Author: Garnik Zakarian

The Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem is facing its biggest crisis in recent times. A Jewish businessman linked to the radical settler movement is ready to develop a quarter of the neighborhood’s territory with plans to build a luxury hotel. If it goes ahead, it will significantly change part of Jerusalem’s Old City and accelerate the demographic shift toward the Jewish population of the city that has been happening for several years.

The Armenian Quarter actually makes up one-sixth of the Old City (the other quarters are Muslim, Christian and Jewish), and the Armenian presence in Jerusalem dates back to the 4th century. Together with the neighboring Christian quarter, it is the stronghold of the small Christian minority in the city. The threat of Jewish settlers taking over parts of the Quarter is widely understood as a change in the demographic status quo in favor of Israel’s interests.

In 2021, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, Nourhan Manougian, agreed with the developers on a 98-year lease for part of the Armenian Quarter. The agreement covers a significant area that today includes a parking lot, buildings belonging to the office of the Armenian church leader – known as the Patriarchate – and the homes of five Armenian families.

News of the deal sparked strong protests among Armenians in the neighborhood last year. Feelings ran so deep that in October the patriarch and other church leaders felt compelled to renege on the agreement. This led to violent clashes between settlers and local Armenians.

After a few weeks of calm, fighting broke out again in late December, when more than 30 men armed with stones and sticks allegedly attacked Armenians who had been guarding the area for several weeks.

The dispute has now gone to court. The question is whether the lease is valid or whether unilateral termination renders the contract null and void. The Patriarchate has engaged lawyers – local and from Armenia and the US – who will present their case that the contract was not properly concluded due to irregularities in the contract.

This is not a single incident. Since the Six-Day War of 1967, when all of Jerusalem came under Israeli control, there has been a concerted effort to change the demographics of traditionally Arab East Jerusalem.

In many places, the authorities are evicting Arab families who have lived there for decades on the grounds that they do not have the documents to own the house. Then a Jewish family immigrates.

This change in the demography of East Jerusalem occurs through emigration, demolition and construction restrictions. This is also happening in the famous and touristic Old City of Jerusalem.

Almost 20 years ago, there was a minor scandal when it emerged that the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, the owner of a large property, had entered into a long-term lease for two historic hotels with an organization of Jewish settlers.

Disputed territory: In most plans for a two-state solution, East Jerusalem would be the capital of a Palestinian state.
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)CC BY-ND

Now we have a similar incident regarding the Armenian Patriarchate. Palestinians, who have long fought against illegal Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories, view the sale or long-term lease of real estate to Jewish settlers extremely negatively.

East Jerusalem is vital to the Palestinians. Proposed plans for a two-state solution call for the capital of a future Palestinian state. A decisive change in the demography there is therefore a priority goal of some in Israel – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who does not want a two-state solution.

Read more: Explained: What is the solution to the two-state conflict between Israel and Palestine?

This conflict also highlights an old problem of the Jerusalem Christian churches – namely, the gulf between the leadership and the people. The old churches are hierarchical in nature and the leaders rule at the top. In Jerusalem, there is an additional problem in that church leaders are not always from the local population.

The largest Christian denomination in the Holy Land is the Greek Orthodox Church. Its members are mostly Arabs, while the patriarch and other leading prelates are Greeks.

Nourhan Manougian, the current and 97th Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, was born in Syria to an Armenian family. The Armenian Patriarchate has been accused of corruption and illegitimate sale of assets in the past, long before the current crisis.

If the Armenians lose this battle and the settler movement is able to take control of such a key city, it will hurt a vulnerable small minority. The settler campaign to colonize East Jerusalem under Jewish control will achieve another victory.

https://irshadgul.com/the-jewish-settler-movement-competes-for-a-large-part-of-the-armenian-quarter-ig-news/

Irvine is getting closer to erecting a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide within the Great Park.

Early plans for the memorial, approved by the Great Park Board on Tuesday, Jan. 9, include a potential location, the size of the memorial and how the memorial will be funded. City leaders unanimously approved the Orange County Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee’s proposal and directed staff to work with the committee in developing a schematic design and budget.

The proposed location is what will be called the Heart of the Park, a yet-to-be-completed area of the Great Park in its expansion over 300 acres of amenities. Because it is surrounded by a dense forest, the location will provide privacy and peace, said assistant city manager Pete Carmichael.

And the size of the memorial will be consistent and commensurate with the vertical and horizontal area provided within the surrounding forest, approximately 20 feet wide and 15 feet high, said Lauren Jung, the city’s senior management analyst.

The Orange County Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee, comprised of 11 members representing various Armenian organizations from around the county, hopes for construction to begin in the first half of 2026 and be completed in 2027, according to a staff report.

The Heart of the Park, where the memorial will be located, is slated for initial grading beginning this year with subsequent construction starting in 2026. That area “is a mix of quiet contemplation and social interaction,” Carmichael said.

The committee is in the process of incorporating as a nonprofit in California and requesting nonprofit status with the IRS to fundraise for the cost of the memorial’s design and construction, said chairperson Kev Abazajian.

Per city rules regarding monuments and memorials, the project proponent must foot the bill for the project while the city is responsible for the daily maintenance and upkeep of the memorial.

Abazajian said he anticipates the state designation to be made within the month while the 501(c)(3) designation may take a couple more months.

The process of homing an Armenian genocide memorial in Irvine began in 2022 after a video surfaced in which Mayor Farrah Khan appeared to joke and laugh with representatives of local Turkish groups, among them a man who has been outspoken in denying the genocide.

Khan, at the time, said the genocide was not a topic of conversation and the video was released out of context. Members of the Armenian community met with Khan, and she said she would support finding a place in the city for a memorial.

“Irvine is home to people from all over the world, including many like Armenians, who have faced a devastating genocide. We currently have Armenian community members whose family members are facing forced displacement in Armenia, Azerbaijan and in Jerusalem,” Khan said. “This is one of the ways that we, as a city, can provide a safe space for people to reflect on the past and strive to do better in the future.”

An estimated 1.2 million Armenians died during the genocide that began in 1915 in the Ottoman Empire, widely considered to be the first genocide of the 20th century, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. While most historians — and the White House — agree the deaths that occurred constitute a “genocide,” the Turkish government has denied a genocide occurred, contesting the estimated death toll.

In February 2023, city leaders directed staff to work toward the dedication of a memorial within the Great Park to the Armenians who died, according to the staff report, and in September, the Great Park Board adopted a policy dictating how the city considers requests for monuments and memorials within the park.

“Out of something horrific and divisive, something beautiful can come out of it,” said Garo Madenlian, a member of the Orange County Armenian Center.

Madenlian said the city moving forward with a plan for the memorial means a lot to the Armenian community in Orange County since many are descendants of genocide survivors.

“My grandparents were orphaned in the Armenian genocide,” he said. “This is really important for us to remember and never forget.”

The committee has planned for April a small commemoration of the start of the Armenian genocide, April 1915, which may take place at the project site.

“We are excited to move something like this forward of this gravity,” said Councilmember Mike Carroll, who also chairs the Great Park Board.

Staff is set to return in March with the schematic design and budget, Jung said.

https://www.ocregister.com/2024/01/11/for-irvines-great-park-an-armenian-genocide-memorial-is-in-the-works/