News in Nagorno-Karabakh resonates as far as Jerusalem, where a large Armenian community lives. Established in the Holy City for more than a century, after fleeing the 1915 genocide, the Armenians of Jerusalem experience the exodus of their Armenian compatriots from Nagorno-Karabakh as a true tragedy.
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Report from our permanent special envoy in Jerusalem, Sami Boukhelifa
As soon as they can, the Armenians of Jerusalem, who have constituted a large community there since fleeing the 1915 genocide, show their support for Nagorno-Karabakh. Like here, during a sports tournament organized in the Holy City, Friday September 29. Some young people proudly brandish the tricolor banner of red, blue and orange, with a white chevron: the flag of Artsakh. “ This is what we call Nagorno-Karabakh », Explains Hagop Djernazian, one of the standard bearers.
“ Artsakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, has been part of Armenia for thousands of yearscontinues the young man. For us, it is an integral part of historical Armenia. It is part of our homeland. And the Armenians of this territory are currently undergoing ethnic cleansing, perpetrated by Azerbaijan “.
“Who better than Israel could understand? »
Hagop is part of the fourth generation of Armenians settled in the Holy Land. So for him, it is impossible not to make a link between the genocide experienced by his great-grandparents in 1915, and the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. “ We feel angerthunders the young man. Once again, the world remains silent, as during the Armenian genocide, and as with every tragedy that marks the History of humanity. »
Hagop is also furious with the Jewish state, one of Azerbaijan’s main arms suppliers: “ It’s a shame. Israel is considered the home of the Jewish people. And the Jewish people lived through the Holocaust. Who better than Israel could understand the pain of a people who are undergoing ethnic cleansing, and who have suffered genocide? ? “. With his community, Hagop is trying to raise funds to help Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh.