Armenian Quarter

Exactly 90 years ago, 9 founding fathers of this club conceived the noble version of creating this club, and aptly called the Jerusalem Armenian Benevolent Union (Paresirats/JABU). That was precisely 10 years after the Armenian Genocide, when the bestial architects of the Genocide embarked on the diabolical scheme of wiping out the entire Armenian Nation until it would become extinct, little did they realize that the dauntless Armenian spirit could resurrect from the pools of blood and heaps of ashes, and continue to work out miracles in every field of arts and sciences, and open universities, schools, churches, convents, humanitarian organization; the creation of this club is but one example of the Armenian creative spirit. The aim of the founding fathers was to create a large home where the community members could come and share together both happy and sad occasions. Subsequently, a constitution for the club was formulated, and later ratified and signed by the incumbent patriarch of the lay, the late patriarch Yeghishe Tourian of blessed memory, and by Ruhi Abdul Hadi, the district commissioner over the mandatory government of Palestine. In the course of time the club had its ramifications- one in the USA, and the other in Australia, both founded on the same benevolent aims as the mother club. The club has no political affiliations whatsoever; its allegiance is both to the mother see of Holy Etchmiadzin, and to the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is worthwhile to mention that ever since the inception of this club, the local Armenian Community has been standing by the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem through thick and thin and will continue to do so. The club was founded solely for benevolent and charitable purposes, and has remained true to its mission to this very day. There was a time when the number of the members was well over 300, that was in the hey days of the British mandatory government, that figure has been dwindling considerably because of migration, also, the young leave in quest of higher education abroad, and once established over there, never come back: it is therefore high time to inject young blood, and to train those who choose to stay here, to assume responsibilities of taking the reins of the club in their hands, just as the present executive board inherited the torch from its predecessors. Worthy of mention are the last three chairmen, the late Mr. Antranig Bakerjian, the late Mr. Garabed Hagopian and of course, Mr. Nazareth Benneyan, they all left a rich legacy which the present executive board has inherited. Heartiest felicitation on 90 years of fruitful activities. Let us hope that the club will continue to flourish for many, many more years to come, under the wise leadership and guidance of its dynamic chairman Dr. Gaby Kevorkian. Heartiest congratulations to our club. Elia Dickranian (April 29, 2015)