World Council of Churches condemns “worrying escalation of violence”
The head of the Armenian Church in Jerusalem said a mob of more than two dozen men attacked the site of a local real estate dispute in what authorities called a “massive and coordinated attack.”
More than 30 “armed provocateurs wearing ski masks and using lethal and non-lethal weapons” attacked clergy and other members of the Armenian Christian community on Thursday at the site of a controversial land sale in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement statement.
Known as the Cow Garden, the site has been at the center of a dispute between the centuries-old Armenian Christian community and an Australian Israeli investor seeking to build a hotel on the land.
The Patriarchate said the attackers used “powerful nerve agents which incapacitated dozens of our clergy by breaking into the grounds of the Cow Garden and beginning their vicious assault.”
Several priests, students of the Armenian Theological Academy and indigenous Armenians were “seriously injured,” the statement added.
Patriarchate officials blamed the attack on real estate developer Danny Rothman’s response to “legal proceedings” involving the site. Announced in November, the land deal was critical by the patriarchs and heads of the Churches of Jerusalem, who expressed concern that such a development could weaken the Christian presence in the Holy Land.
“This is the criminal response we received for filing a complaint with the Jerusalem District Court regarding the Cow Garden,” the statement said. “This is how Australian-Israeli businessmen Danny Rothman (Rubenstein) and George Warwar (Hadad) react to the legal proceedings.”
“The existential threat to the Armenian Patriarchate is now a physical reality. Bishops, priests, deacons, seminarians and indigenous Armenians are fighting on the ground for their lives.”
The police said The Jerusalem Post that arrests were made on both sides but no one was formally charged, saying the incident involved Muslim men.
“There was an unfortunate incident where Arab Muslim men and men from the Armenian community fought in the Old City of Jerusalem,” Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum told the Post. “Police arrived quickly to separate the parties and arrests were made on both sides.
“The city of Jerusalem will not tolerate any criminal activity, whether religiously motivated or otherwise, and police will pursue those responsible,” she said.
Video shared on social media showed attackers dressed in black throwing stones at local Armenians and assaulting others.
The Patriarchate called on world leaders and international media to help “save the Armenian Quarter from violent disappearance supported locally by anonymous entities.”
The head of the Armenian Church in Jerusalem signed the agreement in July 2021, but the community only became aware of it when surveyors appeared earlier this year. The church official claims he was misled and is taking legal action to void the contract. A priest involved was defrocked in May.
“The provocations used by the suspected promoters to deploy incendiary tactics threaten to erase the Armenian presence in the region, weakening and endangering the Christian presence in the Holy Land,” officials said in a statement.
A statement published by the World Council of Churches (WCC) called the attacks “a distressing escalation of violence and (a) grave violation of the rights and dignity of the communities of the Armenian Quarter.”
“It is imperative to defend the rights of all and prevent forced displacement, ensuring the preservation of the cultural and religious diversity that defines Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories,” said WCC general secretary Rev. Jerry Pillay.
“The World Council of Churches expresses unwavering solidarity with the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. We pray for a just peace and for the strength and resilience of communities under threat.”
Home to around 1,000 residents, the Armenian Quarter dates back to the 4th century and is home to St. James Cathedral. Armenians have equal rights to Christian holy sites in Jerusalem since Armenia is considered the first nation to adopt Christianity in 301.
Some residents of the neighborhood trace their heritage to those original pilgrims or refugees who fled the Armenian genocide at the beginning of the 20th century.
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