‘The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is under possibly the greatest existential threat of its 16-century history.’
The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Of all the planet’s iconic places, perhaps nowhere is more iconic – or more contentious – than the Old City of Jerusalem. The cradle of the three global monotheistic religions, being in the Old City feels like you are in the absolute centre of the world.
The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
The Old City is just under one square kilometer in area. Over two millennia this micro-city has changed hands over 20 times with ever-changing populations and governance. This has contributed to its unique ethnic, religious and cultural make up – it is rightly celebrated as the ultimate melting pot.
The Old City
The Old City falls within the pre-1967 ‘Green Line’ boundaries of occupied East Jerusalem and is a place where generations of visitors have made to feel incredibly welcome by its Palestinian majority.
The Old City is traditionally described as consisting of four unequal sized quarters – Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Armenian. This is an oversimplification of a very vibrant reality, and this naming convention only originated in nineteenth century British mapping.
Much of the land of the Old City is owned by the various Christian churches and acquired over many centuries. Historically, in both tradition and agreement, the Old City is an open place for all peoples and all religions, and for the world to visit and venerate its countless holy sites. However, this open status is once again under threat.
There are many examples of this threat in the Old City – this is the story of just one of them.
Occupation, settlement and displacement
The situation in the Old City must be understood in the context of the wider occupation and Israeli settlement expansion in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. According to Israeli human rights organisation, Peace Now, by 2020 around 3,500 Jews lived in the Old City (around 10% of the overall population) including settlers in the Muslim and Christian Quarters. Thousands more settlers live in Palestinian neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem – the latter including in Silwan, Ras al Amud and Sheikh Jarrah. This number is growing all the time as new micro-settlements – sometimes single residential units – are established in these areas.
In occupied East Jerusalem overall, as of 2020 the Israeli settler population was 234,00 (39% of the overall populace) with the majority living in expansive, town-sized settlements like Ma’ale Adumin – built on occupied land in violation of International Law. This includes article 49 of the Geneva Convention and the illegality of the settlements was reaffirmed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2024.
The case of the Armenian Quarter
Armenians were one of the earliest converts to Christianity and soon established early churches and monasteries in Jerusalem. Ever present in the city during its tumultuous history since the 4th century, Jerusalemite Armenians now number about 2,000 people, with most living in or near the tiny Quarter centred on the beautiful Cathedral of St James – the only church in Jerusalem still to be lit only by candlelight.
St James Cathedral interior
In July 2021 the Armenian Patriarch (religious leader) signed a deal with Israeli real estate company Xana Gardens to lease an area of 1.1 hectares in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. The developer planned to build a luxury hotel on the site known as Goverou Bardez or The Cows Garden – one of the last remaining open spaces in the Old City – and home to an Armenian Church/ community centre and five homes. This area is 25 percent of the properties in the Armenian Quarter owned by Armenians. Much of the Cow Garden area is currently used as a parking lot but is far from an ordinary one and has been part of the Armenian Quarter for 500 years.
Cows Garden carpark with local activists
The land deal was universally condemned as being highly suspect, with the lease’s remuneration set to be a tiny fraction of that expected in one of the most expensive areas for land and property in the world. The Patriarch was an elderly man and the Armenian priest who brokered the deal subsequently fled the city amid accusations of bribery and corruption.
The building of a luxury hotel and associated developments adjacent to key buildings in the Quarter would threaten its identity and very existence. If the Cow Garden is lost there are real fears that the future of the Armenian Quarter in general would be at risk.
After the outcry against it, in October 2023 the Armenian Patriarch cancelled the deal – since when there have been illegal attempts to seize the land, including using bulldozers and bands of armed men. In one incident the parking lot was severely damaged by bulldozers that ripped up the tarmac and destroyed walls.
The sale and its subsequent cancellation are now subject to legal arguments which may take many years to resolve, with the next court hearing due in September.
Save the ArQ
In defence of the area, Armenian activists have erected a tent in one corner of their land, in which they are present at all hours of the day and the night. Five or six people sleep there nightly, and every day dozens of others call by to sit, bring food, and offer solidarity.
The Quarter is intrinsic to Armenian history and identity and a was a haven and staging post for refugees in the diaspora following the Armenian Genocide in Asia Minor during World War I. The Armenian people have recently suffered again from ethnic cleansing in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, so the fate of the Armenian Quarter resonates very deeply and has become an issue of personal and national cultural survival.
SavetheArQ camp from outside
Under Attack
There has been a huge uplift in verbal and physical attacks on the Armenian Christian community in recent years – hateful graffiti on church buildings and homes, spitting (including at priests, nuns and students at the Armenian seminary), and swearing and physical assaults. An example of graffiti seen and recorded was ‘death to Arabs and their Armenian friends’. A local activist tells us;
‘I have seen many spitting incidents near the convent. In the past we would have challenged them and called the police but now more settlers will come, and the police may detain us and not those spitting.’
Spitting at people wearing crosses has been a practice of a small minority since the time of the Crusades. This has reemerged in a major way particularly since 7 October and the Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as an act of violence and intimidation.
An incident was highlighted when an Israeli journalist dressed himself as a priest, as he was skeptical about the prevalence and frequency of these attacks. He was spat on within five minutes of walking in the street. Locals tell us;
‘The minute he was spat on he declared himself a Jewish Israeli and spoke to them in accent less Hebrew. This shamed them.’
The Rossing Centre for Education and Dialogue between Jews and Christians monitors such attacks. In their 2023 report it highlighted the worrying increase in severe property and physical assaults especially affecting communities such as the Armenians in the Old City and the Polish Monastery near Mea Shearim, a mainly Jewish orthodox area of West Jerusalem. The Centre believes only a small percentage of incidents are reported.
‘Notably [spitting] has evolved from a covert act to open and brazen actions against [Christian] clergy, holy places, and even pilgrims.’
There have been many cases of Israeli settler groups acquiring properties in the Old City and occupied East Jerusalem. This process employs multiple tactics such as using ancient Ottoman ‘Absentee’ laws that mean non-Jews cannot pass on property to children who do not also reside there, the state acquiring properties for archeological sites or ‘national parks’ and for any unilaterally declared security reasons. ‘Tourist settlements’ – such as in Silwan’s ‘City of David’ – are also being developed, which involve taking properties from their Palestinian owners, and there are even plans by Israel to build a cable car to access the Old City.
The settler groups have specifically targeted Christian churches as the largest landowners in the Old City. The Cow Garden deal has similarity to the sale of the leases of two large hotels near the City’s Jaffa Gate by the Greek Patriarchy – a deal linked to extremist settler group Ateret Cohanim and where the redevelopment of these sites would threaten the continuity of the Greek and Latin Patriarchates in the Christian Quarter. Ateret Cohanim was founded in 1978 with the stated goal to ‘restore Jewish life in the heart of ancient Jerusalem’. It considers the other parts of the old City to be the ‘Old Jewish Quarter’ and wishes to ‘reclaim’ it by transferring property to Jewish hands.
The State of Israel and the Israeli Jerusalem Municipality is also now using historic back taxes and debt determinations – without judicial scrutiny – to pressure the churches and, in particular the Armenian Patriarchy. A recent tax demand on the convent in the Quarter threatens foreclosure and confiscation of property if not paid in full. This has met with a strong response from all of Jerusalem’s churches.
‘‘If one member suffers, all suffer together’ (1 Corinthians 12:26). The targeting of one Church is an assault on all, and we cannot remain silent while the foundations of our Christian witness in the land of Christ’s ministry are shaken.’
The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem – February 2025
Join SavetheArQ
The Armenian community of Jerusalem is a peaceful presence, fostering strong relationships with Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities. The community’s mission is not only to preserve its heritage and rights but also to maintain and strengthen these positive relationships, as it has done throughout its history.
The precarious position of the ArQ must be seen as part of a decades long struggle to preserve Jerusalem’s multi-cultural and multi-religious heritage at threat. We asked activists from the SavetheArQ campaign how the international community could take action. Here are their asks:
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Ensure Legal Protections: Advocate for fair and transparent legal proceedings regarding the land dispute.
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Condemn Violence and Intimidation: Publicly denounce attacks on the Armenian community and hold aggressors accountable.
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Preserve the multicultural and religious diversity: Oppose unilateral actions that disrupt Jerusalem’s religious and cultural balance.
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Take action!
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Use our quick template letter to send this eyewitness story to your elected representatives and faith leaders. Ask them to hear the calls from the community above and take immediate and decisive action.
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Follow, support and share the #SavetheArQ campaign on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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Part of a church or other faith community? Join the campaign to ensure they are not investing funds in companies that profit from the occupation.
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