A shady property deal threatens to transform part of the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City into a luxury resort. "It will change the status quo and the entire picture of Jerusalem," says Armenian activist Hagop Djernazian.
The Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem in 2014. (Photo: Edmund Gall/ Wikimedia)
While Palestinians have long fought against land theft, Jerusalem’s centuries-old Armenian community is now facing their own land rights’ crisis as a property deal threatens to transform part of their neighborhood into a luxury resort.
In July 2021, the Armenian Patriarchate leased approximately 25% of the Armenian Quarter in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City to an Australian-Israeli investor for 99 years. The land deal received renewed attention in April when it was discovered that the contracted area, known as Hadiqat Al-Baqar (The Garden of Cows), includes homes of five Armenian families, the Armenian seminary, and a parking lot.
“The area leased is a historical land, which the Armenians have owned for 700 years,” Armenian activist, Hagop Djernazian, told Mondoweiss. “It’s a strategic area located on the highest point in the Old City.”
The contract was reportedly signed by Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, Grand Sacristan Archbishop Sevan Gharibian, and then-director of the Patriarchate’s real estate department, Fr. Baret Yeretsian.
Yet following the deal’s publicity, Manougian denied responsibility and pinned the blame on Yeretsian — claiming the agreement occurred without his full knowledge. Yeretsian was defrocked and has since fled to Los Angeles, while Manougian has confined himself to the convent as residents protest weekly outside demanding the deal be revoked. The Armenian Patriarchate declined to comment for this story.
“As an Armenian, the church is our home,” Djernazian said. “Unfortunately now the relations between the community and the church are no longer the same as in the past because this deal violated the constitution of the church.”
Yeretsian wrote that deal was ratified by the Holy Synod, the church’s supervising body, and the General Assembly of the Saint James Brotherhood, a monastic order of Armenian national church, but according to twelve members of the brotherhood, this is incorrect.
Instead, they claim the deal was made without the Holy Synod and General Assembly’s consent, thereby nullifying the agreement. According to the church’s bylaws, all real estate transactions must be made with the Holy Synod and General Assembly’s approval.
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