Why is Israel threatening Christian churches in Jerusalem?

Osama Al-Sharif

 

Two controversial and almost certainly illegal measures targeting churches in occupied East Jerusalem have been suspended by the Israeli government following a historic three-day closure last month of Christianity’s holiest site; the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In a rare show of unity the heads of the three churches running the site; Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian, agreed to shutter the centuries-old gates of the church in the heart of the Old City in protest of the two Israeli moves.

Armenian ceramics artist keeps ancient craft alive in Jerusalem

Ali Dolah

 

In his shop in the middle of the Old City market in Jerusalem, Hagop Antreassian sits among an array of colorful ceramic pottery and tiles, a craft that has been practiced by Armenians for 100 years in Jerusalem.

Antreassian, 73, is Armenian-Palestinian and lives in the Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. For 40 years, he has taken great pride in the craft he learned from his elders while still a child, although he fears that the ceramics and tile making, the mark of the Armenian presence in Jerusalem, may now be disappearing.

Armenian Art Featured at Monumental Metropolitan Museum Exhibit on Jerusalem

Florence Avakian

 

An Armenian monk from Greater Armenia, in the late 14th century wrote, “Jerusalem is the centre from which all laws, grace and prophecy emanate.”

Today, Jerusalem is a city of continuing and turbulent conflict among the proponents of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But in the epic years of 1000 to 1400, it was home to many cultures, faiths and people, more so than at any other time in its history. And the Armenian contribution was profound.

Currently, there is a monumental exhibition of Jerusalem during this time period, entitled “Jerusalem 1000-1400: Every People Under Heaven,” showcasing the prominent role that it played in shaping its creative, universal and complex art of great beauty during these centuries.

New Archives Enhance Armenian Jerusalem History Project

Arthur Hagopian



The Armenian Jerusalem website project, which has been set up with the objective of chronicling and preserving the culture, history and traditions of the Armenians of Jerusalem, is being enhanced in the wake of new archival material contributed by friends around the world.

The new material casts an intriguing light on the vicissitudes of members of this Jerusalem clan, and comes as a timely update to the existing records.

An Armenian Church to Be Turned Into A Community Center in Jerusalem?

Once in a while we hear reports about the woes and problems faced by the dwindling Armenian community in Jerusalem, essentially because of the farfetched policies of the Israeli state. They do not seem to be exaggerated. A wonderful sample was Alistair Macdonald's dispatch for Reuters, dated June 29, 2010. Some paragraphs from the article are worthy to be quoted: