Ministers okay Moscow's property claim

The cabinet on Sunday voted to transfer ownership of Sergei's Courtyard in downtown Jerusalem's Russian Compound to the Russian government.






NGO appeals decision to hand over J'lem compound to Russia



The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice on Sunday over the government's decision to hand over ownership of the Sergei Courtyard site in Jerusalem to the Russian government.


The non-profit organization claims that by deciding to transfer the site to the Russian government the Olmert administration overstepped its boundaries as an interim government.


The decision to hand over the Sergei Courtyard, which Russia claims was expropriated by Israel without compensation, was meant as a good-will gesture to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the eve of outgoing prime minister Ehud Olemrt's trip to Moscow.









Sergei's Courtyard


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The courtyard is named for and dominated by a sumptuous guest house constructed in 1890 for aristocratic pilgrims by grand duke Sergei Alexandrovich, then president of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS). Sergei was the son of Tsar Alexander II, brother of the infamous Tsar Alexander III and uncle of the last tsar, Nicholas II.

The entire compound was chartered by the Russians from the Ottomans in 1858 to be used for pilgrim welfare. Then, during World War I, the Turks confiscated the lot.

After the war the British Mandate requisitioned the premises. They came into Israel's possession after independence in 1948.

All the while, White and Red Russian churches vied for the deeds to the courtyard.

In 1964, Israel purchased most of the Russian Compound from the Red Church for $3.5 million worth of oranges. But the Orthodox Palestine Society continued to function in Sergei's Courtyard, which was not included in the "oranges deal." The site became, in effect, a KGB base.







And the picture begins to make a little more sense.


I am a very visual person, so I needed to see where this thing is to understand a little better.



Screenshots from GoogleEarth.






Zoom out a little bit: