Protests persist about sales of Palestinian property in synagogues in US, Canada

By Islam Dogru

Anger persists about synagogue meetings where Palestinian properties are sold in the US and Canada amid Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip that have been going on for more than five months.

US peace activist Rich Siegel told Anadolu that the meetings violate local laws primarily by conducting sales events targeting only one group, as per "anti-discrimination" laws in the US.

Siegel said the listed sale locations were in illegal Jewish settlements according to international law.

"The third major problem with this event is that it's taking place in the middle of a genocide. It's indecent. Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza, we have I mean, there are 13,000 plus dead children crying out from the grave, to put a stop to this.

"It's horrible what they're doing, but they feel so entitled. And they are continuing their victim narrative, while they are committing genocide by every standard of the word," he said.

Siegel, who learned about the longstanding sales in 2007, said he has been fighting since against them.

He noted participating in a protest by entering one of the sales as a "buyer" with a Palestinian flag.

- US support for Israel

Describing Israel's attacks on Gaza as "genocide," Siegel said, "The US is complicit and has been complicit in every stage of the Israeli ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Israel would not exist without the United States supporting it."

Siegel, a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, for 25 years, suggested that the Jewish community in his city functions as a support network for settlers and "effectively embodies" the settlers who relocate to the settlements.

He noted a surge in motivation against Israel, particularly among young Jews who are confronting their Zionist families.

“I come from a generation that we're all brainwashed scientists, and you know, most people my age, you're not going to convince them. But the young people, they're getting a lot of information from social media," he said.

He pledged to continue fighting injustice against Palestinians alongside young people.

- Property sales of Palestinians

Rabbi David Mivasair, a member of Independent Jewish Voices from Hamilton, Canada, said property sales from illegal Jewish settlements in Palestine have been going on for years in cities like Toronto and Montreal, but is "only gaining significant attention now."

"Because of the horrible response of Israel to the attacks on Oct. 7, what we're seeing now, in Gaza, tens of thousands of people killed, hundreds of thousands being starved. I think more and more and more people are reacting," Mivasair told Anadolu.

"So, to see these synagogues hosting real estate agents selling properties on stolen Palestinian land has become intolerable. And people reacted to had very, very strict security, you had to go through layers and layers of being vetted," he said.

Mivasair pointed out that in 2024, illegal property sales meetings in synagogues were conducted in a notably closed-off manner with security measures.

"I think in past years, probably anybody could walk in, but this year, because we made it a controversy, we problematized it this year, and they had so much security. So no, you couldn't go on this agenda," he stressed.

"They targeted the most valuable people, I could not say that one person is more valuable than another, but the people with the most valuable contributions to the society. They targeted and killed, doctors, university presidents, nurses, you know, teachers, writers, journalists, like yourself, you know, I hate to say that, but they targeted specific people, but they're killing everybody and anybody.

"And they demolish buildings and intentionally destroy infrastructure. And this is after Israel's controlled Gaza, ruled over it for 57 years and had it under a complete siege for 17 years. So it is a genocide," he said.

Mivasair, stating that Israel's attacks on Gaza will not help Jews feel safe, remarked, "I think it's the greatest cause of anti-Semitism."

"I think part of the neurosis that pushes Israel to do that, is to keep Jewish people not sane. Part of the story is we are always victims, we're always vulnerable. They are going to attack us, they want to kill us and annihilate us.

"So if we start to live a normal life, that interrupts that story, and to maintain the story and the ideology of, you know, their understanding of Jewish life, they have to continually provoke anti-Semitism."

Mivasair, noting that people are becoming much more aware of what is happening, stated, "So people on the street here in Canada, who are paying attention, I think are very clear. This is a completely unjust situation."

- Synagogue officials defend meetings as 'educational only'

Keter Torah Synagogue officials, contacted by the Anadolu via email, insisted that no sales transactions took place at the synagogue.

It maintained that the meetings were only educational and informative about property purchases in Israel.

HeraldPR CEO Juda Engelmayer, representing the synagogue and refusing on-camera interviews, said the synagogue was "simply rented as a venue for the meeting. "

He noted that such events have been happening for decades and usually attract local interest.

Meetings organized by a group of illegal Israeli settlers named, Your Home in Israel, along with Keller Williams real estate company based in the US state of Texas, are being held in New Jersey, New York, Toronto and Montreal, but closed to the public.

Pre-registration is required for the meetings, which have sparked protests from peace advocacy groups in the US and Canada, and only Jewish members are allowed entry.