The American-Armenian Political Action Committee thanked congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for meeting them and shared a picture of her with representatives of the Armenian Church in Washington.

The PAC claims that it "stands beside other groups to have struggled with oppression historically and today. Learning about other subjects and teaching subjects of our own is crucial to building civil rights, migrant rights, refugee rights, and social justice for all.”

Tlaib spread false information that the deaths at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza were caused by an Israeli air strike, when they were in fact caused by a failed Palestinian rocket launch, blamed President Joe Biden for supporting genocide against Palestinians, and was formally rebuked by Congress for spreading misinformation and incitement against Israel and direct calls to destroy Israel and its population.

Tlaib claims that the expulsion of Armenians from Jerusalem in modern times is similar to the expulsion of Palestinians.

The background for her statements is a dispute that began many years ago when a 99-year-lease was granted in the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem for the development of a new luxury hotel in the area.

According to a hearing recently held in a Jerusalem court regarding the land and parking lot, the land is in the Old City of Jerusalem, on approximately 11,500 square meters, including the parking lot. The land has been held by the Armenian patriarchy, which also claims that they hold it in trust for all members of the Armenian community. Several members of the community have stated their dissatisfaction with this, and sued against the policy requiring them to pay hundreds of shekel every month for parking while in practice the lot serves only to prevent further building.

The renewed lease has created intense controversy between the Armenian community and the patriarchy that has leased the area for a considerable period of time, and led to protests and blocking earthmovers to prevent further construction or ‘seizing of the land’, as it has been dubbed by the Jordanian authorities for the holy places of Jerusalem, who encourage the conflict.

The real estate held by the Armenian Church in the Jaffa Gate area is exceptionally valuable, and the fights for some of the buildings have led to significant crises within the Armenian patriarchy.

“This is a fight between different parts of the Armenian community over real estate, but is it really worth it for that to direct lowly slander at Israel of ethnic cleansing, to attach oneself to the Palestinians and enemies of Israel such as Tlaib, and to slander Israel in Arabic media while the Arabic world is already enraged due to the war in Gaza and gives a strong backing to any attempt to criticize Israel?” asked a party involved in the proceedings.