Inter-religious relations in the Old City of Jerusalem are often considered “complex,” not only between Jews and Muslims, but also between Jews and the many different Christian denominations.
On Saturday, June 8, 2019, there was an altercation between Jews and Armenians, in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. The end result – heightened tensions all-around.
Window to Mount Zion was created to decrease inter-religious tensions on Mount Zion, and since its founding in 2015 has expanded its reach to include the Old City as well. Thanks to the relations it has woven with the different religious institutions and leaders, Board member, Rabbi David Rosen, our director Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir and Window to Mount Zion Coordinator Merav Stein, together with representatives of the Israel Police and Yitzhak Pindrus, current Member of Knesseth and former Jerusalem City Council member, met with Armenian religious leaders after the incident to smooth things over.
During the meeting, they discussed the centuries-old Armenian presence in Jerusalem, and the ongoing harassment that the monks and students endure. Most of those responsible are young Jews who come from outside the city and are unfamiliar with Jerusalem’s unique fabric of life and the delicate neighborly relations between Jews and Christians. Together, we decided to put an end to the humiliating and ugly phenomenon by publicly calling on leaders to avoid harming clergy, as well as by holding education and enforcement activities.
Window to Mount Zion with Armenian Leadership
The meeting was covered in two Armenian web sites, one from the Public Radio of Armenia, and the other from the OCP Media Network. Here’s the article in its entirety:
On Tuesday, July 16, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Archbishop Nourhan Manougian received a group of people after the incident when three Jews and their dog attacked the Dean and students of the Armenian Theological Seminary.
The group consisted of Mr. Yitzhak Ze’ev Pindrus, Member of Knesset for the United Torah Judaism Party and resident of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Rabbi David Rosen, International Director of Inter-religious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and of the Robert and Harriet Heilbrunn Institute for International Interreligious Understanding, as well as Board Member of the Jerusalem Intercultural Center, of which Center also the Director Dr. Hagai Agmon Snir, and Mrs. Merav Horovitz-Stein, the coordinator of the Window to Mt. Zion, a cross cultural community engagement project, as well as three high ranking-officers representing the Israeli Police District of Jerusalem.
The members of the delegation expressed their concerns about this particular incident as well as other instances of uncivilized behaviour by Jews towards Armenian clergy members.
They stressed the importance of good relations between the various groups in Jerusalem.
The delegation addresses leaders to condemn, end and prevent humiliating and disgracing acts towards Armenian clergy. The group also calls upon the leaders to educate and enforce civilized behavior from the population.
Here’s the Facebook post in Hebrew, from Window to Mount Zion:
