OLD JERUSALEM, ARMENIAN QUARTER: A HALT BEFORE OR AFTER THE STORM?

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ROTHMAN, WARWAR AND BEYOND

As previously told, Danny Rothman, the main owner of Xana Gardens Ltd, who signed the Armenian Gardens’ lease agreement, in various documents appears under various names - including Daniel Rubenstein and Danny Kaufman. He is a noticeable figure in the hotel and hospitality business of Israel, holds dual citizenship of Australia and Israel and has founded various companies, including the Tamar Tours in 1994, the Ben Air Ltd in 1995, etc. Later he was summoned to Israeli courts due to Tamars Tour becoming insolvent, then because of Tamars Resorts bankruptcy, later due to other unlawful activities. 

Rothman has managed to attract the attention of law enforcement offices even beyond the borders of Israel․ Due to provision of false documents about his education, concealment of taxes, and falsification of tax documents he was deprived of the right to carry out activities, for example, in Cyprus. His lie about education got exposed, as contrary to presenting himself as a graduate of the London School of Economics, that university denied that they ever had a student named Danny Rothman or Daniel Rubinstein.
In the summer of 2023, Rothman assumed some position in the hotel business in Japan and opened a resort there called Mount Moiwa. Finally, Rothman had registered the Xana Gardens Ltd in an offshore destination - in United Arab Emirates, presumably for preventing the information about Xana Gardens from easily reaching to Israel and Israeli courts.

The entire biography of this person is nothing but deception and adventure, so it’s completely incomprehensible why such a hopeless person ended up in the role of the tenant of the Armenian Patriarchate’s estate. It seems to some people that Danny Rothman is just a façade - the real figure acting beyond the facade is George Warwar. Other people believe that George Warwar himself may well be a facade, too - the real driving forces are covered further behind him. Still, everyone remembers the incident that happened in 2019.

In 2019 or maybe a year earlier, the Saint James Brotherhood, with full procedural adherence, and majority of votes in favor, leased a part of the Armenian Gardens to the Jerusalem Municipality for 10 years term for further improvement and operation of a parking lot there. In 2019 the upgrading of area was completed, the parking lot got inaugurated, and on that occasion the Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Leon arrived to the area bringing Israeli flags with him.

Indeed, the appearance of an Israeli flag in Armenian Quarter is completely intolerable, even in case of special occasion. It’s solely the cross-bearing flag of the Saint James Brotherhood that may wave in Armenian Quarter. Sometimes it happens that the Armenians also put the flag of Armenia here and there, but it’s inessential. Therefore, when the Israeli flag was noticed at the inauguration of the parking lot, all the Armenians, including the Brotherhood clergy boycotted the event. Instead, the Israeli flags brought to the Armenian Quarter made some to reattend an article in the 10-year lease agreement for the parking lot, which stated that the Municipality of Jerusalem was ready to cede the rented area for development, if any development plan gets approved during the term of lease agreement. Isn’t it legitimate to doubt - if the Jerusalem Municipality wasn’t nourishing ideas or interests regarding the future of the rented area, why should it include a clause in agreement about ceding it?

Still, it’s apparent that whichever surname had figured there - Rothman, Warwar, Leon or other,  whoever happened to be the first violin whoever the last,  at the end of day the lease agreement of the Armenian Gardens or any other area could not be concluded without the nefarious activities of Father Paret Yeritsyan - then the Real Estate Director of the Armenian Patriarchate.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN FATHER PARET’S MOTIVATION? 

Father Paret Yeritsyan was appointed to the position of the Director of Real Estate by His Eminence Patriarch Nurhan. And this was a surprising appointment as far more worthy clergymen (for instance, Father Gusan who was the Dragoman of the Patriarchate and had excellent relationships with other religious communities, authorities, etc.) were appointed to serve abroad, yet Father Paret, who even was in the opposing camp during Nurhan Patriarch’s election, suddenly, neither this nor that, got appointed to the office of the Director of Real Estate. The whole question here is whether Patriarch Nurhan appointed Father Paret to that position on his own initiative or at the urging of some other court.

Father Paret, in the position of the Director of Real Estate carried out such a harmful and disgraceful activity against the interests of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Saint James’ Brotherhood, that he deservedly ended the path by being excommunicated and expelled from the Patriarchate and the Brotherhood. In his case where even the anathema would not be a severe punishment. Still why, with what motivation could Paret Yeritsyan embrace such an erroneous course of harming the Patriarchate and Brotherhood at the most of his abilities?

Questions arise, starting with how Father Paret and Nurhan Patriarch could be so blind as to allow the construction of a 7-star hotel on the estate of the Patriarchate. Isn't it as clear as the sun that such a hotel would not serve as an inn for pilgrims, but rather a place for gambling, entertainment, and debauchery? Was there anyone who didn't realize that the construction of a 7-star harbor of dissipation next to the Patriarchate will cast a shadow on the spiritual image and perception of the Saint James’ Brotherhood and will cause incalculable problems for the daily activities of Gulbenkian Library, Martikian Museum, the Jarankavorats Theological Seminary, Targmanchats Secondary College, Saint James Cathedral, etc?

Yet the area was being leased almost for free, mercilessly wasting the property of the Armenian Patriarchate. Xana Gardens Ltd was renting 11,000 sq. meters of land according to documents, still actually almost 15,000 sq. meters for an annual rent of 350,000 dollars (which was to be paid from the 15th year, after the hotel was built), while the value of that area in the most modest calculations equals to 200 million dollars (the cost of 1 sq. meter of land in the Holy City stands in range of 12 thousand dollars, leaving aside that this price will be significantly higher on Mount Zion). For the lease of an area worth hundreds of millions of dollars, at least some ten million dollars could be asked for annual rent - and not lease it basically free, for a few hundred thousand dollars (plus some $2 million dollars prepayment made by Xana Gardens) - notwithstanding to whom and for what reasons the area was being leased. 

Therefore, the damaging and villain conduct that excommunicated Paret Yeritsyan consistently performed has to have some explanation. Hardly cupidity could be the explanation - what should a person already in the 8th decade of his life and in clergy environment do with the material means? It is more likely a non-material impulsion guided Father Paret.

I allow myself to publicly assume so, because I recall that in the summer of 2017 Father Samvel and Father Paret had arrived to some significant church conference convened in Saint Etchmiadzin (Aris Srbazan was also with them). At that time I wrote and remember that the issue of episcopal ordination of Father Samvel and Father Paret was under consideration. The Saint James’ Brotherhood had nominated them, but His Holiness Garegin II (the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians) did not agree to ordain Father Paret as a bishop, and Father Samvel, for the sake of solidarity, suggested that in that case he should not be ordained either. Both Father Samvel and Father Paret were already aged man at that time, probably over 70.
Not being appreciated after decades of ecclesiastic service, the refusal of episcopal ordination could, of course, give rise to resentment and revenge. On the other hand, it’s also possible that His Holiness Garegin II knew and assumed what Father Paret was capable of, and therefore refused to ordain him. It is difficult to guess which was the cause and which was the consequence. Anyway, Father Paret had confessed himself that the theme of the interaction with Rothman was opened (he formulates it “the lease issue was presented to Administrative Council”) in 2018. That is, after 2017.

WHAT IS GRANTED TO ARMENIANS BY GOD

Whenever a conversation commences about the Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem, the only desire is to go through the stories how the central street of our quarter was named Armenian Road even before the birth of Christ, how  the Armenian King Abgar – the sovereign of Edesia - in defense of Jesus sent letters to the Roman emperors and defended Jesus from the slanders and persecutions of the Jews, how the King Abgar's wife, the Armenian Queen Helene set friendship with Virgin Mary and became the first caretaker of the Christian Holy sites from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, how the Armenians inherited the Patriarchal Throne of Saint James - the First Patriarch of the Christian Church, as well as his home on foundations of which our present-day Saint James Cathedral rises, how after the Arab invasions the Armenians remained the sole guardians of the Christian sanctuaries in the Holy Land and received the documents recognizing the rights of Armenians from Prophet Muhammad himself, how the Armenian Patriarch Grigor Shghtayakir (Chain-bearer) traversed the entire Western Armenia on foot and with chain around his neck until he collected the necessary funds and freed his Brotherhood and Cathedral from all debts in 1717, how the Balyans, how Gulbenkian, how, etc...

The Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem is one of my favorite themes and places in this world, I have written about the Holy City in the past and will write in the future, still this particular article I wish to conclude with just one question: where is the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Why the Israeli Ambassador to Armenia hasn’t been summoned to the Ministry so far? Why the Holy See of Etchmiadzin is silent and the same Ambassador wasn’t invited to the Holy See either? The Armenian Foreign Ministry was so concerned about a real or staged attack on an ordinary synagogue in Yerevan that issued a statement, yet it doesn’t have anything to say about the crime of demolishing asphalt and a fence in the Armenian Quarter of the Holy City?...