Christians face crisis in Jerusalem as ‘Holy Land becomes Disneyland’
Clergy and faithful claim they are victims of abuse as ‘invasive’ settlers seek to reclaim city for Jews
Atop the roof of the Petra Hotel, almost every major Christian site and denomination in Old Jerusalem is visible. Located by the ancient city’s Jaffa Gate, the strategically located hotel and its neighbours, Little Petra and the Imperial Hotel, are at the heart of an epic legal battle that local Christians say epitomises their struggle to cling on in this holiest of cities.
The fight over the hotels comes as Christians in Jerusalem face a demographic crisis and alleged increasing harassment from radical Jewish groups in the city.
Members of the clergy and local Christians described regular incidents of verbal abuse, vandalism and spitting as well as rare occasions of assault.
The property dispute dates back nearly two decades.
At its heart are a series of deals done under the previous head of the Greek Patriarchate in Jerusalem in 2004 and 2005, in which key properties were sold to Ateret Cohanim, a Jewish settler group, which seeks to “reclaim” land in Jerusalem for Jews.
The Patriarchate, backed by the 12 other major Christian denominations in the Holy Land, insists that the deals were the result of corruption and blackmail. Despite visiting the home of Mati Dan, its leader, The Sunday Telegraph was unable to get a response from Ateret Cohanim.
Two factors have created renewed urgency. Ten days before The Telegraph visited the Petra Hotel, members of Ateret Cohanim forced their way into Little Petra in the middle of the night and occupied it.
The second factor is a looming Supreme Court case in which the Greek Patriarchate will attempt to have the case reopened.
While the court battle continues, Abu-Walid Dajani and the other protected tenants in the affected properties face their own legal fights to fend off what they say are attempts to force them out of their properties.
If the case is lost, the Christian community faces the prospect of losing control of a key area of the Christian Quarter where pilgrims enter on their route to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Christian churches start their processions.
The Patriarchate insists that the row is not about preventing Jews from living where they want to, but stopping a coordinated attempt to change the character of the old city.
They point, as an example, to the
‘They destroy the tyres of our cars, graffiti “death to Christians”, break windows, desecrate our cemetery’
former St John’s Hospice. 250 yards east of the Jaffa Gate, it is the prime example of what the Christian church fears could happen across the quarter.
On the lintel above the entrance is the tau-phi monogram of the Greek Patriarchate, yet the vast building is bedecked with multiple Israeli flags, the windows barred and the stonework crumbling.
In 1990, this hostel for pilgrims was taken over by Ateret Cohanim, causing uproar among Christians and Muslims and leading to the closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in protest.
Yet, more than 30 years later, it remains in settler hands and is the Jerusalem home of Mr Dan.
Sited where it is, it has come to resemble a settler fortress directly abutting the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre. As well as a repeat of St John’s, Christian leaders fear that if the area around Jaffa Gate is taken over by radical settlers, acts of hostility towards Christians will continue.
At the far end of the Armenian Quarter, on Mount Zion, Nikodemus Schnabel works as a monk in the Benedictine Abbey of the Dormition.
He told The Telegraph how more settlers had moved into derelict buildings around the order’s properties, bringing with them vandalism and abuse
“They destroy the tyres of our cars, graffiti ‘death to Christians’, break windows, they desecrate our cemetery, you know, ugly things, and it’s really invasive,” he said.
Father Nikodemus was clear that this is not about Jews or Israelis in general, but a radical minority, with many Israelis unaware that there is even a problem.
These troubles come at a time when the Christian population of the Holy Land appears to be in relative, perhaps even absolute decline.
Economic pressures as well as restrictions placed on Palestinians by Israeli authorities, in particular over family unification, are driving a brain drain, say community leaders.
The worry is not that Christianity’s holy sites will be lost.
Instead, explained Hosam Naoum, the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem, a Palestinian, they fear them becoming effectively museums with few or no local congregants.
“Without what we call the ‘living stones’, as opposed to the ancient stones which are the holy sites, it will leave us thinking about the Holy Land becoming like Disneyland,” he said.