Armenia’s former president, Armen Sarkissian, has urged Israeli authorities to protect Jerusalem Armenians from “coordinated attacks,” which, according to the Patriarchate, are threatening the very existence of the ancient Armenian Quarter.
In an op-ed published Monday in the Haaretz newspaper, Sarkissian voiced “grave concern” for what he called “recent coordinated attacks against members of the Armenian community of Jerusalem.”
“Unfortunately, what is happening in and to the Armenian Quarter is threatening more than the concord that has defined the Armenian community’s presence in Jerusalem. It is imperiling the very foundation of Jerusalem’s unique character. And it demands immediate intervention by the authorities. Israel, as a nation founded on the rule of law, must take swift action to protect the Armenian community, their historic heritage, and the uniqueness of Jerusalem,” Sarkissian emphasized.
“The Armenian Church, with its fabulous treasure of antiquities, owns a third of Christian holy places in Jerusalem, while the city’s Armenian Quarter has a millennia-long history. The violence there stems from a dispute around a 99-year lease of approximately 25 percent of the Armenian Quarter to an Australian-Israeli businessman and his local partner who planned to build a luxury hotel on the site,” Sarkissian noted.
“The Armenians who arrived as refugees from the genocide in the Ottoman Empire a century ago not only enlarged Jerusalem’s ancient Armenian community but also enriched the crafts of Israel by resuming in Israel the skilled ceramics works that had been decimated by the Ottoman Empire. The finest ‘Kuthaya Ceramics,’ named after the Armenian city in Anatolia, are now to be found in Israel. Ceramic tiles crafted by Armenian refugees adorn some of Jerusalem’s most illustrious buildings, including the American Colony Hotel and the residence of the Israeli president,” Sarkissian pointed out, providing an urgent update of the situation surrounding the Jerusalem Patriarchate.
