Israel Must Protect Armenian Christians From Attacks in Jerusalem

Two months ago, in response to the disquiet within the Armenian community, the Armenian Patriarchate decided to exit the contract. Rather than engage in talks, however, the developers mobilized construction equipment and began preparatory groundwork. The Armenian Patriarchate then initiated legal proceedings to annul its agreement with them. Once again, rather than walk the legal route, the disgruntled side, according the Armenian Patriarchate, reacted with violence.

In the past week, Jewish friends and Christian organizations from around the world have reached out to me to express their support and solidarity for Israel’s ancient Armenian community and also their profound concern about the war in Gaza. The attempts to terrorize the Armenian community is an ugly departure from the normality that has characterized relations between Armenia and Israel despite disagreements stemming from the fact that Israel, while refusing to recognize the Armenian Genocide, has sold weapons to Azerbaijan that have been used against Armenia.

By contrast, I saw a glimpse of the helpful side of Israel during my first visit to the Holy Land in the early 1990s as a callow Armenian diplomat. I was granted an audience with Yitzhak Rabin, then the prime minister of Israel. Rabin was a formidable figure, a man who inspired affection and admiration (and even loathing) in his people. But the person who received me was an avuncular teacher. He displayed a surprisingly deep knowledge of Armenia’s past and was curious to know about events in the country. He reminded me that we were both members of ancient civilizations that had survived every attempt to wipe them out.

“We are survivors,” Rabin said. “We should never forget that.” The generosity of the great man was as surprising as it was moving. But he wasn’t done. He offered me any and all assistance. Since survival and state-building were also Armenia’s primary goals at the time, I asked if I could visit the Jewish Agency and other government and non-governmental organizations. I wanted to observe how they worked, and apply that knowledge to newly independent Armenia. Rabin immediately picked up the phone and made all the arrangements.

In 2020, before Azerbaijan launched a war against Armenia, I returned to Israel as Armenia’s president, becoming the first head of state of my country to make an official visit to the Jewish State. The occasion that took me to Israel was the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Almost fifty other heads of state had come to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum. But as a senior Israeli official reminded me, Armenians could relate to the place and all that it memorialized in a “different” way.

As other leaders departed, I was extended an invitation to stay on a while longer. I accepted, and spent the time touring holy sites, visiting Ramallah, and going to Israeli universities. The most memorable portion of my trip, however, was spent discovering Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter, where I met monks, studied manuscripts, and got to the know the local community. The city’s Armenian heritage filled me with pride.