Kim Kardashian and her entourage popped over to Palestine on Monday after spending five days in Armenia - having her and Kanye West’s daughter North West baptised in a 12th century Armenian church in Jerusalem.
North West was baptised in the St. James Cathedral, with Khloe Kardashian serving as her godmother.
While the Kardashian clan’s trip to Armenia won wide praise for drawing international attention to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide – during which more than a million Armenians were killed in a series of massacres and forced displacements in modern-day Turkey – the trip to occupied Palestine is marred by a meeting with the Israeli mayor of occupied Jerusalem.
Her meeting with Nir Barkat drew some protest on Twitter – especially the fact that it was billed as a trip to Israel and Jerusalem.
It’s always a bit dangerous when Hollywood stars come knocking in the Middle East – and who would expect a reality TV star like Kim Kardashian to wade through the contentious politics very carefully – but meeting with an Israeli official while she is on a trip raising awareness of crimes against humanity seems especially problematic.
Barkat told the Jerusalem Post that he invited the Kardashians to "to be ambassadors of Jerusalem and to spread the message around the world that Jerusalem is open and everyone is wanted here."
The family is set to head to Jordan next – hopefully they are taking Barkat’s message to the Palestinian refugees who would love to return to their rightful home.