop for pilgrims and where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried, would remain closed until further notice.


A statement by the leaders accused Israel of a “systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land” in pursuing a new tax policy and a proposed land appropriation law.


"These actions breach existing agreements and international obligations which guarantee the rights and the privileges of Churches, in what seems as an attempt to weaken the Christian presence in Jerusalem," the church leaders said in their statement, expressing their great concern.


"This reminds us all of laws of a similar nature which were enacted against the Jews during dark periods in Europe.


"This systematic campaign against the Churches and the Christian community in the Holy Land is a flagrant violation of the existing status quo. Recently this systematic and offensive campaign has reached an unprecedented level as the Jerusalem municipality issues scandalous collection notices and orders of seizure of Church assets, properties and bank accounts for alleged debts of punitive municipal taxes, a step that is contrary to the historic position of the Churches within the Holy City of Jerusalem and their relationship with the civil authorities.


"This systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land severely violates the most basic, ab antique and sovereign rights, trampling on the delicate fabric of relations between the Christian community and the authorities for decades."


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Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 'A systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land' (Photo: EPA)




As part of a battle with Finance Ministry over budgets to the capital, the Jerusalem Municipality informed the Finance, Interior and Foreign ministries and the Prime Minister's Office that it had started collecting property tax debts of more than NIS 650 million from some 887 properties across the city, which belong to churches and United Nations institutions.


Municipality officials said these properties did not include houses of worship, which are exempt from paying property taxes by law, but rather properties used for non-prayer activities, including commercial activities.


Churches are exempt from paying property taxes as part of an agreement with the state, but the Jerusalem Municipality says it is not being compensated by the state for the money it is losing by not collecting these taxes.


After the protest move, an Israeli cabinet committee delayed by a week its scheduled consideration on Sunday of a bill that would allow the state to expropriate land in Jerusalem sold by churches to private real estate firms in recent years.


The stated aim of the bill is to protect homeowners against the possibility that private companies will not extend their leases of land on which their houses or apartments stand.


The churches are major property owners in the city. They say such a law would make it harder for them to find buyers for church-owned land - sales that help to cover operating costs of their religious institutions.


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Church leaders on Sunday (Photo: Mab-CTS)



"This abhorrent bill ... if approved, would make the expropriation of the lands of churches possible," said the statement by Theophilos III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Francesco Patton, the Custos of the Holy Land, and Nourhan Manougian, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem.


MK Rachel Azaria, who sponsored the legislation, said in a statement she agreed to delay the committee's discussion by a week so that "we could work with the churches" to try to resolve the dispute.


Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said on Twitter it was illogical to expect that church-owned commercial property, including hotels and retail businesses, would continue to enjoy tax-exempt status.


"Let me make it clear: we are not talking about houses of worship, who will still be exempt from property tax, according to law," he wrote.


Outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, pilgrims voiced their disappointment at finding its doors shut.


"I am very upset. It's my first time here and I made a big effort to get here and now I find it closed," said Marine Domenech from Lille, France.


Yael Freidson contributed to this report.



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Church of Holy Sepulchre reopens after Israel halts controversial tax plan
REUTERS
JERUSALEM
Published12 hours ago
Christian clerics open the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many Christians to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 (AP Photo)

Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered as the site of Jesus's crucifixion and burial, reopened on Wednesday after Israel backtracked on Tuesday from a tax plan and draft property legislation that triggered a three-day protest.

The rare decision on Sunday by church leaders to close the ancient holy site, a favorite among tourists and pilgrims, with the busy Easter holiday approaching put extra pressure on Israel to re-evaluate and suspend the moves.

After receiving a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian clergy announced on Tuesday the church would reopen the next morning.

Before dawn on Wednesday, Wajeeh Nusseibeh, who is in charge of locking and unlocking the church, climbed a stepladder and turned the key to open its main wooden door.

"It's one of the holiest sites for our religion and we prayed very hard these last three days that things would change and it would be open for us to be able to go in," said an American pilgrim, who gave her name only as Laurie.

An Israeli committee led by cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi will negotiate with church representatives to try to resolve the dispute over plans to tax commercial properties owned by the church in Jerusalem, Netanyahu's statement said.

Church leaders, in a joint statement, welcomed the dialogue.

"After the constructive intervention of the prime minister, the churches look forward to engage with Minister Hanegbi, and with all those who love Jerusalem to ensure that our holy city, where our Christian presence continues to face challenges, remains a place where the three monotheistic faiths (Judaism, Islam and Christianity) may live and thrive together."

The Jerusalem Municipality, Netanyahu said, would suspend tax collection actions it had taken in recent weeks.

Mayor Nir Barkat has said the churches owed the city more than $180 million in property tax from their commercial holdings, adding that "houses of worship" would remain exempt.

While the review of the tax plan is underway, work on legislation that would allow Israel to expropriate land in Jerusalem that churches have sold to private real estate firms in recent years will also be suspended, Netanyahu said.

The bill's declared aim is to protect homeowners against the possibility private companies will not extend their leases of land on which their residences stand.

Churches are major landowners in Jerusalem. They say such a law would make it harder for them to find buyers for their land- sales that help to cover operating costs of their religious institutions.

 

 

 

 

 

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Aug 11 2022



The Tenacity of Armenians in the Holy Land

By Alexander J. Miguel on August 11, 2022


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The Ongoing Effects of the Crusades on Armenian Christians

In the Armenian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, one finds the Cathedral of St. James, the site where, according to Christian tradition the head of St. James the Apostle, the son of Zebedee, was buried shortly after his martyrdom. One enters the carpeted doorway into one of the most beautiful hidden gems of the city: blue mosaic walls and extensive candelabras which drape each pillar. Not one square inch is left unadorned, every non-tiled space on the wall is covered by a cracked medieval painting. Much of St. James as it stands today was constructed in the twelfth century, at the height of the Crusader kingdoms under a half-Frankish, half-Armenian queen, Melisende. Despite the eastern interior design of blue ceramics, carpets and massive candelabras which fill the interior space, the Frankish origin of the cathedral’s patroness betrays the choice of Gothic architecture for much of the complex. She ruled the Latin Kingdom at its greatest territorial extent: from the mountains of Lebanon to the Red Sea. The beauty of this cathedral reflects the unique blending of Christian East and West which characterizes the Armenian people and liturgical rite.


Armenians first entered the Levant first as conquerors, at the height of their military and political influence. The greatest of all Armenian kings, Tigranes II the Great, had advanced at least as far as Syria, if not all the way into Judea, and governed a multicultural empire, taking the title, “king of kings”. Unbeknownst to him, Tigranes had begun the two-millennia trajectory to marry Latin and Armenian civilizations, eventually to be consummated with the Christian religion. At the zenith of his power, Tigranes however had backed the losing side in the Mithridatic Wars, and abandoned his conquests to the Romans, then led by Pompey the Great. Armenia grew more and more subordinate to Rome, until it settled as a client kingdom to the Roman Republic. In the fourth century, Gregory the Illuminator baptized the Armenian nation, and within the century, Armenians began their settlement in Jerusalem to lay a claim as the first Christian nation to the Holy City, and continued to call the city their home to this day.


In the fifth century the Council of Chalcedon split the Christian East in two. This division still remains in place today: the Greeks and Latins accepted the Council, while the Armenians rejected it. Even though the Byzantines who ruled the city considered the Armenians heretics and schismatics, their presence in the Holy City remained unchallenged, and the Armenians even managed to secure partitions of the Holy Sepulcher for themselves, one of the most important shrines in the Christian faith.


Six and half centuries after Chalcedon, the Latin Franks established their presence in the Levant during the First Crusade. Pope Urban II called for warriors across western Europe to fight in the Holy Land. The goal was to reclaim lands once held by Christians presently ruled by Muslim powers. The Armenians had chafed under the Seljuk Turkic Empire, but bypassed the Byzantines to ask for assistance directly from the Pope himself. During the First Crusade a broad Christian coalition of Latins, Byzantines and Armenians, fought alongside each other as a unified front against the Turkic warlords who were more concerned with battling each other. The crusading armies had soured their relationship with the Byzantine Emperor Alexios Komnenos after the Latin Crusaders took the recent Christian conquests for themselves. He realized that the Latin and Armenian Crusaders would not return former Byzantine territory, which only worsened the recent schism between Latins and Greeks.


The widening gulf within the Christian coalition did not occur on strictly theological lines. The Latins and Greeks both accepted the Council of Chalcedon, while the Armenians did not. This meant that the Latins and Greeks had a closer theological consensus, from the more divergent Armenians. However, the Latins and Armenian potentates did not factor theological differences into immediate temporal considerations in order to stay united both against the Turkic warlords, and even against the Byzantines who still possessed irredentist goals about reoccupying the Levant. The Byzantine emperor, crusaders and Armenian nobility were statesmen, not theologians: their individual geopolitical situations guided their decision-making more than theological considerations. The priority was given to first expel the Turkic warlords, and then the schisms could be resolved after the fact by the bishops. The Frankish crusaders succeeded in establishing the Latin kingdoms (to the frustration of the Byzantines). The Franks and the local Armenian nobility intermarried, and from these unions came future monarchs like the aforementioned Queen Melisende.


In the present day, one walks down Armenian Patriarchate St. in the Old City on the way to St. James and encounters dozens of informational posters about the Armenian Genocide plastered the walls of almost every building. Many of the families in the Old Quarter trace their lineage back to refugees who escaped the Ottoman persecutions during the First World War to the Vilayet of Palestine. The posters appeal to Jewish sympathies, claiming that the inaction and apathy of the international community after the Armenian Genocide provided the prototype for the Holocaust against the Jews a generation later. The posters further claimed that the lukewarm response to the genocide of the Armenians emboldened Hitler to believe that the world would forget about the Jews in the same way the world forgot about the Armenians. This—along with a Republic of Artsakh flag proudly waving from a windowsill—provides a subtle rebuke of Israel’s recent sale of drones to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan bought these Israeli drones in their recent war in 2020 against Armenia, fought over the Armenian-majority Nagorno-Karabakh region, which seceded from Azerbaijan and claimed independence as the Republic of Artsakh. Israel receives 40% of its oil imports from Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan in turn receives 60% of its arms purchases from Israel. Israel has also experienced a rapprochement with Azerbaijan’s ally, Turkey, in recent years, with an eye to use both countries as partners in its rivalry against Iran.



Modern Armenia retains only a shadow of the former glory it enjoyed under monarchs such as Tigranes II and Melisende. The modern nation-state of Armenia retains only a sliver of the original Anatolian homeland, and the nation’s Levantine diaspora feels helpless against the forces of Realpolitik which encourage Israel to overlook threats to the Armenian heartland. Realpolitik brought about the resurgence of Armenian civilization during the Middle Ages, but these same forces now thwart Armenian national ambitions. Armenian nationals and diaspora alike have returned to the mercy of other sympathetic nation-states. The Israeli government still refuses to recognize the Armenian Genocide as part of a strategy to remain on good terms with Baku and Ankara, despite the submission of a bill into the Knesset to do so in November 2021. While other Israeli politicians neglect the recognition of the Armenian Genocide under the justification of a necessary geopolitical step, this miscalculation undermines the State of Israel’s identity as a safe haven in the aftermath of a genocide.


https://providencemag.com/2022/08/the-tenacity-of-armenians-in-the-holy-land/


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  • 3 months later...
The Times of Israel
Nov 19 2022
Visit the Old City monastery that holds Jerusalem’s 1,700-year-old Armenian history A new museum at the Monastery of the Cross offers displays of stunning mosaics and artworks, artifacts and architecture, going back to Armenia’s 4th-century roots in the Holy Land

At the end of the third century, Armenia was just another pagan country like dozens of others in Europe and Asia. At the time, the country was ruled by King Tiridates III, with the help of his indispensable secretary, Gregory.

One day, when Gregory refused to put flowers on a statue of pagan gods, the king discovered that his secretary had become a Christian. The hapless Gregory was thrown into a deep pit, an abyss from which no one ever returned.

A few years later, in 301, King Tiridates III became ill with a peculiar disease. After his sister dreamed three nights in a row that only Gregory could save the monarch from certain death, the former secretary, who had somehow survived the pit, was released and cured the king. Not long afterward, Armenia became the first country to declare Christianity to be the official state religion — a full 79 years before Roman emperor Theodosius the Great asserted the supremacy of the Christian faith over all others in the empire.

An Armenian patriarchate was established in Jerusalem in 638, and since that time, despite all the wars and massacres that have taken place over the centuries, there has been an uninterrupted Armenian presence in the Holy City.

During the Byzantine era, which lasted between the fourth and seventh centuries, dozens of lovely Armenian churches were built in the Holy Land, only to be demolished by the conquering Persians in 614. Fortunately, a number of stunning mosaic floors were almost perfectly preserved under the debris.

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A new wing of the museum at Jerusalem’s Monastery of the Cross. (Shmuel Bar-Am)

One such exquisite floor was discovered in 1894; a family digging foundations for a house near Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate was astounded to discover a glorious mosaic floor beneath the rubble. It turned out to be part of a fifth- or sixth-century Armenian church, and further excavations revealed that below one corner of the mosaic lay the remains of an Armenian unit attached to the Roman army (or, perhaps, martyrs who died for their faith).

Jerusalem’s Armenian patriarch purchased the lot on which the mosaic was found, and for a few decades any interested parties (such as ourselves) could come into the yard of the house that was built there and take a look. For a long period afterward, visitation was possible only with the permission of the Patriarchate.

This year, the mosaic was meticulously transferred into a building inside the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, and is now the focus of the brand-new Edward and Helen Mardigian Armenian Museum, which opened this past week. The mosaic covers almost the entire first floor of the magnificent building, constructed in 1853 as Jerusalem’s Armenian Theological Seminary. Its creator was Turkish-Armenian artist Sarkis Balyan, a member of a distinguished family of artists and architects. In fact his father, Garabet Balyan, designed the sumptuous Dolmabahçe Palace, the largest of its kind in Turkey.

The seminary operated until its students were recruited to serve in World War I by the Turkish rulers of the country in April of 1917, just before the British conquest of Jerusalem. It stood empty until 1922, when the Patriarchate opened orphanages for children from the Armenian genocide, including at Jerusalem’s Monastery of the Cross. In all, 616 young boys found refuge within the former Seminary walls. Armenian priest Fr. Koryoun Baghdasaryan relates that one of these orphans even went on to become the Armenian patriarch.

In 1927 the Theological Seminary was reopened, but in 1975 it moved outside the monastic complex. Four years later, the original seminary building was transformed into a modest museum.

Over the last five years the remarkable structure was renovated, in part by an Armenian artist who worked in the Louvre, and the result is wonderful to behold. But, of course, the main centerpiece is the Bird Mosaic, which Baghdasaryan calls the world’s earliest known Monument to the Unknown Soldier. That’s because the inscription at the top of the mosaic translates as: “For the memory and salvation of the Armenians whose names the Lord knows.”

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The renovated seminary at Jerusalem’s Monastery of the Cross is today a museum. (Shmuel Bar-Am)

Just over six and a half meters (21 feet) long, and four meters (13 feet) wide, the mosaic is filled with bird medallions and has been the subject of numerous interpretations. Baghdasaryan offers a theological explanation, noting that the center tile depicts a bird in a cage, which he likens to the soul in a state of sin. According to Baghdasaryan, it requires the taking of communion (receiving bread and wine from the priest during mass), to free the bird (soul) from its enclosure. He adds that the same holds true for the pearl, shown inside the shell of an oyster.

Other tiles, all in the center row, depict bread, and grapes that represent the wine. Just above the inscription, a chalice holds both bread and wine. A wide variety of birds found in Israel, like storks, pheasants and swallows, surround the center tiles.

Around the mosaic are various unusual exhibits, including inscriptions scratched on the walls by the orphans and giving their home cities, ages, and the name of the orphanage (Araratian — for Mount Ararat in Turkey where, according to many traditions, the biblical Noah parked his ark). One colorful exhibit is a copy of a grant written by Saladin after he conquered the land of Israel in 1187. In his decree, Saladin gave the Armenians exclusive rights to the holy Christian sites in Jerusalem. This after the Patriarch handed him letters favoring the Armenians and written by the prophet Muhamad and by Muslim leaders who had conquered the city over the previous several hundred years.

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The bird mosaic on the floor at Jerusalem’s Monastery of the Cross. (Shmuel Bar-Am)

Other exhibits on the first floor include ancient copper engravings and drawings by Armenian artists, as well as a touching video of the reburial here of the bodies discovered under the mosaic.

The entire history of Armenia is found within a graceful series of arches in a hall behind the mosaic. The exhibits are colorful and interesting, and simply by pressing a button you can read the excellent explanations in English, French, Arabic, Hebrew, or Armenian.

Robe-made-from-Napoleon_s-tent-pic-Fr.-K
A robe made from a piece of Napoleon’s tent on display at Jerusalem’s Monastery of the Cross. (Koryoun Baghdasaryan)

We liked the true story of an exquisite Armenian robe on display: Napoleon’s army was defeated at Acre in 1799 and his wounded soldiers were cared for in the Armenian complex in Jaffa. He was so grateful for the treatment they received that he asked how he could show his appreciation. What the Armenians asked for, and received, was a piece of his tent which was used to create the stunning garment.

Also on display are some of the handsome objects used during the Armenian mass, baptism and ordination. And one room (visitors should be sure to enter any room with an open door) holds unusually beautiful ancient, hand-painted illustrated books.

Not everyone knows details about the Armenian genocide, which began in 1915 and lasted for several years. Black and white exhibits on the second floor give visitors an exceptionally clear picture of that catastrophic event.

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Jerusalem’s first printing press from 1883, on display at the Monastery of the Cross. (Bob Chalik)

Armenians are proud of the contributions they have made over the centuries. They brought the first camera into the city, along with photography as an art; they opened Jerusalem’s first printing press in 1833 with the machine that is on display. And of course Jerusalem’s wonderful ceramic art creations are the work of Armenian artists who first arrived in 1919. Armenians were also the very first in Jerusalem to establish a school for girls – not a trade school to teach cooking and sewing, but a school where they would be educated just like the boys.

Note: An elevator should be operational by next week; those who require one to access the second story should call ahead to ensure that it is running.

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Price: Adults NIS 25, Children NIS 15; visitors in groups pay NIS 20 each.
Location: across from the Armenian parking lot in the Old City
The museum takes cash only, and it must be in shekels.
Phone: 02-6328807

Aviva Bar-Am is the author of seven English-language guides to Israel.
Shmuel Bar-Am is a licensed tour guide who provides private, customized tours in Israel for individuals, families and small groups.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/visit-the-old-city-monastery-that-holds-jerusalems-1700-year-old-armenian-history/

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UK - June 20 2023





Controversial land sale puts Jerusalem Armenians on edge


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The Armenian community has had a presence in Jerusalem for centuries








By Yolande Knell

BBC News, Jerusalem








Wearing peaked black headdresses and long robes, a procession of Armenian priests is led along the stone streets of Jerusalem's Old City by two suited men in felt tarboosh hats with ceremonial walking sticks.






Quietly, apart from the tapping of the sticks, they file into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for prayers.






Nowadays, Jerusalem is at the core of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. But Armenians have been here since the 4th Century, when their country was the first to adopt Christianity as a national religion.






They have a share in the Old City's holiest Christian sites and their own quarter tucked away in its south-western corner, home to some 2,000 Armenians.







But now the community here feels under threat because of a murky real estate deal by its own Church leaders. Amid angry protests, the Armenian patriarch has hidden himself away and a disgraced priest, who denies any wrongdoing, has fled to California.






"It's like a puzzle. I mean, we are trying to know what happened, when it happened, and how," explains community activist Hagop Djernazian.







What has emerged is that some 25% of the Armenian Quarter has been sold on a 99-year lease to a mysterious Jewish Australian businessman for a luxury development.






The land includes a large car parking area - one of the few areas of open land inside the Old City walls - which his company has already taken over. Many Armenians had hoped the site could be used to build affordable housing for young couples from their tiny, shrinking community.



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According to plans seen unofficially by Hagop and others, an Ottoman-era building housing five Armenian households, a restaurant, shops and the seminary are all part of the sell-off. Many fear this could affect the viability of living in the quarter in the long-term.






But the controversy extends far more widely.






"It is historical land that we have had for 700 years. Losing it with one signature will affect our cultural daily life, but it will also change the picture of Jerusalem," Hagop says. "It will change the status quo, the entire mosaic of Jerusalem."






Changing character



As the Orthodox Easter celebrations took place in April, panic was spreading among Armenians. The Armenian Patriarch, Nourhan Manougian, admitted that he had signed away the land but said he had been deceived by a local priest who worked for him.







That priest was defrocked and later there were heated scenes as he was banished from the Armenian Quarter, escorted away under Israeli police protection as residents yelled out "traitor".





Recently, many Armenians have been joining weekly protests, linking arms and singing nationalistic songs below the window of the patriarch who now stays cloistered in his rooms at the convent. They demand that he revokes the land deal.






Amid a recent rise in attacks by extremist Jews targeting Christians in Jerusalem, some Armenians see the sale as an act of self-inflicted harm on the Christian presence here.






"The look of the city, its character is changing very much," says Arda, who lives in the Old City and complains that religious nationalists already feel emboldened by the drift of Israeli politics.






"Priests walking in the streets find settlers spitting at them, people say they don't want to see Christmas trees in the city, and restaurants are being attacked for no reason. It's all going in a certain direction."





Israel captured East Jerusalem - including the Old City - from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War and went on to occupy and annex it in a move that is not recognised internationally. In the decades since, it has been at the heart of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, claimed by both sides as their capital. Plots of land here are fiercely fought over.







There is a reminder of that near to the Armenian Quarter, at Jaffa Gate - the iconic entrance to the Christian Quarter.






Here, two landmark hotels, run by Palestinians, were secretly sold to foreign firms acting as fronts for a radical Jewish settler group. The Greek Orthodox Church lost a two-decade-long battle to cancel the deal in the Israeli courts and last year settlers moved into part of one of the hotels.






Armenian elders say that in the past, there have been frequent approaches by settlers wanting to buy land in their quarter and increase the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem. The Armenian Quarter is located next to the Jewish one, which makes it especially desirable.






However, a spokesman for the settler group which bought the Jaffa Gate properties told the BBC he had no knowledge of the Armenian land sale.






Patriarch sanctioned



Meanwhile, in interviews in the US, the cast-out priest, Baret Yeretsian, has dismissed the idea that the buyer of the land lease - named as Danny Rothman but also Daniel Rubinstein in some documents - is driven by ideology.






Nevertheless, Palestinian Christian leaders say the sale has political implications.






"It undermines any future political solution to Jerusalem," says Dimitri Diliani, president of the National Christian Coalition of the Holy Land. "According to international law, it's on occupied land that is subject to negotiations and this kind of reinforces the illegal settler presence in Palestinian East Jerusalem."





He believes that "the diversity" of Jerusalem will also be badly affected.






Highlighting the significance of the Armenian Church's actions, both the Palestinian President and Jordan's King Abdullah II - custodian of Jerusalem's Christian holy sites - have suspended their recognition of the patriarch. This affects his ability to attend ceremonies and sign off on official church business.






Israel's foreign ministry has said it is aware of the Armenian patriarch's deal but due to the political sensitivity it refrains from commenting on it.






Meanwhile, in the walled courtyards of St James Convent - which has been home to many Armenian families since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and has its own clubs, school, library and even a football pitch - the talk nowadays is about little else.






Relations have been strained between the residents and clergy members, who act here as the religious and civil authority. On Friday, dozens of Armenian Jerusalemites gathered to hear from a group of international Armenian lawyers who have been visiting and have agreed to draw up recommendations on how to handle the case.





Nearby, in his ceramics shop, Garo Sandrouni paints glaze onto an ornately decorated bowl wondering what the future will bring.






He is from one of the families that brought the colourful tradition of Armenian pottery to Jerusalem a century ago, when they fled from what is widely seen as a genocide by the Turks.






He says that Armenians historically donated money to buy land in this holy city - their spiritual homeland - and that the Church has no right to sell it.






"This is what makes us angry. These lands belong to the Armenian nation. They don't belong to the Armenian patriarchate of Jerusalem," he tells me.






"The Armenian patriarchate of Jerusalem has to take care of these lands to keep them to preserve them, to protect them."



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A group of international lawyers say they will make recommendations on what could be done about the case













https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-65876162




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June 20 2023




Jerusalem: Fears rise for local Armenian Christians after sale of church land
Tue 20 Jun 2023by Heather Preston




There are fears Jerusalem’s Armenian community is under threat, following the controversial sale of a quarter of its land.


25 percent of the Holy Land’s Armenian quarter – which is home to approximately 2,000 Armenian Christians – has reportedly been leased to a Jewish-Australian investor, for 99 years.


The news has sparked protests from local Armenians, who say the deal threatens their homes and businesses as well as their presence within the Holy Land.


Reports first emerged of the deal in 2021, when Baret Yeretsian - a former priest who was director of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem’s real estate department - told Armenian media the land had reportedly been leased to businessman Danny Rubenstein, for the development of a luxury hotel complex.


In response, 18 Armenian clergymen co-signed a statement raising concerns about the deal.


In April, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem announced that the Church had signed a contract for the sale of the tract of land, known as the Goveru Bardez or ‘Cows’ Garden’. According to reports from the Independent, The Armenian Patriarch, Nourhan Manougian claims he was deceived by Yeretsian, who has since been defrocked. Manougian says the “fraudulent” deal took place without his knowledge. Yeretsian – who denies any wrongdoing has since fled his residence, following unrest from local residents accusing him of being a “traitor.”


Armenians have since taken to the streets in Jerusalem, to rally for the patriarch to revoke the land deal. Meanwhile the Palestinian Authority and Jordan's King Abdullah II have suspended their recognition of Manougian – who is elected to the position for life.


Community activist and rally organiser Hagop Djernazian told the BBC the deal will affect “cultural daily life” and the “entire mosaic of Jerusalem”.



https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/jerusalem-fears-rise-for-local-armenian-christians-after-sale-of-church-land


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Nov 2 2023





Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem cancels controversial land deal with Israeli developer




The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem cancelled a controversial real estate agreement that would sign away some 25 percent of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem to an Israeli investor for 99 years.

“The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem announces that a letter was sent on October 26, 2023 to Xana Gardens Ltd. whereby the Patriarchate informed Xana Gardens of the cancellation of the agreement signed on 8/7/2021 regarding the Armenian Gardens in the Old City, Jerusalem,” the Chancellery of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a press release, cited by Armen Press.


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A deal had earlier been signed by the Armenian Patriarchate that would hand up to 25% of the quarter to a commercial entity for a 99-year lease. The reported intention was to build a luxury hotel on some of the land that is currently a parking lot, but is on prime real estate nestled just within the Old City walls.


The deal in question was supposedly a 99-year lease to a Jewish developer who will build a luxury hotel on the land.


Though signed in 2021, the deal became reality in April when Xana Capital took over the parking lot and placed signs announcing its ownership, sparking protests in the Armenian Quarter against the Patriarchate.


Land transfers in Jerusalem are sensitive because they can upset the status quo and final status arrangements of the city.


Both the Palestinian Authority and Jordan noted that the patriarch’s “dealings constituted a clear violation of relevant international covenants and decisions, which aim to preserve the status quo in Jerusalem and protect the authentic Jerusalemite Armenian heritage.”


https://greekcitytimes.com/2023/11/02/armenian-patriarchate-in-jerusalem/


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Armenpress.am
Investor ignores Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem’s cancellation of land deal and starts demolition works

1123604.jpg 15:58, 6 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The investor who sought to buy some 25 percent of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem has ignored a letter by the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem cancelling the controversial real estate deal and has started demolition works, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem warned Monday.

The party relevant to the cancelled contract, instead of giving a legal response, reacted with the demolition of walls and a parking lot, scraping of asphalt pavements and even threatened to cause more harm, the Chancellery of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said.

“Yesterday they even brought security guards armed with high powered rifles and tactically trained dogs demanding an evacuation of the Armenian presence in the parking lot. As a reaction to this, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, members of the St. James Brotherhood, and members of the Armenian community, gathered in the Armenian Gardens and peacefully expressed their discontent. After a few hours, the two sides agreed to disperse until the Patriarchate receives an answer to their sent cancellation letter,” the Chancellery of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem added in a communique.

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1123604.html?fbclid=IwAR2tNS5bJEW0k63z9acNDSC0VQaEcu5CngM3UbBBv4mn9G4HnKBIDK4ZNSw

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Nov 7 2023
Armed Israeli settlers attempt to seize Armenian Patriarchate property in Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter
Jerusalem

Armed Israeli settlers stormed the Armenian Quarter in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, 5 November, in an effort to lay a hand on a piece of land following the signing of a murky deal between the Jerusalem Arminian Patriarchate and Xana Capital, owned by Jewish Australian investor Danny Rubenstein.

Rubenstein carries an Israeli passport and also goes by the name Danny Rothman.

News of the deal first emerged in 2021. It was contested by a group of Armenian priests who alleged it was done illegally without ratification by the Synod and the General Assembly.

Hagop Djernazian, a resident of the Armenian community and a leading activist against the land deal in question, told The New Arab, "We are fighting for our existence, for the status quo of Jerusalem, we have to maintain a Christian Armenian presence in Jerusalem".

The deal reportedly pertains to 11.5 dunams in the Armenian Quarter, which amounts to 25 per cent of the total size of the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem's Old City. It includes a vast tract of land currently used as a parking lot, a seminary, and five residential homes.

Last month, the Armenian Patriarchate informed Xana Capital it was withdrawing from the deal. The deal's cancellation came following pressure from the local Armenian community and Areminians worldwide.

In May of this year, the Petra news agency reported that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Jordan suspended Nourhan Manougian from his role as the Patriarch of the Armenian Church in Jerusalem because he "mishandl[ed] culturally and historically significant Christian properties in Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter".

Under a long-established tradition that has been upheld for centuries, senior church appointments in the Holy Land usually necessitate the approval of the authorities governing the land. Presently, these authorities are Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan.

In a statement released on 6 November, the Armenian Patriarchate said that the party with whom it had signed the contract responded to the cancellation of the deal with "demolition of walls, demolition of the parking lot and scrapping of asphalt pavements".

According to Hagop Djernazian, following the deal cancellation, about 15 armed settlers broke into the Armenian Quarter and proceeded to knock parts of a stone wall. They also partially destroyed asphalt ground.

Soon after, several Armenian community members assembled and prevented the settlers from carrying out further damage to the property.

Hagop%20Setrag.jpg
Activists Hagop Djernazian (L) and Setrag Balian ® are challenging a real estate deal in a sensitive area in occupied East Jerusalem between the Armenian Patriarch and an Israeli settler.
[ibrahim Husseini/TNA]

Videos and images show the settlers armed with rifles accompanied by attack dogs rowing with the local community members.

"Danny hired the settlers from the Jewish Quarter", Djernazian told The New Arab.

After several hours of tense arguments, the settlers dispersed.

Djernazian told TNA that community members had organised to guard the property.

Djernazian estimates that around 1,000 people of Armenian descent reside in occupied East Jerusalem.

The Arminian Jerusalem Patriarchate isn't the only Christian Church to become embroiled in questionable real estate deals with Israeli settlers in occupied East Jerusalem.

The New Imperial Hotel, located in Jaffa Gate and long owned by the Greek Orthodox Church, was sold in 2004 to a right-wing Israeli group known as Ateret Cohanim. The Greek Orthodox Church claims the purchase of the properties was fraudulent and has challenged the deal's legality. However, the courts have ruled in favour of the settlers.

The New Imperial Hotel is a minute's walk from the property leased to Rubnestein in the Armenian Quarter. Both properties are within a minute's walk of the Holy Sepulchre, the Christian Quarter.

https://www.newarab.com/news/armenians-jerusalem-repel-armed-israeli-settlers

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News.am, Armenia
Nov 14 2023
Jerusalem Armenians block ‘Cows’ Garden’ entrance, again prohibit demolition of wall
12:28, 14.11.2023
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Kegham Balian, a correspondent of The Armenian Weekly, wrote on X—former Twitter—that since November 12, a large group of Jerusalemite Armenians, in cooperation with the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, assembled in protest in the area of “Armenian Gardens”—known as the “Cows' Garden” in the Old City of Jerusalem—and barricaded the access to the wall, with cars and fences, in order to impede any further illegal construction on the Armenian property.

And on Monday morning, two bulldozers attempted to tear down the barricade.

"And again, together, we stood in front of them, as they tried to find a gap in our human fence. Faced with our resolve, they backed down, again," Balian added, in particular.

Other side brings armed officers, trained dogs, damages Armenian estate after canceling ‘Cows’ Garden’ deal in Jerusalem

https://news.am/eng/news/792329.html

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Roya, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Nov 16 2023





'Israeli police' order evacuation of Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem



The Israeli Occupation police in Jerusalem issued an evacuation order to local Armenians in the Armenian Quarter area, also known as the Cows' Garden in the Old City.




They accused them of property misappropriation, as reported by several Armenian news sources.


Residents expressed their resilience and said that the Armenian community of Jerusalem is resisting and will remain in the area.


The Israeli Occupation police are enforcing the directives of the Israeli Occupation settlers in the Armenian Quarter, demanding residents leave the area so that the besiegers can take control over it, he explained.


Since Nov. 12, a significant number of Jerusalemite Armenians, in collaboration with the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, have been protesting in the area.


Wednesday, the page Save the ArQ, went live from the are reporting on the gravity of the situation and calling on those who can join them in the protest to head to the area.


Residents have blocked access to the wall using vehicles and fences to prevent further unauthorized and illegal construction on Armenian property.


-Armenian Patriarchate-


The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem announced that it is facing the "greatest existential threat," according to Armen Press.


It explained that a development company called Xana sought to buy around 25 percent of the Armenian Quarter and ignored a letter by the patriarchate canceling the controversial real estate deal


The Armenian Patriarch, Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, had in the past leased the "Cows' Garden" to a Jewish businessman for 99 years; a decision that was deemed controversial and was eventually canceled.



https://en.royanews.tv/news/46550/2023-11-16


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Nov 16 2023

 

East Jerusalem: Israeli settlers seek to take over Armenian Quarter by force

Armed settlers, backed by Israeli security forces, attempt to occupy almost 25 percent of Armenian Quarter in 'existential threat' to centuries-old community

A convoy of Israeli settlers' cars and motorcycles entered the Armenian Quarter in occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday, looking to usurp the Armenian-held area, the community has said in a statement.

The Movement for the Protection and Preservation of the Armenian Quarter, in a post on Instagram, warned that tensions were high and that Israeli police had “without probable cause” arrested three Armenians, including a minor, while backing Israeli settlers.

“Instead of removing the trespassers, the Israeli police permitted a few settlers to continue their presence intended to possess the Armenian property,” said the community in a statement.

With Israel’s war on Gaza taking much of the world's attention, Israeli settlers in the occupied territories, including the Old City in East Jerusalem, have increasingly used the distraction to press illegal land claims.

The movement said that the attempt by Israeli settlers to overrun the “Armenian Gardens” - known as the “Cows' Garden” in the Old City of Jerusalem, was a “malicious attempt to change facts on the ground”.

“We are fighting now for the integrity of the Armenian and Christian quarters,” said Hagop Djernazian, a co-founder of the movement to save the Armenian quarter, and member of the Jerusalemite Armenian Community.

The dispute started after the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem signed a murky and secretive deal with a company named Zana Capital, leasing the historical Armenian gardens, to build a luxury hotel, he explained.

'We may face an existential threat, not only to the Armenian presence in Jerusalem, but also to the Christian'

- Hagop Djernazian, activist

“Unfortunately this deal includes manipulations and fraud,” said Djernazian, speaking to Middle East Eye.

The community now faces an existential threat from a deal that would see some 25 percent of the Armenian quarter sold on a 99-year lease to Israeli settler communities looking to purportedly build a luxury development.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem announced on 26 October that a letter was sent to the companies managing the development that the deal would be cancelled.

 

'We may face an existential threat'

Though signed in 2021, the deal became public in 2023, when one of the Israeli businesses sought to take ownership, sparking protests from the Armenian community.

“Since 26 October, the so-called Zana Company, which turns out was backed by settlers and Ateret Cohanim, a settler organisation trying to change the demographic makeup of the Old City into a Jewish majority, are trying to provoke and to take over parts of the land by force,” said Djernazian.

Israeli settlers had attempted to intimidate the community and the movement to save the Armenian Quarter by, amongst other things, bringing bulldozers and trucks to demolish walls and the land, said Djernazian.

“They brought in armed settlers two weeks ago to take over the land by force using armed settlers and attack dogs,” he added.

“Yesterday and today the so-called company brought a security company so they can take over the land by force with the support and cooperation of the Israeli police.”

The far-right Israeli government, headed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is also comprised of settlers, has created an even more permissive climate for such land grabs.

png9t9P2Fn3_r.png

A group of Armenians in cooperation with the Patriarchate, protested in the Armenian Quarter to stop illegal construction on their land (Movement to Protect Armenian Quarter)

“Authorities are not doing anything to save and help the Armenian community,” said Djernazian, adding that “they are doing the opposite of saving the Armenian community. They are pressuring us.”

Djernazian said that they now believe Israeli settlers are behind the deal whereby the land was initially sold to an Australian businessman.

“These Israeli settlers are backed by the Israeli government, and ministers in the Israeli government are pressuring the community and putting the community in a great existential threat,” added Djernazian.

The future of the Armenian community and more broadly that of the wider Christian community in the Old City now hangs in the balance.

“If we succeed in this struggle to protect the integrity of the Armenian Quarter to protect our lands, we can continue and live in Jerusalem as we did since the fourth century by encouraging our youth to stay here,” said Djernazian.

“But, unfortunately, if we do not succeed to cancel the deal officially, we may face an existential threat, not only to the Armenian presence in Jerusalem, but also to the Christian presence, because this deal puts the Armenian and Christian quarters in great danger,” added Djernazian.

“Christians should unite and join forces with the Armenians in order to protect the status quo and the mosaic of the holy city of Jerusalem and also for us to have a future in this city,” he added.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-settlers-jerusalem-take-over-armenian-quarter-force

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Armenpress.am
BREAKING: Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem says it is facing “greatest existential threat”

1124292.jpg 17:13, 16 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has warned that it is facing the “greatest existential threat” in its history.

In a statement, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said the developer who sought to buy some 25 percent of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem has ignored a letter by the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem cancelling the controversial real estate deal and has started demolition works, and moreover police now demand that all members of the Armenian Community vacate the premises.

“The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is under possibly the greatest existential threat of its 16-century history. This existential-territorial threat fully extends to all the Christian communities of Jerusalem. The Armenian Patriarchate has recently cancelled a contract tainted with false representation, undue influence, and unlawful benefits. Instead of providing a lawful response to the cancellation, the developers attempting to build on the Cow's Garden have completely disregarded the legal posture of the Patriarchate toward this issue, and instead have elected for provocation, aggression, and other harassing, incendiary tactics including destruction of property, the hiring of heavily armed provocateurs, and other instigation. In recent days, the vast destruction and removal of asphalt on the grounds of the Armenian Quarter has been done without the presentation of permits from the municipality by neither the developer nor the police. Despite this fact, the police have chosen in the last few days to demand that all members of the Armenian Community vacate the premises. We plead with the entirety of the Christian communities of Jerusalem to stand with the Armenian Patriarchate in these unprecedented times as this is another clear step taken toward the endangerment of the Christian presence in Jerusalem and the Holy Land,” the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement.

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1124292.html?fbclid=IwAR3P51JT0AlfJdgNE8sXCtWx-yyUIQRrn53yC5OVBabzWIcjLa6sBd9ZJ10

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WAFA News Agency, Palestine

Nov 17 2023





Churches Committee warns Israel is seeking to takeover Armenian Quarter in East Jerusalem by force, calls for international intervention




JERUSALEM, Friday, November 17, 2023 (WAFA) – The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs said Israel is trying to control the Armenian neighborhood by force, threats, and intimidation, calling on the international community to intervene to preserve this Christian heritage.


The committee asserted that Israeli forces and settlers are aggressively attempting to seize control of the Armenian Quarter in occupied Jerusalem, utilizing force, intimidation, and threats against its residents. It urgently called upon the international community to intervene in order to safeguard this Christian heritage.


A statement released by the executive member of the PLO and head of this committee, Ramzi Khouri emphasized the relentless harassment faced by Armenian Quarter residents and highlighted recent measures to dismantle walls within the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate’s private vehicle parking lot.


Khouri affirmed that the Armenian Quarter is an indispensable Armenian and Palestinian heritage, and underscored the unwavering determination of the Palestinian people to resist Israeli pressures, especially the discriminatory measures imposed on Christians and Muslims in Occupied Jerusalem.


The committee’s head called for immediate and decisive international intervention to counter Israeli policies, cease settler provocations, and halt the forced displacement of Palestinians, particularly in the Old City of Jerusalem.


T.R.


https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/139361


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News.am, Armenia
Nov 18 2023
Al Jazeera: Jerusalem churches warn against settlers taking over Armenian neighborhood land
22:35, 18.11.2023

Church leaders are concerned about attempts by Israeli settlers to seize a significant plot of land in the Armenian neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, Al Jazeera reported.

In a statement, Jerusalem's patriarchs and church heads said they were concerned about "a threat to the Christian presence in the Holy Land" after an Israeli developer - himself a settler - attempted to gain control of the land in dispute through violent means.

The developer is making claims after a deal was signed several years ago with Armenian Patriarch Nourhan Manougian. Jordan and Palestine stripped Manoogian of his status as patriarch because of questionable real estate deals. The Armenian Patriarchate has since withdrawn from the agreement.

The real estate transaction reportedly concerns a vast tract of land representing 25 percent of the total area of the Armenian neighborhood in Jerusalem's Old City. The churches have asked the Israeli authorities to allow the courts to consider the matter. In the meantime, they have expressed fears that the land will be seized.

https://news.am/eng/news/793249.html

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Nov 18 2023
Urgent Message from Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
  • Nov 18th, 2023
1700267280hj719Rt6ilAL2KpmnZeD3Xc5yBEFus

Source: Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem

ATTENTION ALL: The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is under possible the greatest existential threat of its 16-century history. The existential territorial threat fully extends to all the Christian communities of Jerusalem.

The Armenian Patriarchate has recently cancelled a contract tainted with false representation, undue influence and unlawful benefits.

Instead of providing a lawful response to the cancellation, the developers attempting to build on the Cow's Garden have completely disregarded the legal posture of the Patriarchate towards this issue and instead have elected for provocation, aggression and other harrassing incendiary tactics, including destruction of property, the hiring of heavily armed provocateurs, and other instigation.

In recent days, the vast destruction and removal of asphalt on the grounds of the Armenian Quarter has been done without the presentation of permits from the municipality by the developer nor the police. Despite this, the police have chose in the last few days to demand that all members of the Armenian Community vacate the premises.

We plead with the entirety of the Christian communities of Jerusalem to stand with the Armenian Patriarchate in these unprecedented times as this is another clear step taken towards the endangerment of the Christian presence in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

Divan of the Armenian Patriarchate

https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/48509

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