Jerusalem’s special status as one of the world’s cultural centers and an attractive tourist destination stems from it being the cradle of three monotheistic religions. It is center to which a significant number of the world’s citizens feel a religious, cultural, or historical connection. The strength and uniqueness of Jerusalem, as well as its economic potential for residents, depends on the ability of the capital’s leaders and the state to maintain its interreligious and cultural identity.
The Armenian community is one of Jerusalem’s oldest, with the first Armenians arriving as early as the 4th century CE and the Armenian Patriarchate being active in the city since the 7th century. Jerusalem is the most important center of the Armenian community outside its homeland; and the Armenians were the first to convert to Christianity as a nation in 301 AD. But this glorious history does not help the small community in dealing with the ambitions of the far-Right to take over the Armenian Quarter.
The Armenians in Jerusalem are one of the smallest and most vulnerable communities; they are neither Palestinian nor Israeli, and have no interest in being dragged into the ongoing conflict. They do not have the support of strong churches or states such as the Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Russian Provo Slavs, or Protestants. Being in this vulnerable position, they are reluctantly at the forefront of an ongoing struggle to prevent settlers and real estate moguls from harming the multiculturalism and multi-religiosity of Jerusalem – the city’s most important resource and what makes it a lodestone to the entire world.
Though a small community of only 2,000 people, their real estate is in high demand and is causing them to experience distress and harassment. This is the reality of Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter, situated in a highly desirable location on the road leading from the Jaffa Gate to the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall.
A major distress for Armenian Quarter residents is that it is the last undeveloped space of the Old City, a plot of 11.5 dunam (3 acres) that has been the focus of takeover efforts by Jewish settler organizations. Recently, a company owned by an Israeli-Australian businessman has managed to lease the plot and several adjacent buildings from the Armenian Patriarchate into the next century, for the laughable sum of only $2 million. The entrepreneurs have denied any connection to right-wing NGOs, but were seen meeting with Mati Dan, head of the 40-year-old Ateret Cohanim, the self-defined “leading urban land reclamation organization in Jerusalem,” the leader of settlement efforts in the heart of the east Jerusalem neighborhoods.
For two years, the space continued to serve as a parking lot for residents and visitors, until a few months ago when developers attempted to begin preparations for the construction of a hotel.
Issues surrounding the deal have led to the departure of the Armenian Patriarchy’s real estate manager who headed the deal, and a public and legal struggle has been initiated by residents of the quarter to stop the takeover attempt.
Questions regarding the deal
The questions hovering over the deal are many, from transferring half of the ownership from the buyer to a third party (which is legal but suspicious); documents proving that the Patriarchate had no authority to sell the land; the price of the deal which is a fraction of the real value of the land; to the strange timing of increased harassment against quarter residents.
Now is the time for the State of Israel and the Jerusalem Municipality to intervene.
Turning this charming and unique quarter into an arena for interreligious confrontations will only continue to harm Jerusalem’s status. The defense of the quarter is not only a moral imperative to protect a small but rooted minority that has tied its fate to the city, but a basic need to protect the name, image, and location of Jerusalem as a city that constitutes a spiritual and religious center for three different monotheistic religions.
The state and the municipality have a moral and strategic obligation to prevent the expulsion of Armenians from the quarter and to turn the crisis into an opportunity by helping the Armenian community turn the disputed territory into a site that will attract Christians from all over the world to Jerusalem as this holy and beautiful city deserves.
The writer is J Street Israel’s executive director. He has served as an Israeli diplomat in Washington and Boston and as a political adviser to the president of Israel.