Israelis Pay Extravagantly For Fleabag Hotel, Are Condemned

When Arabs sell property in Jerusalem to Jews, they know they can charge far more than the properties are intrinsically worth, because the buyers have non-economic, religious reasons for buying these properties.

Sometime before 2005, a fleabag hotel at the entrance of the Christian Quarter was sold at an extravagant price to a Jewish organization, Ateret Cohanim, by its owner, the Greek Orthodox Church. A report on this sale, and attempts over seventeen years to annul it, are discussed here: “EU condemns Jews legally buying a disgusting, dilapidated hotel property in Jerusalem,” Elder of Ziyon, March 31, 2022:

EU and Palestinians tweeted, “EUREP, MS & like-minded states attended a meeting with the heads of churches to discuss the ongoing settler occupation of the Little Petra hotel at the entrance of the Christian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, owned by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. Urge Israeli authorities to immediately deescalate the situation and take measures to fully protect the presence and heritage of the Palestinians and Christian community in East Jerusalem.”

Haaretz reported earlier this week:

Following an 18-year legal battle, members of a settler organization have moved into the Petra Hotel in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Currently, Ateret Cohanim occupies only part of the Petra Hotel. Located near Jaffa Gate, the hotel is one of two large buildings the organization bought from the previous Greek Orthodox patriarch, Irenaios, in a controversial deal. The other is the nearby Imperial Hotel.

When the deal came to light in 2005, it sparked a major crisis within the local branch of the Greek Orthodox church that culminated in Irenaios’ unprecedented dismissal. His replacement, Theophilos III, then tried to repudiate the deal and get it overturned.

But the Jerusalem District Court, and later the Supreme Court, ratified it, despite concluding that there were “shadows and black holes in the moves that led to the agreement’s signing.” Among other things, it was proven that Ateret Cohanim had paid a church official.

Sunday morning, Ateret Cohanim members entered the building’s first floor under police escort. Under the terms of the lease, this floor is separate from the rest of the hotel, which is why the organization was able to take possession.

The Hotel Petra was bought sometime before 2005 (which is when the sale by the then-head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, Patriarch Irenaios, to the Jewish group came to light). Even though Israeli courts have at long last, after long court battles, ratified the sale, the Israeli owners have still not tried to take possession of more than the first floor; they are still waiting for an eviction order to remove the Arab squatters on the upper floors.

While the article notes some accusations of questionable conduct by Ateret Cohanim in regard to other property purchases, the purchase itself was 100% legal and they have every right to take possession. 

But the EU, so concerned about the law when it can be interpreted against Israel, wants it to be ignored when it supports the position of Jews. Buying a building and moving in is “settler occupation,” and of course all “settler occupation” is illegal. 

Ateret Cohanim is an organization dedicated to buying property in Jerusalem so as to expand the Jewish presence in the holiest city in Judaism. East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in 1980, and the Jews living in it are not “settlers,” as the Israelis living in Judea and Samaria are called, but ordinary citizens of Israel.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is trying to incite violence over this, by “warning” that Jews buying property is likely to cause violence:

This act is extremely dangerous as it regards community relations on the ground. Acting in this illegally aggressive manner against a known Christian property and an Arab business –particularly ahead of Easter and Ramadan – could likely ignite local hostilities similar to what was witnessed last year in Sheikh Jarrah. Not to mention the timing that Mati Dan and his organisation, Ateret Cohanim, are choosing on the eve of Secretary Blinken’s arrival in the region.

This “extremely dangerous” act refers to the understandable desire of the Jewish owner of the property, after 18 years of legal wrangling that went all the way to Israel’s Supreme Court, which ruled, as had the courts below, in its favor, to take possession of what it has owned for a long time. Why is that “extremely dangerous”? Because the Greek Orthodox Church, and the Arabs, are threatening to use violence to prevent Jews from moving onto their own property. And therefore, in this crazed calculus, it is the Jewish owners who are responsible for any violence that might ensue.

More of the statement from the Patriarchate:

In response to this illegal activity, local residents, business owners, and priests are demanding definitive action. Patriarch Theophilos III has been consulting heavily with the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem and receiving counsel from all sides. The Church is doing all that it can to stop these actions, protect the tenants, and come to a lawful and peaceful resolution. However, there is tremendous pressure to address these actions in a powerful way. The Church fears certain actions could quickly escalate and ignite a very turbulent scenario in the Old City.

This is a typical response — not to call on Palestinians to be calm and accept the Supreme Court’s ruling but, rather, to “warn” that what Jews do, in moving onto their property, can cause Palestinians to turn violent. Note the obvious threat: “there is tremendous pressure to address these actions [by the owners’ attempt to move in] in a powerful way,” and “certain actions could quickly escalate and ignite a very turbulent scenario in the Old City.”

Elder of Ziyon notes that “the hotel itself looks like a dump. TripAdvisor reviews tell horror stories and show photos that are stomach-turning.”

See the photographs of the Petra Hotel here.

Ateret Cohanim probably paid millions for this fleabag motel whose previous owners wouldn’t invest a dime in it.

In any other city, the property would be condemned and the owners fined.

As usual, no one shows interest in these properties until Jews do. Then they suddenly become holy places of utmost importance to the future of the free world.

After 18 years of trying to enforce its property rights, it is just possible that the long-suffering Ateret Cohanim will manage, with the help of the Israeli police, to at long last take possession of that godforsaken fleabag, the Petra Hotel, and to transform it into a place worthy of the city and the site.