Albert Aghazarian

Albert Aghazarian (18 Aug 1950 – 30 Jan 2020)

Early life and education Albert was born on 18 August 1950, in Jerusalem, the youngest of six children. His family is part of the Armenian and Orthodox Christian community of Jerusalem. His grandparents were survivors and refugees of the Armenian genocide. His parents were Elise Tachjian, a seamstress, and Areen Aghazarian, a restauranteur and grocery shop manager.

Albert studied at the Collège des Frères in Jerusalem. He grew up speaking Armenian and Turkish, learning Arabic as a second language as well as English and French. He worked part-time jobs during his youth, including at a newspaper and bank and also in Jerusalem's tourism sector. He is remembered in particular for having "plunged into the fight to develop the university—and to keep it open."

Aghazarian was well known as a historian of Jerusalem and for giving tours of the Old City of Jerusalem to visiting foreign dignitaries, artists, and academics, even bringing them into his private home. He was part of a group of scholars which founded the Arab Thought Forum (al-Multaqa al-Fikri), serving on the forum's advisory board, and he also served on the board of Dar Al-Kalima University. He believed in "the pluralism of the Levant" and an inclusive vision of Arabism that did not prevent an Armenian Christian like himself from participating "in an Arab-Islamic framework."

He lamented and resisted the "criminalization" of education under Israeli occupation. When meeting with Israeli defense officials during years of repeated closures of Bir Zeit, he is recorded as having said:"You treat universities like shops, but education is an ongoing process. We have academic papers, scholarships, and international accords to deal with, yet all you do is open, close, open and close the place again!"

Awards In 2006, Aghazarian was awarded a medal by King Albert II of Belgium for his role in raising global awareness about Jerusalem.