Editor-in-Chief of Israelahayer Armenian newspaper, founding president of Nairi Armenian Union of Jerusalem Artyom Chernamoryan was one of the participants of the 8^th Pan-Armenian Forum of Journalists, which was organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora and held on 20-24 October under the title “Armenian Statehood: Axis of Unity”. Chernamoryan shared his impressions of the forum and talked about the Armenian community of Jerusalem in an interview with Hayern Aysor.

Hayern Aysor: Mr. Chernamoryan, when was the first edition of Israelahayer Monthly issued?

Artyom Chernamoryan: As a historical background, I would like to say that the first printing house in the Near East was established in the 1850s in Jerusalem. After that, the “Zion” Western Armenian-language newspaper of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has been issued in an unlimited number of copies. I believe the newspaper has been issued three times over the past couple of years.

In Israel, I established the first Hebrew-language website devoted to Armenia, Artsakh and the Armenian people (www.armenia.co.il). It is one of the exclusive websites in the world where Jews can receive comprehensive information about the history of the Armenian people.

Unfortunately, due to financial difficulties, the website hasn’t been updated for the past two years. So, we found it appropriate to print an Armenian newspaper and laid the foundation for the creation of the Israelahayer newspaper of the Armenian community. Generally speaking, members of the Armenian community had been talking about the need for a newspaper. The first edition of the newspaper was issued in February 2013. We have already issued 30 editions that include information about the Armenian community of Israel, Jewish-Armenian relations, diplomatic meetings, the issues facing the Armenian community, concerts and other events. We also provide a lot of coverage of the Palestine-Israel conflicts since we are also in a heated zone. I must say that we distribute our newspapers across Israel at no cost.

Hayern Aysor: Besides publishing a newspaper, you have also established the Nairi Armenian Union. Could you elaborate?

A. C.: The establishment of the Union was very important for the community. The Nairi Armenian Union was established on May 14, 2005. It is registered by the Ministry of Justice of Israel and is the only legally established Armenian union in Israel, and I am the president.

The community was very happy and excited about the establishment of the Union. The goal of the Union is to not only strengthen the relations with Armenia, but also help establish cordial ties between the Jews and Armenians.

Hayern Aysor: Was this your first time participating in the Pan-Armenian Forum of Journalists?

A. C.: No, it was my second time. The first time I participated was in the 7^th Pan-Armenian Forum of Journalists held as part of the 5^th Armenia-Diaspora Conference organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora (19-21 September 2014). The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem had sent a five-member delegation, and I participated as the president of the Nairi Armenian Union.

As we know, the main goal of the 5^th Armenia-Diaspora Conference was to organize the events dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide in a coordinated manner and, fortunately, we did that with honor.

Hayern Aysor: What events did the Union hold to commemorate the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide?

A. C.: We had discussed the entire program with the RA Ministry of Diaspora in advance and carried them out with the Armenian Genocide Centennial Jerusalem Regional Committee. The activities were coordinated by the head of the Committee’s coordinating council, Head of the Inter-Church Ties and Foreign Relations Department of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Fr. Archimandrite Koryun Baghdasarian. The Committee included representatives of all Armenian organizations and traditional political parties.

One of the commemoration events included a tree-planting ceremony in the Baroun-Ter estate and planted olive trees, each of which has an address. In May 2016, we granted certificates to the planters with a GPS address. Each planter can come from any region of Israel, find his tree and take care of it.

This was a unique initiative, and there hadn’t been such a tree planting in any community or perhaps in the world.

We also organized concerts and over a dozen conferences that gathered experts from France, the United States and other countries. These were the results of the 5^th Armenia-Diaspora Conference.

Our community is small, but we managed to combine our efforts and hold all the events properly. In general, we are able to combine our efforts and use our potential to keep the community strong.

We collaborate with the city of Petakh-Tikva (Gates of Hope), the mayor of which has cordial ties with us. There is an Armenian school, and we have launched a new scout movement.

We are leading a struggle against mixed marriages. We praise Armenian parents who don’t spare efforts to send their children to Armenia for at least a month during their summer vacation so that they stay attached to the Homeland and are filled with patriotism.

Hayern Aysor: Did the 8^th Pan-Armenian Forum of Journalists meet your expectations?

A. C.: Generally, such forums serve as the best platform for raising the issues related to the Armenian community of Israel.

It should be mentioned that the forum had gathered many people. We had the opportunity to explain to them what is really going on in Israel.

Today, everyone is talking about the problems of Syrian-Armenians and the events unfolding in Lebanon, but they forget to touch upon the Palestine-Israel and Arab-Jewish conflicts unfolding in the State of Israel, which borders Syria and Lebanon. As a result of those conflicts, almost one percent of the Armenian community has remained in Israel since 1948. Whereas there were over 20,000 Armenians in Jerusalem in 1948, now there are only 2,000 Armenians living in Jerusalem.

The serious and responsible task of preserving Armenian heritage, the rights of Armenians, Armenian lands, churches and rituals is on the shoulders of these 2,000 Armenians.

Taking the opportunity provided by the forums, I address the state bodies of Armenia to be more attentive towards the Armenian community of Israel since the Armenian community is in a serious situation.

By Gevorg Chichyan