Jerusalem Deputy Mayors visit Cows’ Garden, stress need to safeguard Armenian presence

(Horizon Weekly) – Senior municipal officials from Jerusalem paid a visit to the Cows’ Garden site in the Armenian Quarter on Thursday, January 1, underscoring growing concern over the future of the Armenian presence in the Old City.

Deputy Mayor Yossi Havilio, Deputy Mayor Adir Schwartz, City Council Member Dr. Laura Wharton, and Israeli activist and interfaith scholar Yisca Harani toured the area alongside members of the Save the ArQ movement, representatives of the Armenian community, and the community’s legal team. The visit included an on site briefing and detailed discussions on recent developments affecting the Armenian Quarter and the disputed Cows’ Garden area.

Participants agreed on the importance of maintaining open channels of communication and continuing dialogue to address the challenges facing the quarter. In closing remarks, the visitors emphasized that the Armenian community has been an integral part of Jerusalem for over a millennium and that its presence must be preserved as part of the city’s cultural and historical fabric.

The visit comes amid heightened concern within the Armenian community over attempts that could undermine Armenian land rights and weaken the community’s long-standing and historic presence in the Old City. As Horizon Weekly has previously reported, what is unfolding in the Armenian Quarter is widely seen not as a routine property dispute, but as a development with far-reaching implications for the future of the Armenian presence in Jerusalem.