Armenian Clergy Attacked in Jerusalem, Chancellor Issues Statement

Amid the hostilities in the deadly Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a clergy member of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem was physically attacked by a group of Jewish youth, reports
Armenpress.

Following the attack, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem issued a statement strongly condemning the attack against Reverend Father Arbak Sarukhanyan of the St. Hakobyants Monastic Congregation.

Father Arbak was hospitalized for his bodily injuries. He was released from the hospital and is said to be in stable condition.

”The Patriarchate submitted an official complaint to the Police, after which three of the attackers were arrested. We demand that the Police conduct a fair investigation and that the perpetrators be punished in accordance with the law in order to avoid a recurrence of such incidents in the future,’’ said Father Koryun Baghdasarian, Chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

An escalated level of reports of anti-Armenian and anti-Christian rhetoric have been circulating heavily on social media against members of the Armenian clergy in Jerusalem’s historic Armenian Quarter.