ArmInfo.Armenia faces very serious challenges today. American-Lebanese writer and risk manager, Dr. Nassim Taleb, stated on November 30 at a joint press conference with RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan.
He recalled the facts of history, according to which during the time of Tigran the Great, Armenia extended from sea to sea. Mr. Taleb noted that taking into account the reduction of the country's territory throughout the history of the Armenian people, and especially as a result of recent events, it is impossible not to see the extremely difficult situation Armenia is facing. <You have a very strong Diaspora that can play an important role in this matter. I personally am sensitive to the fact that, for example, Mount Ararat is located on the territory of Turkey, and the Armenian cultural heritage, reaching all the way to Jerusalem, is very widespread throughout the world, but now we all see that incomprehensible events are happening in Jerusalem," - the writer noted, calling on the Armenian authorities to more actively inform the international community about the ongoing developmentsin the region.
In the Armenian quarter of Old Jerusalem, a tense situation has developed around the Cow Garden estate, where Israeli settlers are putting brutal pressure on residents. In turn, Father Aghan Gogchyan, Chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, wrote on his Facebook page that the Patriarchate is under the greatest existential threat in its 16-century history, and the existential-territorial threat extends to all Christian communities in Jerusalem. In this vein, he recalled that the Armenian Patriarchate recently terminated the agreement, "tainted by false representation, undue influence and illegal benefits." "Instead of giving a legal response to the termination, the developers are trying to carry out construction work on the Cow Garden estate. They completely ignore the legitimate position of the Patriarchate on this issue, choosing instead tactics of provocation and aggression, including the destruction of property through hired armed provocateurs "The removal of asphalt in recent days on the territory of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem was carried out without the permission of the Jerusalem mayor's office, the developer and the police. Despite this circumstance, the police require all members of the Armenian community to leave the territory," Gogchyan wrote.
In this regard, he called on all Christian communities in Jerusalem to support the Armenian Patriarchate in these unprecedented times, as this is another obvious step threatening the presence of Christians in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. It should be noted that the Armenian Patriarchate leased part of the Armenian quarter of the old city of Jerusalem to an Israeli company for 99 years. The Armenian community of Jerusalem opposed this deal, organizing several protests. On November 1 of this year, Father Aghan Gogchyan, Chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, , announced that the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem sent a letter to Xana Gardens Ltd, informing them that it was terminating the contract dated July 8, 2021 regarding the Cow Garden estate in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem. The Cow Garden is located on the historic Mount Zion, in the southwest corner of Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter. Back in November 2021, the Supreme Spiritual Council under the Mother See of Etchmiadzin discussed the issue of leasing the Cow Garden estate of the Jerusalem Armenian Patriarchate and called for the cancellation of this decision.