2023-12-17 07:20:00
On a pile of pieces of asphalt sits an Armenian flag. A mound that has become the symbol of the resistance of an entire community to Israeli investors. “It’s like a little hill. You know, the Armenians are a mountain people. They destroy and we build,” says Setrak Balian proudly.
Twice in November, he and residents of the neighborhood faced bulldozers that came to destroy the protective walls of the parking lot of the Armenian convent in Jerusalem. The place is also called “Cow Garden” because in the past animals came to graze peacefully there. At the origin of these tensions, an obscure real estate project. In 2021, representatives of the Armenian Patriarchate signed a 99-year lease with Xana Capital, an Israeli company, granting them 25% of their neighborhood. The contract includes parking, a rare space still available in the old town, but also several buildings including the huge seminar room of the convent.
An agreement which provoked the anger of the Armenian community which says it was not consulted. They mobilized, launching petitions. Finally, on October 26, 2023, the patriarchate published a letter to say that the rental contract is canceled.
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200 residents facing bulldozers
But the representatives of the Xana Capital company are not giving up: the project is to build a luxury hotel on Armenian lands. On the evening of November 5, Danny Rothman, majority shareholder, and his representative George Warwar arrived in the parking lot, determined to take what they claim to be theirs. To do this, they are accompanied by bulldozers but also by a group of around fifteen men holding attack dogs on leashes. “Israeli settlers,” assures Setrak Balian. “They thought they were going to scare us. Because they know that the Armenian community is not violent. We never cause any problems, continues the young man, aged 27. But they confused our pacifism with fear! Armenians always defend their lands to the end.”
That night, nearly 200 residents of the neighborhood actually stood up. With Nourhan Manougian, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, at their side. The bulldozers still had time to destroy part of the asphalt in the parking lot.
The tent became the headquarters of the Armenian community where men take turns day and night to protect their land. East Jerusalem, Friday December 8, 2023 ©Alexandre Rito
A real estate colonization
For years, Israeli and foreign Jewish investors have sought to buy properties in East Jerusalem. Another form of colonization. The Armenian sector, close to the Western Wall, is very coveted. Building a luxury hotel in the heart of the old town therefore promises to generate immense profits. On November 16, leaders of the Armenian Church of the holy city published an alarmist text in which they assured that “the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is probably facing the greatest existential threat in its sixteen-century-old history. ”
To save their land, the inhabitants of the Armenian quarter quickly organized themselves. They set up barricades and pitched a large tent inside the parking lot, right at the entrance to the convent. All day long, men take turns there to stand guard. “We have been sleeping and eating here for more than a month to protect our community, our church. This is how life in East Jerusalem goes. It’s very sad, but there is an occupation here. The Christians thought they were safe, but I said our turn was coming” comments Setrak Balian. The young Armenian is convinced: Israeli businessmen are not going to give up, they are going to send bulldozers back into his neighborhood. “We’re not stupid. We were born and raised here. We know how things are with the settlers. We are on Mount Zion, it is the most sacred mountain for the Jews. It is also the highest point, so geopolitically this place is strategic.”
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In recent months, attacks once morest Christians by Jewish radicals have increased in the alleys of Jerusalem. Spitting, insults, shoving… Last June, one of the city’s chief rabbis even apologized to Christians. “We are sorry to learn from clergy that young Jews are persecuting, uttering curses, blasphemy and more in the streets of the city,” the cleric was indignant.
Setrak Balian was arrested by Israeli police. For two weeks, he was forbidden to go near the convent. Once this period had passed, he returned to stand guard in the parking lot. “When you understand the importance and value of this land, you have to do everything to keep it. Losing it would threaten not only the historical presence of Armenians but also that of Christians.”
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