A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #348 - International, Jerusalem: The Armenian quarter, forgotten by Israeli colonization (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

As Israel continues its genocidal enterprise in Gaza and expanding its 
settlements in the West Bank, the fate of the Armenian neighborhood of 
Jerusalem has remained quiet in the media. If we must focus on the 
horror suffered by Gazans and on an immediate ceasefire, these events 
mixing capitalism, corruption and Zionist colonialism demonstrate that 
the latter also extends to other communities. ---- The Armenian Quarter 
has been the heart of the Armenian presence in Jerusalem for 1600 years 
despite a population of only a few thousand people. This figure has also 
been falling in recent years following the increase in rents, the 
arrival of Jewish settlers and Israel's ban on building new buildings there.

In 2021, an Armenian priest reached an agreement, on behalf of the 
Patriarchate of the Armenian Church, with a real estate developer of 
Jewish origin to sell nearly 25% of the Armenian quarter for an amount 
below its value and build a luxury hotel complex. The terms of the 
agreement have not been fully communicated to the local population, the 
bulk of whom live on properties owned by the Church. Until 2023, the 
year when the truth comes out. Inhabited houses but also part of the 
Seminary would be affected, endangering the historic Armenian presence 
in the city. Given the extremely favorable terms for the developer, 
strong suspicions of corruption exist, to the point that the signing 
priest had to be exfiltrated to the United States following protests 
from residents of the neighborhood. The Patriarchate announced that it 
had been deceived by this priest and denounced the agreement, wishing to 
cancel it. Legal proceedings are still ongoing.

Taking advantage of the attention given to the start of the Israeli 
offensive on Gaza at the end of 2023, the promoter carried out various 
intimidations to dislodge the Armenians, calling on Israeli settlers 
from the West Bank who came with bulldozers, dogs and weapons to 
intimidate the population. Violent clashes have taken place and 
bulldozers have already started to destroy part of the land. The 
Armenian community, however, mobilized, including barricades and 
constant surveillance to prevent further incursions. Which did not 
prevent new clashes in December 2023.

A situation reminiscent of Nagorno-Karabakh
If the initial intention of the developer was more aimed at the 
exploitation of valuable land, it must be put in context with the call 
by many settlers to "Judeize" Jerusalem. The junction of capitalism and 
colonialism was therefore made around a common objective: to expel 
people of Armenian origin and other non-Jews from Jerusalem despite 
their ancient settlement, as when a Greek patriarch ceded land to 
far-right Zionist groups in 2005.

While the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh were expelled from their 
ancestral lands by Azerbaijan in 2023 with the military support of the 
State of Israel, those who live in Jerusalem are afraid of suffering a 
fate similar. We must therefore demand the cancellation of this real 
estate agreement which bears the stamp of corruption, restore full 
possession of their neighborhood to the people who live there and ensure 
the end of Zionist colonization in Jerusalem and Palestine.

Antonin (UCL Marseille)

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Jerusalem-Le-quartier-armenien-l-oublie-de-la-colonisation-Israelienne
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