By Mark Dovich
In recent weeks, members of Jerusalem’s Armenian community have repeatedly rallied against a controversial land deal that will see roughly a quarter of the holy city’s Armenian Quarter leased away for nearly a century.
“If the deal will not be revoked immediately, our 2,000-year-old Armenian presence in Jerusalem is in great danger,” activist and community organizer Hagop Djernazian told CivilNet.
What’s the background?
Reports of the land deal first came out two years ago, when Father Baret Yeretsian, a priest heading the real estate department at the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, told news agencies the Patriarchate had leased a piece of land to a Jewish Australian businessman for 99 years.
The businessman, Danny Rothman, reportedly planned to build a luxury hotel at the site, a parking lot popularly known as the Cows’ Garden.
What’s happened since?
The issue gained renewed attention last month, when the Patriarchate’s leadership unanimously voted to expel Yeretsian from the priesthood. He had been removed from the Patriarchate’s real estate department several months earlier.
WATCH: Jerusalem’s Armenian community continues protests against controversial land deal
Around the same time, an Israeli company called Xana Capital posted a sign at the Cows’ Garden marking the parking lot as private property. A LinkedIn page describes Rothman, who has also used the surname Rubinstein, as Xana’s chairman.
Shortly after that, the Palestinian Authority and Jordanian government moved to pull their recognition of Patriarch Nourhan Manougian, citing his decision to sign off on the lease agreement, which has still not been made public. The patriarch, who is elected to the position for life, wields significant power over public affairs in the Armenian Quarter and does not answer to any other Armenian entities.
Meanwhile, three organizations representing segments of Jerusalem’s Armenian community issued a rare joint statement condemning the “fraudulent” and “illegal” land deal and demanding that it be rescinded.
In recent weeks, members of Jerusalem’s Armenian community have escalated their protests as the full ramifications of the land deal have come into clearer focus. Community leaders CivilNet spoke to in Jerusalem last month pledged to continue rallying until the lease agreement is revoked.
The bigger picture
Jerusalem is home to the world’s oldest Armenian diaspora community. Armenians have had a continuous presence in the city since the 4th century, when a group of Armenian monks settled there.
Today, most of Jerusalem’s several thousand Armenians are descendants of survivors of the Armenian Genocide. The community is centered in the Armenian Quarter, which takes up about 14% of the Old City. The division of the Old City into four uneven quarters, including the Armenian Quarter, was codified in the 19th century.
For the past half century, the Israeli government has controlled all of the Old City, which it considers part of its national capital. However, East Jerusalem, where the Armenian Quarter lies, is regarded by the international community as part of the occupied Palestinian territories.
The land deal comes amid rising hostility toward Christians in Jerusalem and accelerating moves by Israeli settlers to make the city more Jewish and drive out minorities like Armenians and Arabs. This, in part, explains Palestinian and Jordanian anger over the Cows’ Garden land deal.
“If this lease will not be revoked…our presence will be under great danger,” Djernazian said. “That’s why we are calling on all Armenians around the world to stand with us, to raise their voices.”
WATCH MORE:
“We are living in hell, 25% of our Armenian Quarter is gone” – PART 1
