On this edition of Parallax Views, Armenian Christian in the Old City of Jerusalem are purportedly under threat from Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir-backed settler movement as per reporting from The Armenian Weekly and The New Arab. Additionally, statements have been released by the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem and the Christian Scout Groups of Jerusalem.

Dr. Bedros Matossian of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln joins us to discuss this troubling situation which involves settler extremists as well as a company known as Xana Gardens Ltd and its owner Danny Rothman (aka Danny Rubenstein). We also discuss the history of the Armenian people in Jerusalem, the Armenian diaspora and the Armenian genocide, Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey, The Cow's Garden, and much more.

Dr. Matossian's bio:

Dr. Bedross Der Matossian born and rasied in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, is Professor of Modern Middle East History and Hymen Rosenberg Professor in Judaic Studies; and Vice Chair of the Department of History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he began his graduate studies in the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. He completed his Ph.D. at Columbia University in 2008 in Middle East History in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies. From 2008 to 2010, he was a Lecturer of Middle East History in the Faculty of History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His areas of interest include ethnic politics in the Middle East, inter-ethnic violence in the Ottoman Empire, Palestinian history, and the history of Armenian Genocide. 

Der Matossian is the author, editor, and co-editor of seven books. His latest edited volume, Denial of Genocides in the Twenty-First Century, published by U. of Nebraska Press (2023), documents how modern genocides have adapted with new strategies to augment established modes of denial. 

A powerful image from the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem taken by the prominent Armenian photographer Garo NalbandIan. Armenian priests standing in front of the tractor that destroyed the wall of the Armenian Seminary.