Ethiopian royal family to sell property in Jerusalem to foreign nationals

As recalled, this property’s ownership was in dispute between the Royal Family and the EPRDF government in Ethiopia since 1999. The would-be Empress acquired the land, which is situated on Dvora Hanevia St. no 4 and 6 in Jerusalem through the mediation of the Ethiopian Consul in Jerusalem at the time Ato Paulos in early 1928, and was legally registered under the names of the late Emperor and Empress on January 25, 1928.

Recently, the EPRDF government appealed to an Israeli court and was able to have a temporary restraining order issued against the Royal Family’s usage of the property, which was also cancelled by the District Court. The EPRDF government was represented by Adv. Itzhak Hennig, and the survivors of the Emperor and the Empress by Adv. Tzvi Shamir.

In 1956, the current building was constructed and two Ethiopian residents of Jerusalem in the early '60s and early '70s, respectively Ato Gebremedhin Gezahagn and Ato Betsha Bayeleyegn bought very small parts of it in return for paying key money, which granted them semi-ownership rights of the premises, while exclusive ownership of the land still remained under the names of the Emperor and Empress.

These residents still live there till today. In addition, another part of the building was purchased by the Ethiopian community association also through key money, and was used for the benefit of the Ethiopian community at large, while the remainder of the building was rented to Israeli citizens.

During all these years the property was administered by the Office of Ethiopian Church and Government Properties, which is today under the EPRDF government. By the time of the death of Empress Mennen in February 1962 and Emperor Haile-Selassie in August 1975, the ownership question was not settled and the ownership of the property was not transferred to members of the Royal Family, who one would think are the natural inheritors, even though in the will left by the Empress this particular asset was not mentioned.

This of course formed the nature of the dispute between the Ethiopian government and the Royal Family in exile.

In 1986, Prince Asfa-Wossen tried to claim ownership of the above-mentioned property; nevertheless, due to an inappropriate process of law followed by the Prince the matter was not settled. As a result, the Derge government asked Adv. Mekbib Tsegaw from the Ministry of Justice, to formulate a legal opinion on the matter, which was to be used by the EPRDF government that rallied Ato Mekbib to its assistance too.

Ato Mekbib, relying heavily on the Royal Edict issued in 1908 by Emperor Menelik and remaining intact till 1943, which decrees that “the state treasury is the treasury of the king and kingdom…” tried to prove that the Emperor had no in fact personal treasury or property and that what the Emperor owned belonged to the state since it was purchased from the state’s treasury.

Nevertheless, Mekbib ignored Article 2(a) of the same Edict which entails that the King may transfer the ownership of the property to his inheritor or to the Heads of Churches, to hospitals or confer it as a donation…” In addition, Mekbib overlooked the 1955 constitution in which Article 19 stipulates that “all the property under the name of the Emperor or the Royal Family is a private property…”

The EPRDF government also claimed that according to the nationalization law by the Derge government, all property within the country belonged to the state (Royal property outside the state is included as well), and each citizen was allowed to own not more than one property. Nevertheless, this argument was not found to be legally binding and the Israeli court disputed the extraterritorial validity of the law.

Following this decision, the District Court ordered the EPRDF government to pay 50,000 NIS (equivalent to 12,000 USD) to the survivors of the Empress as reparations. Even though one would be doubtful about the prospects of this whole case, since on the one hand stands a tyrant regime that has stained its hands with the blood of innocent civilians while on the other remnants from the old regime, an elite who in the second half of the 20th century lived a lascivious and corrupt life in face of the extreme suffering and poverty of the vast majority of the common masses, the picture soon becomes clearer.

Past Emperors and Empresses normally enjoyed a farsighted vision for their country and people and had great interest in entering the books of history through accomplishing mighty deeds. Jerusalem bears witness to all this. In this spirit, from the times of Emperor Caleb to Emperor Haile-Selassie, we witness in Jerusalem and the Holy Land a rich historical legacy of churches, monasteries and properties that were contributed by the Royalty and dignitaries to the benefit of the Ethiopian Church and people.

Empress Mennen herself purchased a piece of land by the Jordan River in 1933 in which she had the Church of the Holy Trinity constructed. Nevertheless, now it seems that this practice has been abandoned and replaced for egoistic self-interests of corrupt elites with a very dim and narrow view of history and civilization.

In this respect, the intention of the ‘new’ owners of this property in Jerusalem to sell it to Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews, who have roamed for so long to get their hands on it, has been established. If so, the current inhabitants will be undoubtedly evicted and any sign or emblem of Ethiopianess that the site once had will be erased forever.

It is misleading to believe of course that this site’s importance lies only in its historical, and religious significance as a place that was once owned by Emperor Haile-Selassie and Empress Mennen, but it is also in its cultural, social and communal significance, which the Ethiopian community in Jerusalem worked hard to maintain and highlight for decades through its vivid and vibrating presence in Jerusalem that added up much to the cultural, ethnic and religious mosaic of the city.

The site constituted a place for family and communal gatherings in times of tragedy and celebration. It entertained children parties and shows and decisive community gatherings. Through this site and many others the Ethiopian community relived a glorious past in which rulers gave up willingly and readily their worldly possessions in favor of a superior monastic and spiritual life.

Selling this ‘holy’ site to foreigners can only amount to a treacherous act against the people of Ethiopia and the memory and legacy of HIM Emperor Haile-Selassie and Empress Mennen. Through this act an important part of this memory and legacy of both of them will be irreversibly extracted and extorted from Jerusalem and Ethiopia’s histories once and for all.

So when faced with the dilemma of choice between a tyrant nihilistic regime and a self-centered elite claiming to have royal blood, one ought to remember that in both cases the Ethiopian nation is the one losing a great deal.

Ethiopians in Jerusalem (EIJ)