Hello John and Doves,
Israel is in another pickle - this
time with Russia and a Christian Section in Old
Jerusalem. Putin is using Russia's power to target
Jerusalem.
"In 2020, Putin presented the
Russian Orthodox Church with a precious diamond: the
Alexander Courtyard in the Old City of Jerusalem." But
it didn't go as planned....
I was not aware of this situation
in Israel. This is not good.
https://www.haaretz.com/putin-to-israel-don-t-send-arms-to-ukraine-1.5352626
Moscow has threatened other
countries if they give military aid to Ukraine...but this
might be different.
It seems that Moscow has
information that Israel has already sent military equipment
and other military aid to Ukraine...and IF they discover
this information is indeed true, they will retaliate against
Israel.
Russia "summoned" the Israeli
Ambassador to explain Israel's position on Ukraine/Russia
war and give him a reprimand. Russia is accusing
Israel of trying to "divert the attention of the
international community from one of the oldest unresolved
conflicts - the Palestinian-Israeli one."
The Alexander Courtyard:
In 1859, the Tsarist Russian
Empire "acquired some land plots outside the walls of the
Old City in Jerusalem. One of the lots is located near
the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the place where
Alexander's Courtyard was founded....In 1948, the UN decided
to give all Russian assets in Jerusalem back to their former
owners...and the Orthodox clerical establishment fled abroad
where it established the Russian Church in Exile."
"...Alexander's Courtyard
was located in the territory controlled by the present-day
Jordan rather than Israel. The Hashemite monarchy
granted all rights to Russian assets to the Russian Church
in Exile. In June 2015, Russian ex-Prime Minister
Dmitry Medvedev ordered a procedure to legalize Russia's
rights to Alexander's Courtyard and the Church of Alexander
Nevsky in Jerusalem. However, in March 2022, an
Israeli court rejected the Russian Federations' claims to
lay its hands on the heritage belonging to someone
else. As a result, April 18, President Putin sent a
letter to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, demanding
transferring Alexander's Courtyard to Russia."
Russia
is blackmailing Bennet’s government to
get Alexander's Courtyard - Robert Lansing
Institute
But there is more to this story -
under former PM Netanyahu, Putin offered an exchange -
(since Medvedev wasn't able to get the courtyard transferred
to Russia) - an Israeli woman being held in a Russian jail
(for hashish charges) for Alexander's Courtyard.
Netanyahu agreed and promised the Alexander Courtyard as
part of a plea deal for the Israeli woman. The Israel
Land Registry commissioner "listed the Russian government as
the owner of the church." A Jerusalem District Court
Judge canceled this deal in March. "The Israeli
government argued that the Russian Federation is the
successor of the Russian Imperial Government, which was
registered as the owner during Ottoman rule."
So now - PM Bennett has to deal
with this because of the Jerusalem District Court
decision. Putin sent Bennet a letter demanding the
transfer of Alexander's Courtyard to Russia. This
is being called a "radioactive hot-potato" dispute over a
Christian church in Jerusalem.
If Bennett decides in favor of
Russia it would mean "the government's ignorance of the
decision of the Israeli court that has found no legal
grounds for transferring the lot to the Russians, as well as
a sign of the Bennett government's weakness. Such a
scenario would undermine the West's confidence in the
Israeli government, as well as Israel's potential for
international mediation. Russia has no interest in
cooperation with Israel, since it mostly relies on Syria and
Iran, as well as Palestinian proxies in the region.
Thus, Alexander's Courtyard transfer to Russia will be used
by Moscow to strengthen its position in the region among
anti-Israel countries."
Russia
is blackmailing Bennet’s government to
get Alexander's Courtyard - Robert Lansing
Institute
"Russia controls, uses, and
assists Palestinian extremist groups to put pressure on
Israel and increase influence in the region. Russian
impact in Palestine is strong due to President Mahmoud
Abbas' long-term cooperation with Soviet intelligence, whose
foreign assets were given to Russia after the Soviet Union
fall."
This is just
very bad timing for Israel. Putin could limit
Israeli operations against Iranians in Syria. This
could embolden Iran and other enemies of Israel.
And here we have the Christian
Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem at the center of a
"radioactive hot potato" for Israel. "Now Israel finds
itself wedged even further between a rock and a hard place,
with the transfer of church property to Putin, now accused
of quite unholy war crimes and genocide, guaranteed to draw
fierce international condemnation." And Russia is
accusing Israel of illegally occupying and annexing
Palestinian territories and preventing freedom of worship at
the Al-Aqsa Mosque."
We'll see if Bennett is going to
sit on this decision for as long as possible...and hope the
Ukraine situation will die down. Or.....
As prophesied, everything will
center on Israel. Everything goes back to
Israel. Jerusalem will be a cup of trembling and a
burdensome stone for the whole world. And now we have
a Christian Church involved in the middle of a very
difficult and delicate situation for Israel.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
Maranatha!
Chance
PS I found out that during
Russia excavations of the this area the Threshold of the
Judgment Gate was discovered. Archaeological
digs that started in 1883 revealed the "Holy
Threshold of the Judgment Gate". This
is one of the most sacred shrines of Christianity.
It was said that Jesus passed through this gate on the way
to His Crucifixion. This is now in the Holy
Sepulchre Church.
https://usefultravelarticles.com/13276-alexander-s-courtyard-in-israel-jerusalem-resort.html