CV NEWS FEED // Over 30 armed attackers assaulted dozens of Armenian Christians in Israel on December 28, allegedly motivated by the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem’s cancellation of a controversial land deal.
The victims included clergy and seminarians, and many were left in serious condition.
The Armenian Patriarchate wrote to the police and the Israeli government on Thursday in an official letter obtained by CatholicVote:
A massive and coordinated physical attack was launched on bishops, priests, deacons, seminarians, and other Armenian community members in Jerusalem. Several priests, students of the Armenian Theological Academy, and indigenous Armenians are seriously injured.
The Patriarchate added that the attackers wore ski masks and carried both lethal and less-than-lethal weapons that “incapacitated dozens of our clergy.”
The Patriarchate also claimed that the attackers were directly motivated by a canceled land deal that has resulted in conflict between land developers and many local and international Armenians.
According to The Jerusalem Post, the Patriarchate made an agreement two years ago to lease a fourth of the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem to developers Danny Rothman (Rubinstein) and George Warwar (Hadad).
“The deal became known as the Cows’ Garden Land Deal because the developer was going to build a luxury hotel on the grounds of what is currently a parking lot on a plot of land with that name,” The Jerusalem Post reported. “The developer also planned to take down several homes and a seminary.”
Local and international Armenians quickly objected to the deal and began pressuring the Patriarchate to cancel it. After the Patriarchate expressed its intention two months ago to withdraw from the contract, the developers nonetheless immediately prepared to begin construction.
The Jerusalem Post also reported that “a similar violent attack” occurred on Armenians about six weeks ago.
The Patriarchate said that it submitted a lawsuit to the District Court of Jerusalem over the contract, which the court received earlier this week. According to Patriarchate’s letter to law enforcement and other officials, the attack this week “is the criminal response we have received” to the lawsuit.
The Jerusalem Post reported that no one has yet been officially charged in connection with the attack.
The Patriarchate expressed concern for the safety of local Armenian Christians and clergy in the future.
“The Armenian Patriarchate’s existential threat is now a physical reality,” the Patriarchate wrote:
Bishops, priests, deacons, seminarians, and indigenous Armenians are fighting for their very lives on the ground. We are calling on authorities around the world and the International Media to help us save the Armenian Quarter from a violent demise that is being locally supported by unnamed entities.
We call upon the Israeli Government and Police to start an investigation against Danny Rothman (Rubenstein) and George Warwar (Hadad) for organizing their continuous criminal attacks on the Armenian Patriarchate and Community, attacks which seem to have no end in sight.
https://catholicvote.org/armed-attackers-reportedly-assault-armenian-christians-israel/