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

In the beginning of November 2023, while in one part of the Palestinian Autonomy called Gaza Strip the war unleashed by Islamist HAMAS movement against the “Zionist entity” (the State of Israel) was raging and reciprocally the Israel's war against the Palestinian people was ramping from Gaza to the West Bank, at that very moment inside the Holy City - separated from the rest of the world with wall and consisting of four Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Armenian Quarters -  right on top of Mount Zion, that is situated in the Armenian Quarter, is the inalienable property of the Armenian Patriarchate (alas the Saint James’ Brotherhood) and where according to religious beliefs the God resides on Earth, a real confrontation unfolded, that attracted international attention.

Suffice it to say that in reference to events unfolding in Armenian Quarter the Patriarchs and leaders of all the Christian communities of the Holy City issued a joint statement.  

A MOVE AGAINST THE CHRISTIAN PRESENCE   

In fact, it was in 2021 when this standoff around a portion of land in the Armenian Quarter, adjacent to the top of Mount Zion (covering about 1 ha in area), and called Armenian Gardens that is mostly a deserted  and serves as a parking lot for cars, essentially took a start. Still the November 1, 2023 became a turning point in the saga of the standoff, as on that tdat he Chancellery of the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem issued a press-release that read: "The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem announces that a letter was sent on October 26, 2023 to Xana Gardens Ltd, whereby the Patriarchate informed Xana Gardens of the cancellation of the agreement signed on 8/7/2021 regarding the Armenian Gardens in the Old City, Jerusalem."
After the move, in response to the cancellation of the agreement, Xana Gardens Ltd took several illegal and reprehensible steps during the period of November 5-15. First, the main owner of the Xana Gardens Ltd. Mr. Daniel-Danny Rothman-Rubinstein-Kaufman (this person will be further referred to below ) who acts under several names and seemingly had harried to Jerusalem from Japan, not possessing any permission whatsoever from the owner of the estate - the Armenian Patriarchate, nor even from the Jerusalem Municipality, moved to demolish a part of the fence and asphalt with bulldozers illegally brought to the Armenian Gardens, but had to stop due to the lack of documents and the resistance of the Armenian community of Old Jerusalem.

A few days later, it’s difficult to tell whether in sake of encouraging his partner Rothman or just going all in after the cancellation of the July 8, 2021 deal by the Armenian Patriarchate, the real mastermind or puppeteer of the deal – Mr. George Warwar along with about a dozen of settlers, a couple of trained dogs and weapons in their hands, arrived at Armenian Gardens. Warwar is an Arab by nationality, a Christian by religion, and beyond doubt stands in collaboration with the Jewish settlers (Jewish settlers are mentally, psychologically, and often physically sick persons who believe that they have a divine mission of regaining back the lands of Israel through displacing the present inhabitants of the lands the Palestinians, Arabs and others). As Al Jazeera reported, Warwar took also Palestinians with him to the garden to aid him in removing the barriers erected by Armenians, but the Palestinians, realizing on the spot that they might have been hired by Jewish settlers, refused to do any work, and left. On the same day, after a few hours in view of the resistance of the Armenian community - swiftly gathered from all corners of the Armenian and Christian neighborhoods of the Old City, and the clergy of the Armenian Patriarchate, including the Patriarch Father, joining the community demonstration - Danny Rothman and George Warwar also had to leave. 

After all those incidents, instead of reprimanding Xana Gardens Ltd and its ringleaders Rothman and Warwar who had illegally demolished the asphalt road and part of the fence, and removing them from the area, the Israeli police performed the irresponsibility of notifying the Armenian families (some 4-5 in total) living in the Armenian Gardens’ area to remove. Yet all this was happening in the face of circumstance that the Israeli authorities are only an occupying power in the territory of Old Jerusalem, Israel's jurisdiction has not extended, does not extend and is unlikely to ever extend to the Christian, Muslim or Armenian quarters of the Holy City. More than that, the chorus repeated today by the whole world (including the USA, the EU, etc.) about the establishment of a Palestinian State with the borders of June 4, 1967, means that sooner or later the Old City may pass to Palestinian jurisdiction. 

In general, just as yesterday, so today and in the future, it doesn’t matter within the borders of which country the Holy City appears to be in the given moment. The provisions and properties in the Old City, the territories belonging to the Patriarchates have been established in course of thousands of years, are preserved and guaranteed by the international agreements, therefore any government or state of the day that exists today, and may well not exist tomorrow, cannot dispute or endanger status-quo rights in the eternal Old City.
Thus, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem did an absolutely correct thing when in response to demands issued to the Armenian families for removing from the Armenian Gardens, the Patriarchate released an official statement, assessing the actions of Xana Gardens Ltd and the Israeli police as a clear step aimed at endangering the presence of Armenians and Christians in the Holy City and called on all the Christian communities of Jerusalem to stand up to the Armenian Patriarchate and the community. The members of the Armenian community and the youth on their turn set up tents and established a night duty in the area of Armenian Gardens

In response to the call of our Patriarchate from November 16, on November 18 the joint statement of the Christian communities of Jerusalem and the Holy Land was released in support of the Armenian community. No new development followed after that till the end of December. In the end December our Patriarchate filed a Statement of claim against the Xana Gardens to the court. In response to that, the Xana Gardens’ ringleaders staged an attack on the Armenian Quarter that met the resistance of the Armenian community. But ultimately the David Police of Old City intervened and stopped the clashes, removing the Xana Gardens representatives from the area and even arresting some of them. Hence the case of the void lease agreement of the Armenian Gardens was accepted to proceedings in court, and no new incidents occurred afterwards.

WHY IS THE AGREEMENT VOID?

The fact that the Armenian Gardens’ leasing agreement for 49 years (with permission to extend it for another 49 years) was illegal and subject to cancellation became known not today, but two years ago - in October-November 2021, when a large number of the clergy of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem  (alias The Brotherhood of the Apostolic Throne of Saint James) including Aris Srbazan (His Eminence Archbishop Aris Shirvanyan), Khajak Srbazan (His Eminence Archbishop Khajak Parsamian), Archbishop Gisak Muratyan, Archbishop Vicken Aykazian and other bishops and priests informed with two public announcements (on October 27, 2021 and November 15, 2021) right everyone – from worldwide spread Armenian Diaspora to Palestinian Authority, from Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, that is the guardian of the Christian shrines of the Holy City, to Israeli authorities, that the agreement signed with Xana Gardens Ltd was not presented to the Administrative Council of the Brotherhood, nor to the General Assembly of the Brotherhood, and therefore it wasn’t ratified by the General Assembly.

Such a statement and testimony itself meant that the July 8, 2021 agreement is null and void, because according to the Rules of the Brotherhood of the Apostolic Throne of Saint James (set still in 1863 in Ottoman Empire and partially amended in 20th , 21st centuries) the right to manage the properties of the Brotherhood of the Throne of Saint James is reserved to the Administrative Council and the General Assembly of the Brotherhood. Particularly, in the case of lease transactions for up to 25 years period the Administrative Council also has the authority to decide, but for 25-49 years period the leasing authority lies with General Assembly of the Brotherhood solely.

This rule means that any decision due to be adopted or ratified by the General Assembly of Brotherhood cannot be adopted or ratified via other procedure. If, in their statements of October and November 2021, the members of the General Assembly of Brotherhood had testified that no discussion, or voting or approval of the agreement concluded with Xana Gardens Ltd was conducted at General Assembly, it means the procedure for concluding and approving the agreement was falsified, resulting in a fake document, which cannot have any legal force. Therefore, the lease agreement of July 8, 2021 was void from the beginning.

The agreement in question is indisputably null and void also on the basis of the violation of validity provisions.  As it was clarified in clergymen’s statement from 27.10.2021, according to the Rules of Brotherhood the contracts setting a lease period from 25 to a maximum of 49 years must be signed by at least three incumbents of following offices: the Patriarch Father (in case the Holy See is vacant the Patriarchal Vicar), the Grand Sacristan, the Chairman of the Brotherhood General Assembly and the Chairman of the Administrative Council. Particularly, the signatures of the Patriarch and the Chairman of the General Assembly are mandatory. Still, under the agreement of July 8, 2021 with Xana Gardens Ltd, the signatures of the Patriarch, of the Grand Sacristan and of then the Director of the Real Estate – presently excommunicated and expelled Paret Yeritsyan stand. 

In other words, one of the two mandatory signatures - the signature of the Chairman of the General Assembly of Brotherhood - is missing from the agreement, and on other hand there stands the signature of the Director of Real Estate who did not have any right whatsoever to sign the document. Failure to ensure the validity provisions of the agreement means that it is null and void, and appeared to be such from the very beginning.

To be continued