Hannan Adely,Deena YellinNorthJersey.com
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A for-profit company renting out a Teaneck synagogue on Sunday to pitch real estate deals in Israel ― including some in the occupied West Bank ― has drawn calls for protests and investigations after one of the region’s most outspoken Jewish critics of Israel cried foul.
But synagogue members say characterizations of the event at a recent Township Council meeting by Rich Siegel ― who condemns Israel for its treatment of Palestinians and has organized protests of other real estate events in the past ― have been inaccurate. Siegel raised concerns that the settlements violate international law.
“I have heard from residents that they are afraid for Teaneck," said Councilwoman Hillary Goldberg. "I think the overall temperature in town continues to be inflamed, and I personally feel that Jewish fear and pain is not being acknowledged."
The event by My Home in Israel Real Estate will include financial experts and lawyers to explain the complexities of buying real estate in Israel and in three West Bank settlements, advertisem*nts say.
West Bank settlements at heart of debate
The property being marketed in West Bank settlements is the point of contention. Most international bodies and the United States consider such settlements illegal under international law. Israel recognizes 127 legal settlements in the West Bank, according to the Israel Policy Forum, an advocacy and lobbying group that works toward a two-state solution in the Middle East.
The Israel Policy Forum also says there are 200 illegal outposts that have been built in the West Bank without approval from the Israeli government.
The Teaneck event is one of several planned Israeli real estate presentations in the U.S. and Canada that have triggered protests both online and in person outside synagogues where they are being held. Similar events have taken place in the past, but they are getting heightened scrutiny amid tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.
In Teaneck, the planned event grabbed national attention after Siegel's comments at a Teaneck council meeting last month were captured on video and shared on social media.
“People in this community are in deep mourning,” he said. “People in this community are angry. What this real estate event is going to do is it's going to fan the flames.”
He asked the council to call for the event to be shut down: “Please do it. We don't need to have more divisiveness in this community.”
Inflammatory comments?
Organizers of the Teaneck event downplayed its importance and said it is the protesters who are stoking division and trying to "create havoc." In particular, they objected to Siegel's comment that the presentation would be limited to Jews, a claim they said was inaccurate and inflammatory.
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"This is not being run by the synagogue," said Juda Engelmayer, a spokesperson for Congregation Keter Torah, where the event will be held. “It's an informational event being run by a private company renting the venue. It's an educational fair that discusses the tax and financial implications of buying real estate abroad.”
"Some developers may be on hand to talk about apartments around Israel, but no sales will take place," he said, calling the session "strictly informational."
Siegel said he found out about the event in an advertisem*nt in a Jewish publication. My Home in Israel Real Estate has run similar events around the country and in New Jersey for decades without incident, Engelmayer said. An official with the real estate company declined to comment when reached Monday.
Two Muslim civil rights organizations have called on the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General to investigate the matter, inquiring whether the housing event is discriminatory. Spokesperson Tara Oliver said in an email that the state Division of Civil Rights “does not comment on potential or pending enforcement matters.”
New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination makes exceptions for religious groups selling or renting property to limit admission or give preference to people of the same religion or denomination.
Claims of discrimination
Advertisem*nts for the event don't say it is limited to people of the Jewish faith, but critics said that was implicit. Teaneck resident Adam Weissman, also a pro-Palestinian activist, said it is “clear who this event is for and who it is not for.”
“If they are willing to allow people from the Muslim community to enter premises and complete a sale, great, but I do not think that will be the case,” Weissman said.
Siegel raised concerns that the West Bank settlements are exclusively Jewish. “They can’t in good faith sell real estate to people who won’t be able to move in,” he said.
Synagogue members rejected allegations that the event violates any laws. Chana Shields, a longtime member of Keter Torah, said “wildly inaccurate statements” about the event have “maligned my synagogue and the Jewish community with preposterous false accusations of illegal activity.”
Emma Horowitz of Teaneck said she attended a similar real estate event in the past and that it was open to people of all backgrounds.
“There’s no language on their flyers restricting admission to anyone,” she said. “My experience is that these types of events are for people to come learn about the process of buying real estate in Israel, and then you can decide if you want to contact a developer afterwards or not. The things these agitators are saying are a mischaracterization of what is actually happening.
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"But this type of disrespect for our Jewish communal institutions is unfortunately becoming too common," Horowitz said. "The idea of protesting a synagogue should be something that shocks all of us."
Growing protests
Organizers said interest in the event has grown since news of possible protests spread online. Experts at the event will discuss housing, assisted living, mortgage loans, legal advice, communities and moving assets, the advertisem*nt says.
"I wasn't originally planning to attend," said Rachel Schiffman, a longtime Teaneck resident. "Now I'm so furious about the protests, I'm planning to go and check it out."
The Teaneck council said it has been in touch with local and county police to discuss security measures for public protests planned Sunday outside the event.
Protests are taking place in other locations as word of the real estate events spreads online. The Toronto Star reported that police arrested a man shooting a nail gun and shoving and smacking pro-Palestinian protesters outside the Aish Hatorah synagoguein Ontario on Sunday morning. The man shouted that every Palestinian "will die," video showed.
The rabbi of the synagogue told the Toronto Star that he condemns the man who brandished the nail gun and had no qualms about the pro-Palestinian protest. "I don't expect that just because they disagree with me they shouldn't be able to express themselves," he told the publication.
The real estate pitch to encourage American Jews to buy property comes amid growing concern over the rapid expansion of settlements. Far-right leaders in Israel have called for expanding control over all of the West Bank for nationalist and religious reasons.
Settlements have been a source of conflict for Israelis and Palestinians for decades and have divided even Israel’s supporters in the United States.
US shifts on settlements
The settlements, many built on seized Palestinian land in the West Bank, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, have divided Palestinian towns and cities from one another, undercutting hopes for a future contiguous state. Segregated roads, armed soldiers and checkpoints that surround settlements also breed tension and resentment, say Palestinian advocates.
Israel maintains that settlements are not illegal because of the Jewish people's historical claims to the land. The Israeli government has said laws set by the Fourth Geneva Convention, which protects civilians in occupied territory, do not apply to the West Bank, arguing it was not governed by a sovereign power.
About 700,000 people live in Jewish settlements, according to the United Nations. The West Bank is home to an estimated 3 million Palestinians.
U.S. administrations, other than the Trump administration, have considered settlements illegal. The Biden administration recently reversed the Trump-era position on settlements, saying they are “inconsistent with international law.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the matter last month when he was asked about Israel’s plans to build thousands more housing units in the West Bank. “Our administration maintains firm opposition to settlement expansion,” Blinken said. “In our judgment, this only weakens — it doesn’t strengthen — Israel’s security.”
On Monday, the New Jersey chapters of the Council on American Islamic Relations and American Muslims for Palestine called for a federal probe of the Teaneck event, asking if it is inconsistent with international law.
Professor Eugene Kontorovich, a legal scholar specializing in international law and a professor at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia, said there is no international law banning American Jews from buying property anywhere abroad, and "it would be clearly discriminatory if it did."
It is not the first time such events have sparked protest. A longtime activist, Siegel organized a protest outside a real estate fair at a Teaneck synagogue in 2007. He also protested at a similar event on Long Island about five years ago, he said.
Siegel said the public response and protests have been far greater this time. He believes tensions over the ongoing Israel-Hamas War and the rising death toll in Gaza, now reportedly greater than 30,000, have stoked the strong response. About 1,200 people were killed in Israel during Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack.
“I think when I spoke in front of the town council, I hit a nerve,” Siegel said. “People are wondering: What can we do? People are disgusted. We’re seeing a sea change happening right now, and I just plugged into it.”
