The United States, under the direction of President Donald Trump, officially moved the United States embassy to Israel to the city of Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. The move is controversial globally and in the region.
Jerusalem, a city west of the Dead Sea, remains a place of pilgrimage and worship for Jews, Christians and Muslims for over 2,000 years. Ownership of the area is also in dispute.
When Israel declared independence in 1948, Jerusalem was besieged, and so the city of Tel Aviv, a city on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, served as provisional capital for the nation. The armistice at the fighting's end in 1949 divided Jerusalem between Israel and Jordan.
While the Israeli government maintains it's national government offices in Jerusalem, foreign nations kept their embassies in Tel Aviv.
However, Trump changed that in 2017 when he decided to move the United States embassy to Jerusalem.
Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, represented the White House to officially open the embassy.
Today we dedicated the new #USEmbassyJerusalem, a longtime promise to the American & Israeli people. As Jared share… https://t.co/R85EwQE7qr— Ivanka Trump (@Ivanka Trump) 1526315676.0
What look like vacation photos, with Ivanka posing for selfies with foreign leaders, sparked some outrage back home however.
Deplorable https://t.co/EMGX6xPzva An early look at Tuesday's front... https://t.co/ZAK1Vk5ACW— New York Daily News (@New York Daily News) 1526348868.0
While Ivanka and Jared posed for selfies, Palestinians clashed with the Israeli military leading to over 50 deaths. The New York Daily News criticized the president's daughter for smiling for the camera while people died not far away.
The newspaper called her “DADDY’S LITTLE GHOUL” for being “all smiles” while opening the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. Meanwhile clashes in Gaza led to at least 58 deaths and over 2,700 injuries.
In addition, many questioned the appropriateness of sending Trump family members to officially represent the United States. The U.S. State Department oversees all embassy operations, but were not front and center in this visit.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are not members of the State Department staff. While both hold the title of adviser to the president, there also remain questions about their security clearances.
Kushner previously came under fire specifically for his access to classified information without a completed security clearance.
After the photo ops, people took to Twitter to express their outrage over the Kushner-Trump family's stint in Israel as official representatives of the U.S. government, finding issue with a variety of events.
Jared and Ivanka partying it up in Jerusalem while Israeli forces massacre Palestinians in Gaza is a level of depra… https://t.co/GAv3K0S0P6— Eugene Gu, MD (@Eugene Gu, MD) 1526310788.0
"The juxtaposition of images of dead and wounded Palestinians and Ivanka Trump smiling in Jerusalem like a Zionist… https://t.co/szAjAMzSVn— Keith Boykin (@Keith Boykin) 1526352390.0
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were blessed by Rabbi who compared black people to monkeys during Jerusalem visit… https://t.co/fYz8z4ub83— Newsweek (@Newsweek) 1526387413.0
55 Palestinians killed and 1,300 shot, including women and children in Gaza today: The vile repulsiveness of Jared… https://t.co/VHIfxfRmZh— Bill Madden (@Bill Madden) 1526353325.0
Stephen Colbert mocks Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, or "Peace-Treaty Barbie and Collusion Ken," over Jerusalem em… https://t.co/0qqEXXE9zb— The Daily Beast (@The Daily Beast) 1526375704.0
Today Jared and Ivanka were blessed by one of Netanyahu's favorite rabbis, who believes that non-Jews exist in Isra… https://t.co/2ypY60RoAn— Sarah Kendzior (@Sarah Kendzior) 1526344800.0
Hey, @realDonaldTrump @DonaldJTrumpJr @IvankaTrump -- When your legacies are fully tarnished, here's one of sever… https://t.co/uKsm851kqT— Morgan J. Freeman (@Morgan J. Freeman) 1526393452.0
Rep. @TedLieu calls for closing the "nepotism loophole." "We can't have Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump in the White House."— Sahil Kapur (@Sahil Kapur) 1526393706.0
@sahilkapur @bellablue1060 @tedlieu Jared & Ivanka slithered out from under a rock yesterday in Jerusalem. If they… https://t.co/bAr9gKJ2xy— Connie #TheResistance (@Connie #TheResistance) 1526395580.0
Additionally, several people highlighted Ivanka's foible on the name of the country her father is president of. Did she say the "45th president of the United States UN America" or "ON America"?
Can Trump please be the President of this new country that Ivanka just made up instead of the President of the Unit… https://t.co/0DUNCCU3KT— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@Holly Figueroa O'Reilly) 1526352190.0