Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention calls on USA to protect  Armenian Quarter in East Jerusalem

ArmInfo. The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is deeply concerned by threats to  the integrity of the Armenian Quarter in East Jerusalem. 

"We call on the United States and other close allies of Israel to  take it upon themselves to guarantee the Armenian community due  process in this land dispute. The global Armenian community has  already lost one important historical land this fall - Artsakh  (Nagorno-Karabakh), which was forcibly depopulated when Azerbaijan  invaded, massacred Armenians, and terrorized almost the entire  Armenian population into fleeing. The Armenian people cannot lose  another," reads a statement by the Institute. 

"The Armenian Quarter makes up about one-sixth of the city of  Jerusalem. It is 1,600 years old, dating back to the reign of Roman  Emperor Constantine. The first settlement of Armenians in Jerusalem  predates Constantine even, with Armenians having settled in Jerusalem  as early as the first century BCE when the Armenian Empire controlled  nearby territories in Syria. Although the Armenian population in  Jerusalem today is very small, the Armenian Quarter remains an  important part of the Armenian Diaspora presence as the oldest  remaining living diaspora of Armenians. The Quarter houses a diocese  of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

"In July 2021, the Armenian Patriarchate signed an agreement to lease  a significant plot of land (called the "Cow's Garden") to Australian  developer Danny Rubenstein for 98 years at a low annual rent of a few  hundred thousand dollars per year. Rubenstein planned to build a  luxury hotel on the site, necessitating the destruction of many of  the existing buildings. The deal came as a shock to the local  community, the greater Armenian Diaspora, and Palestinian  authorities, the latter of which felt as if the deal encroached on  their own sovereignty. It also raised eyebrows due to its asymmetric  rewards.

"In response to this opposition, the Patriarchate announced on  November 1, 2023, that it would be canceling the deal. However, Danny  Rubenstein's company, XANA, has refused the Patriarchate's  cancellation. It has brought bulldozers to the site and is beginning  construction in the Cow's Garden area.

"Local Armenians have responded to the destruction of Cow's Garden  with peaceful protests in the form of public gatherings and a sit-in  where construction had begun. Israeli police and civilians have met  these protests with violence, using dogs and firearms to intimidate  the peaceful protestors. Danny Rubenstein and George Warwar, Chairman  and Director of XANA International, appear to be using force and  intimidation to deter the Armenian community from attempting to  protect its land.

"The cultural heritage of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem must be  safeguarded from the developers and the armed settlers who are  enabling them, ostensibly with the aim of creating a homogenized  Jewish ethnostate in Palestinian territories. We stand with the  Armenian community as they continue to resist the development of this  land through peaceful demonstrations and by refusing to leave the  premises. The Armenian community has already lost one significant  historical community in Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh this year. It must  not lose another."