Background: Armenians have their own Quarter of the Old City (one of the four [Jewish, Muslim, Christian and yes, Armenian]) and have had a presence in Palestine for centuries with a dramatic increase in the population after the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 according to historians. Unfortunately, Armenians often face violence due to racial hostility against non-Jewish people in Israel/Palestine including from Jewish settlers in the Armenian Quarter. Recently reports of increased violence against Armenians in Palestine has been documented in publications like Armenian Weekly and The Times of Israel, as part of the ongoing Israeli Occupation.
↑ Kanye West and Kim Kardashian traveled to Armenian St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem for Baptism
↓ Armenians in the procession for Badarak, in Jerusalem | Courtesy of the Armenian Apostolic Patriarchate of Jerusalem MintPressNews, a dependable source of progressive news and hard-hitting journalism published an article entitled “Kim Kardashian Condemns Armenian Genocide Before Visiting Apartheid Israel” on April 16, 2015. What seemed striking was the erasure of Armenian presence in Jerusalem.
Publications largely cited Kardashian’s trip to “Jerusalem” while Zionist media sources referred to her trip as a trip to “Israel” looking to portray a celebrity endorsement of Israel in the American imaginary.
Ann Yacoubian, a Palestinian-Armenian-American responds:
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Today as I was shamelessly procrastinating my chemistry exam preparation and perusing Facebook as usual, an article posted by an Armenian friend caught my attention.:
“Kim Kardashian Condemns Armenian Genocide Before Visiting Apartheid Israel”
Almost instinctively, I immediately liked the post and wanted to share, perhaps a knee-jerk reaction to a headline with both “Armenian Genocide” and “Apartheid Israel” (okay fine, and “Kim Kardashian.”) Perhaps it was naïve, but I had high hopes for this article, assuming it would highlight the parallels in the historic struggles of Armenians and Palestinians or provide a nuanced critique of Kim Kardashian’s recent endeavors. However, as I actually read the article, I was gravely disappointed by the presence of problematic and inaccurate points and what was overall rather shallow, sensationalist, and frankly lazy journalism.
In short, these are my thoughts and (many) feelings:
As an Armenian with roots in Old City who is actually banned from Israel (long, traumatic story for another day), I admit that this article does raise a valid point about Kim Kardashian’s critical although completely unsurprising lack of awareness, complacency and comfortable oblivion from these painful issues, as well as undeniable and blatant privilege, as she can visit Jerusalem freely while other Armenians as well as Arabs either cannot or face incredible persecution. Additionally, while I cannot know Kim’s intentions for certain, the spontaneity and casual nature of this brief little venture to the Holy Land made it seem as though it was almost decided on a whim. To me, this felt almost trivializing, to make such a symbolic and important gesture with little knowledge or understanding of the importance of the Armenian Quarter to Armenians.
Aside from that point, the article absolutely has its issues. First, by referring to the Armenian quarter as “Israel,” the article is actually validating the Zionist notion that the Old City and Jerusalem is theirs, a ludicrous claim despite the myths and propaganda that the Western world and Israel perpetuates. Secondly, there is the matter of Kim’s purpose in Jerusalem and what constitutes complacency, support or perpetuation of Israeli apartheid. It would be an entirely different matter if Kim and Kanye had decided to visit “Israel” with purposes of luxurious vacation in Tel Aviv versus visiting simply for one day for a baptism in the Armenian Quarter. A baptism in the Armenian quarter isn’t the same as a beach day in Tel Aviv and a joyride through the illegal settlements. Unfortunately, there is simply no way to visit Jerusalem or the rest of Palestinian territory without some (however minor or indirect) contribution to Israeli tourism, just by the nature of occupied territory and Israeli control of the borders. By that logic, anyone visiting, even for Palestinian activism work or “anti-Israel” purposes, inevitably would be contributing to Israeli occupation. Finally, The author of this clearly lacks fundamental knowledge of the joint struggle of Palestinians and Palestinian Armenians, as most people unfortunately do. There is much to be said about both the parallels and intersectionality between them, both mutual experiences of oppression at the hands of Israel, as well as the overall historic parallels in the narratives of both people. Still, this article sadly addressed neither of these.
Lastly, Kim. I have mixed feelings about her in general, far too many to detail in this blog post. I will admit I was pleasantly surprised that she actually followed through on her lofty plans to visit to Hayastan. Armenia is not always an easy or comfortable place to visit for many reasons, as Diasporan Armenians like myself often experience.. I also appreciate her utilizing her fame to raise awareness to the Armenian Genocide. Still, her actual knowledge and understanding of Armenian issues is definitely questionable, and it is safe to say that her knowledge of Palestine and Palestinian Armenians is likely even more limited. I’m not expecting her to become an expert, but her fame, reputation, and public persona does not excuse her from ignorance and complacency. Kim doesn’t need to be a historian or scholar to have at the very least background on history and relevance of the occupation of Palestine, especially considering her recent visit.
All in all, despite its many issues, this article (at the very least) inspires some important discourse surrounding Armenians, Palestine, intersectionality, awareness and complacency.