Armenians in Palestine face uncertain future

Saturday, April 25, 2015

The community is under threat, residents say, amid problems with Israeli policy and economic malaise.

Church officials say the number of Armenians in Palestine has dropped from about 15,000 in 1948 to 4,500 today [Emily Mulder/Al Jazeera]

As Armenians in Palestine mark 100 years since their ancestors fled Anatolia during the 1915 massacre in the twilight years of the Ottoman Empire, the community faces more threats to its survival than ever before.

Similar to other Palestinians, Armenians report growing pressure amid the government-sponsored "Judaisation of Jerusalem," while harassment of clergymen by Jewish hard-liners has been reported in the streets of the Armenian Quarter.

These are only the most visible of the challenges facing the community, which church officials say has declined from a peak of around 15,000 in 1948, to 4,500 today. Israeli discrimination, economic decline and political insecurity have taken a toll on Armenians, encouraging emigration.

A century after the community was nearly annihilated, Armenian Palestinians today say they feel deeply at home in the Holy Land, but fear how much longer they will be able to hold on.