"Armenian Community Steps Up Resistance to Land Deal as Xana Gardens Intensifies Violent Takeover Efforts"

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Demolitions Underway

On Sunday, November 12, 2023, a Xana Gardens bulldozer attempted to demolish a stone wall by the Armenian parking lot. The Armenian community immediately organized themselves and set up a barricade to block access to the site.

At 7:00 a.m. the next day, two bulldozers showed up and attempted to tear down the barricade. They were confronted by community members who created a human fence, preventing the bulldozers from moving.

The community members were joined by the Patriarch, and again they erected a tent to maintain a physical presence on the site.

Substantial Escalation

Despite the valiant efforts of Armenian community members, some of the area has been bulldozed, and more settlers with heavy arms showed up.

On Wednesday, November 15, things got especially tense when around 20 Israeli police forces showed up. Although the community argued that no legal decision had been made about the property and no permits had been secured for the demolition work, the police demanded the premises be vacated and threatened that they would detain and arrest the community members. They then did in fact detain three people—one of them a minor—for answering back to them, presumably to intimidate the group; the three were soon released. The two adults were ordered to stay away from the site for 15 days.5

Hagop Djernazian, an active member of the Armenian community and a spokesperson on this issue, has noted that the Israeli police has been cooperating with the company to remove the community members and take possession of the land. In a public statement dated November 17, he described the armed people who barged into the area as “mafia” that were hired to harm and provoke the community members and priests.

Urgent Pleas

On November 16, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem released an urgent communique, saying “The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is under possibly the greatest existential threat of its 16-century history,” which “fully extends to all the Christian communities of Jerusalem.” The statement concluded, “We plead with the entirety of the Christian communities of Jerusalem to stand with the Armenian Patriarchate in these unprecedented times as this is another clear step taken toward the endangerment of the Christian presence in Jerusalem and the holy land.”6

On November 17, the Armenian National Committee issued a statement on the matter:The Armenian National Committee–International, working in concert with the global network of Armenian National Committees, strongly supports the Armenian community of Jerusalem and the Armenian Patriarchate in protecting their millennia-old rights.
The settlement of this matter must be made exclusively on the basis of local and international laws, without the threat or use of force...

On November 18, 2023, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem added their voice with another communique, which stated, in part:

We as the Christian community of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, share grave concern over the recent events taking place in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. In recent days, a contested contract for development on a considerable portion of the Armenian Quarter has been declared canceled. Instead of it being handled through the proper legal channels. The alleged developers have decided to hire armed provocateurs, obstruct parking entrances, and begin demolition work.
We are worried that these events potentially endanger the Armenian presence in the area, weakening and endangering the Christian presence in the Holy Land . . .
We are convinced that matters of this nature should be handled only through legal negotiations and procedures to avoid further escalations and violence.8

As of this time, the community intends to guard the land with their own physical presence around the clock. Several community members made it a point to sleep on the site. Worried and exhausted, they nevertheless have found great strength in working collectively to protect the area. They have been providing tea, coffee, soups, and food—and have even been organizing leisurely activities (such as playing UNO and having informal lectures) to keep each other company during this difficult time. They have also set up an online fundraiser to gather resources for legal and organizing expenses to raise awareness about this urgent issue.

The creative and ingenious ways in which the Armenians have been organizing themselves offers a lesson in the power of collective work...