The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City. The area, where many ancient churches are situated, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. AP
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City. The area, where many ancient churches are situated, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. AP
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City. The area, where many ancient churches are situated, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. AP
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City. The area, where many ancient churches are situated, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. AP

MENA

Jordan

Christian leaders in Jerusalem speak out about dangers to the community

Senior clergy from different denominations applaud Jordan's King Abdullah II for supporting them

The National

September 28, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Church leaders in Jerusalem have warned of "clear and present dangers" to the Christian presence in the city, echoing a call by Jordan's King Abdullah II last week to stop Israeli encroachment.

In a speech to the UN in New York last week, the king said that the rights of churches in Jerusalem are under threat and that Christianity must remain a main component of the city.

Old Jerusalem, where many ancient churches are situated, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.

"His Majesty’s spearheading of efforts to ring the bells of warning over the deteriorating situation of Christian basic human rights sends a strong message to the world regarding the clear and present dangers surrounding the Christian heritage," read the statement, which was issued on Tuesday.

"We also applaud His Majesty’s public commitment to protect our communities’ historic and legal status quo, thus preserving our safety and future."

It was signed by 13 senior members of different denominations in the city, including Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Apostolic Administrator in the city.

Christian leaders in Jerusalem have repeatedly condemned what they regard as efforts by hardline Jewish groups to displace them.

Jordan says it has custodianship over Christian and Muslim holy places in the city. The 1994 peace treaty between Jordan and Israel does not refer specifically to Jordanian custodianship in Jerusalem but says that Israel respects the “special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem”.

It also commits each side to “provide freedom of access to places of religious and historical significance”.

King Abdullah said in New York that although he is a Muslim leader, he is "committed to defending the rights, precious heritage and historic identity of the Christian people of our region”.

About 2 per cent of Jordan's 10 million people are Christian.

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The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:

Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.

Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.

Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.

Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.

Saraya Al Khorasani:  The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.

(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.

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Updated: September 28, 2022, 2:17 PM
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