Israel is waging a taxation assault on Jerusalem’s Christian presence, endangering its very survival: Patriarchs and Heads of The Churches in Jerusalem renew their condemnation of unjust foreclosure hearing against Armenian Patriarchate, urging immediate intervention.

Kegham Balian

@kbalian90

Jerusalemite Armenian 

https://x.com/SavetheArQ   The official page of the movement for the defense and preservation of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem  #Save_the_Arq

The Jerusalem municipality has frozen all bank accounts belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem. According to Protecting Holy Land Christians, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is now unable to pay salaries to its clergy, teachers, and staff. Other churches face similar disputes. A court case brought against the Armenian Patriarchate by the Jerusalem municipality is set to be discussed in September.

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, center, at the Church of the Nativity during Christian Orthodox Christmas Eve in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, January 6, 2023. (AP/Nasser Nasser)

By Rossella Tercatin

Today, 3:09 pm

The Jerusalem municipality has frozen all bank accounts belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, according to a statement from a group founded by Theophilos III, the Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem.

“On Wednesday, August 6th, the Jerusalem Municipality unilaterally decided to freeze the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem’s bank account. It is our understanding that the reasoning behind this decision is related to the issue of Arnona,” property tax, the statement says.

The dispute between the municipality and several churches that hold property in Jerusalem has been going on for several years.

A decades-long agreement between the churches and the State of Israel had prevented the Jerusalem municipality from collecting property tax from Christian institutions.

However, in 2018, the city decided that the exemption for churches applied only to properties used “for prayer, for the teaching of religion or for needs arising from that” — excluding activities serving pilgrims such as guesthouses and coffee shops — and began to seek to collect bills for tens of millions of shekels.... READ MORE https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/jerusalem-freezes-greek-orthodox-patriarchates-bank-accounts-over-tax-dispute/

Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem Condemn Unjust Foreclosure Against Armenian Patriarchate, Urge Immediate Intervention.

Munther Isaac منذر اسحق

@MuntherIsaac

Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem Condemn Unjust Foreclosure Against Armenian Patriarchate, Urge Immediate Intervention.

The 1,700+ year old Armenian Christian Quarter in Jerusalem (and all faith based communities of the Holy Land) are in dire danger as Israel engineers more land & property grabs

 

Armenian Quarter in the old city of Jerusalem, historically Palestine

Old City Jerusalem Neighborhoods

Nine Quarters of Jerusalem- A New Biography of the Old City by Matthew Teller, lets the communities of the Old City speak for themselves. Ranging through ancient past and political present, it evokes the city’s depth and cultural diversity.

In Jerusalem, what you see and what is true are two different things.

Maps divide the walled Old City into four quarters, yet that division doesn’t reflect the reality of mixed and diverse neighbourhoods.

Beyond the crush and frenzy of its major religious sites, much of the Old City remains little known to visitors, its people overlooked and their stories untold.

Nine Quarters of Jerusalem lets the communities of the Old City speak for themselves. Ranging through ancient past and political present, it evokes the city’s depth and cultural diversity. Matthew Teller’s highly original ‘biography’ features the Old City’s Palestinian and Jewish communities, but also spotlights its Indian and African populations, its Greek and Armenian and Syriac cultures, its downtrodden Dom Gypsy families and its Sufi mystics.

The book discusses the sources of Jerusalem’s holiness and the ideas – often startlingly secular – that have shaped lives within its walls.

It is an evocation of place through story, led by the voices of Jerusalemites.... READ MORE  https://www.matthewteller.com/nine-quarters-of-jerusalem/

MATTHEW TELLER

https://www.matthewteller.com/ 

My newest book Daybreak in Gaza: Stories of Palestinian Lives and Culture (Saqi Books, 2024), co-edited with Palestinian friends Mahmoud Muna, Juliette Touma and Jayyab Abusafia, gathers almost a hundred accounts of Gazan lives and stories from before and during Israel’s ongoing assault, by Gaza’s writers and artists, but also its doctors and shopkeepers, its farmers and students and office workers. ‘A most significant collection, one that frightens, awes and inspires,’ said Philippe Sands. Suad Amiry called it ‘essential reading’ and Fatima Bhutto said: ‘Daybreak in Gaza must be shared with the world.’

My previous book Nine Quarters of Jerusalem: A New Biography of the Old City (Profile Books and Other Press, 2022) reassesses histories and outlooks on Jerusalem as told through stories of the communities that live – and have lived – inside the city’s walls. Jonathan Dimbleby called it “original and illuminating” and Raja Shehadeh said it “reveals the Old City of Jerusalem better than any other book written about the city.” It was the Observer‘s ‘Book of the Week’ and a ‘Book of the Year’ in the Daily Telegraph, Geographical magazine and elsewhere.

My book Quite Alone: Journalism from the Middle East 2008-2019 collects some of my travel, feature journalism and news reporting.  

 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

Like Palestinians in the rest of east Jerusalem, most Armenians do not hold Israeli citizenship but only residency...

Only around 2,000 Armenians remain in the Old City quarter after waves of immigration primarily to the United States and Europe since the 1960s.

Like Palestinians in the rest of east Jerusalem, most Armenians do not hold Israeli citizenship but only residency... READ MORE   https://news.yahoo.com/jerusalems-armenians-vow-keep-fight-102652851.html

Jerusalem's Armenians vow to keep up fight against 'settler' project

Wafaa Essalhi and Majeda El-Batsh

Fri, December 29, 2023 

 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES or quotes or watch videos IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

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some images from Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter

 St. Mark's Chapel, Armenian Quarter, Jerusalem

St. James' Cathedral, Armenian Quarter, Jerusalem

Jerusalem Old City Shrines & Gates

#AlQuds - #Jerusalem...#Palestinian Shopkeeper, early 1900s Palestine

Jerusalem's Armenians face uncertain future

In this photo taken Friday, May 6, 2011 Armenian Kevork Kahvedjian, sits inside the Elia Photo Service shop that he owns, as he poses for a photo, in Jerusalem's Old City. One of the four quarters of old Jerusalem belongs to the Armenians, keepers of an ancient monastery and library, heirs to a tragic history and to a stubborn 1,600-year presence that some fear is now in doubt...
In this photo taken Friday, May 6, 2011 Armenian priest Father Samuel Aghoyan, prays after lighting a candle as he poses for a photograph in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, inside Jerusalem's Old City. One of the four quarters of old Jerusalem belongs to the Armenians, keepers of an ancient monastery and library, heirs to a tragic history and to a stubborn 1,600-year presence that some fear is now in doubt. Buffeted by Mideast forces more powerful than themselves and drawn by better lives elsewhere, this historic Jerusalem community has seen its numbers quietly drop below 1,000 people

• Jerusalem's Armenians face uncertain future