The Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem, Palestine is home to the oldest Armenian diaspora in the world and are currently engaged in a struggle for the historical right to exist on the land they call home. An ongoing land dispute between the Armenians of Jerusalem and a real estate company with alleged ties to settler organizations escalated on December 28 when the Armenian community was attacked by a group of masked settlers.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem canceled a controversial deal in October that would lease the Cows’ Garden to a real estate company to build a luxury hotel. Since then, the company, which allegedly has ties to Israeli settler groups, has sent bulldozers and armed groups to take the land and commence construction by force. For the past two months, Armenian community members have launched a 24-hour sit-in to protect the Cows’ Garden, setting up tents and mattresses and refusing to move.

-Armenian Weekly article, “The more they attack, the more resolute we become” by Lillian Avedian

We stand with those resisting displacement and dispossession. For those who have not taken the time to learn from the wells of knowledge being shared from Palestinians: the occupation is settler colonialism. The voice of the people is louder than the boom of a cannon. Long live the resistance.

No matter how many times they try.
No matter how many settlers they bring.
No matter how many terrorists they bring.
No matter how many guns they point at us.
We will not be intimidated,
we will not back down,
and we will protect our Armenian community
and 2,000-year-old heritage in the Holy City of Jerusalem!

@SavetheArQ

I was asked to create a piece by a community member who is organizing an Armenian delegation of folks in the California Bay Area who are participating in demonstrations. The clay of the land is held within each piece of pottery, adorned by the colors of the region. This pieces was inspired by the famous Armenian ceramics of Palestine and the workshops that have been around longer than the settler state. This piece is available for free download to print and disseminate widely. Four layer risograph prints are available with 1/2 of the proceeds going to the Legal Defense Fund organized by the Tatoyan Foundation.

#SavetheArmenianQuarter