ISRAEL: Mister Big, the dashing male star of the hit US series Sex and the City, went in search of some spirituality yesterday when he visited one of Jerusalem's holiest sites, the Wailing Wall.
Chris Noth shared his moments of contemplative silence at the foot of the last remaining portion of the ancient Jewish Temple along with a cabal of cameramen and a chorus of exited Californian teenagers.
Noth, a Catholic, donned a black velvet skullcap for the visit, part of his 10-day tour of Israel as a guest of the Ministry of Tourism, which hopes the star's sex appeal will attract more visitors to the troubled country.
"I feel great solidarity as a New Yorker being here in Israel and I hope to show Americans that they should come here," said Mr Noth upon his arrival at the most holy of all Jewish sites.
"All things begin in Israel no matter what your nationality or your religion. It's of great spiritual passion and value to be here and for me as a Catholic it has a special meaning, as it would for anyone."
Mr Noth was even blessed by a white-bearded Jewish man who held his cream prayer shawl over the actor and had him recite a blessing in Hebrew.
While a group of visiting Californian teenagers were suitably star-struck by Mr Noth's visit, other onlookers reacted with nonchalance and refrains of "Mr who?" Ms Dalia Freed, a 30-year-old "modesty patrol" worker who hands out shawls and skirts to women not suitably dressed to visit the holy site, was distinctly unimpressed.
The New York-based sitcom, with its lustful scenes and candid sexual discussions was the antithesis of what the 20BC remains of the second Jewish Temple represents, she said.
"He represents lust and sex and the shallow things in life, which is the opposite of what the wall represents," she added.
"If sex is the new God then you might as well put a bullet in your head when you are over 50 or 60." But Ms Freed also saw redemption on the horizon for the man who won the heart of the Sarah Jessica Parker character in the six-year series which finished its run earlier this year.
"Maybe it will touch a spark in him that he will feel finite in front of this eternity," she said. "Maybe he will feel more humble and say to himself, 'Look at me, I'm a celebrity but I'm just flesh'."
Journalists latter put it to Mr Noth that many of the ultra-orthodox worshippers at the wall thought sex was obscene.
"Do you think sex is obscene?" he asked the male questioner, displaying the enigmatic charm one would expect of the man whose on-screen persona has always maintained a hint of mystery.
Mr Noth said he also wished to visit the region's other wall - the barrier Israel is building in the West Bank which was recently condemned by the UN World Court.
Israel's tourist industry has been damaged by the ongoing violence during the Palestinian intifada or uprising which erupted more than three years ago, with visitor numbers dropping by almost half.