Imagine opening your mail and discovering that the Russian government wants you to vacate the downtown Jerusalem house in which you have been living for 40 years or more, and hand it over to a Russian delegation without compensation. Four Israelis, aged 60-90 are facing just such an order, and are battling suits filed against them by the Russian delegation. When asked just who this "Russian delegation" is, they respond, "Putin. Our landlord is Vladimir Putin."
The four tenants live at 64 Nevi'im Street, a group of houses built on Russian-owned land toward the end of the Ottoman era, and now have no choice but to hire lawyers, at a cost of tens of thousands of shekels, to fight the eviction notices. The plaintiff in the statement of claim to the court is listed as the Russian delegation, described as a public institution representing the Russian Orthodox Church in Israel.
"Suddenly I realized that I am fighting Putin and the Russian government," says Yehuda Guy, a resident of the building. "I am 70 years old and my children live here with me. This is my only property and [the Russians] want me to leave with no compensation, and even want me to pay them compensation."
Advertisement
"I have been living here for 40 years," says another tenant. "Suddenly they tell me, 'You violated the terms of the contract. You are responsible for building irregularities, so you have to leave.' But all the supposed 'violations' were perpetrated 30 years ago. All these years they never said a thing and suddenly they have woken up and are telling us, 'Leave.' It's crazy."
The property is an internal courtyard surrounded by seven houses ranging in size from 80-200 square meters. This place has a rich history: One of the houses was home to the poet Rachel, while another served as a Turkish administration building and was later occupied by British painter William Holman Hunt. A third house was the residence of Dr. Helena Kagan, Israel's first pediatrician. Kagan, who had emigrated from Russia, was also charged with managing the property. In that capacity she found Jews who agreed to live in the houses, which were inexpensive, but which were in a low demand neighborhood, due to its proximity to the Arab neighborhoods. The tenants purchased the houses on key money arrangements, which today translate to rent of a few hundred shekels a year.
It is difficult to conceive that the tenants of the houses in this now prestigious area, within easy walking distance of both the downtown shopping district and the Old City, are paying such ridiculously low rents. Still, the suit filed against the tenants makes one thing clear: The landlord, being the Russian delegation, wants the tenants out, despite the provisions of the Tenant Protection Law, and without any compensation. In some cases, the delegation is even demanding compensation from the tenants, for irregular construction.
The suit filed against Guy claims he rented a three-room property for 70 Israeli lira per two-month period. According to the suit, requests that he raise the rent have been futile. The suit also contends that Guy invaded an additional room and added it to his house; opened a window in a wall, and parked his car in the courtyard.
The Russian delegation is now demanding about $60,000 compensation for the parking space and the additional space in the house. "In the past few years they have come to us with all sorts of demands," says Guy. "They asked us to pay for parking in the courtyard and for work in the garden. All this is new to us. For 40 years they didn't care about anything. I bought this house from an acquaintance in 1969, and since then I have paid the Russian delegation the stated sum. We were not paying much, but we have raised it, without being asked, in keeping with the cost-of-living index. Over the years I have spent a lot of money renovating the house. They say we changed the house," continues Guy. "They have never visited us. They have no idea how the house looked before. They also do not know what I rented. They claim I took over another room, but it was always like this. I raised my children here."
David Purdis and his mother were vacated from the site about a year ago. Furdis was more forgiving toward the Russian government, but admits that his situation was different. Purdis' parents were not protected tenants, but had rented a 150-square meter house for 30 years. According to the contract, the family had been asked to pay just NIS 18 annually, but that sum had been increased over the years, to NIS 187 and then to NIS 1,000 a year. More recently, the family paid several times that sum, following demands from the church to raise the rent.
"We had nothing to lose, so we decided to leave," says Purdis. "All the other tenants had key money agreements, so their situation is much tougher. Our problem was that we moved into 40-year-old buildings that needed renovating, but any such work was considered a breach of contract by the Russian landlords. What happened is that every few years the management would change and they would come looking for us. They are playing a game, trying to exhaust us, and it is working. That is why everyone feels helpless opposite them. After all, this is an expensive game. They want the property back, which is quite legitimate. A luxury property in central Jerusalem, worth around $30 million is occupied by a few Jews paying barely NIS 30,000 a year." One of the other tenants the Russians tried to evict was 95 years old, and had been living there since 1939. The delegation rejected his family's proposition that they wait till the old man pass away, and then the property would return to Russian ownership without any payment. "They said [the family] had three years to vacate, whether the father was still alive or not," relate the other tenants.
One of the other tenants wanted to sell his home and divide the proceeds as set down by law - two thirds to the Russians and one third for himself. The delegation rejected this proposal and offered the man a ridiculously low sum of several thousand dollars.
In addition to suing the tenants, the delegation is working hard to cancel a contract signed 20 years ago with an Israeli contractor, who wanted to build a seven-story residential and office tower on the site. The contractor says that even though he paid the delegation $125,000 and was in the process of obtaining the necessary permits, to this day the delegation has not registered the property with the Israel Lands Administration's land registry, which is stymieing any progress on his part.
"They view the agreement as null and void, and are doing everything to tire me out. I view their actions as the beginning of a legal battle," says the contractor.
The Russian authorities have been demanding the return of their Jerusalem properties for years, and stepped up their activities in this direction starting in October 2006. Just last year, the Russian Compound, which covers 68 dunams and includes several public buildings, was returned to Russian ownership. Since then Russia is continuing to demand the return of additional properties, including Sergei Courtyard, a compound that Russia claims was expropriated by Israel without compensation.
Sergei Courtyard is a very special, upscale group of buildings inside the Russian compound and has been the subject of talks between Israel and Russia, although Britain is also claiming ownership of it. The whole area - the Russian Compound, Sergei Courtyard and Nevi'im St., has been the object of several giant real estate deals involving Russian businessmen, including Arkadi Gaydamak. Thus a continuum of Russian-owned properties has been created in the heart of the Jerusalem.
"The Russian government is behaving like a landlord who knows very well the sentiments in the Jerusalem market," says attorney Nurit Mazower-Rez, who is representing one of the tenants at 64 Nevi'im St. "The property was neglected for decades and throughout that entire period the delegation never even checked it. They took no interest in what was happening, and the tenants had to shell out for capital repairs that are the responsibility of the landlord. The tenants spent tens of thousands of a year, for example, on sealing the roofs, replacing the main water pipes and other structural maintenance work. Now, when there is more demand for this neighborhood than ever before, the delegation decides to scrutinize the tenants and behave like a private property owner."
Mazower-Rez says that some of the Russian delegation's actions are justified, but that the neglect over the years has legal ramifications.
"Ultimately, that neglect can be to the landlord's detriment. It can be viewed as tacit approval of the tenants' actions."
Mazower-Rez, whose expertise includes real estate law and the Tenant Protection Law, claims that in recent years there has been an increase in suits against protected tenants by churches that purchased land in Jerusalem in the 19th century. The Ethiopian church tried to evict protected tenants on Ethiopia Street, and the Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches have filed petitions against tenants on Shlomzion Hamalka and Yoel Solomon streets (the pedestrian mall), on Nevi'im St. and in the Old City.
"This is not a political move, but rather a demand by a regular, perhaps neglectful landlord, who was asleep for years and has suddenly woken up with the rise in the price of properties," says Mazower-Rez.
The awakening of the churches concerning their properties has aroused fears among Jewish tenants, who until now had enjoyed peace and quiet. Some of the churches rent the properties at realistic prices to interested Jews, but others are considering bringing in foreign elements. Thus, for example, it is still unclear what the Russian government will do with the Russian Compound, although it will probably be used for diplomatic or consular purposes. The Russian government, represented by attorney Slavik Rodenko of Yaron Rabinowicz law firm, declined comment for this article.
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
