Behind the scenes of a real estate fair offering properties on Palestinian land

The organization of an Israeli real estate fair, where properties located in illegally occupied territory in the West Bank were put up for sale, aroused the outrage of part of the Jewish community and all those who support Palestine. La Converse went there. A demonstration organized at the call of the Independent Jewish Voices of Canada brought together nearly 200 people in front of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.

“Zionists, go home, Palestine is not your home.” At nightfall, a crowd protests against theIsraeli Real Estate Event, organized by the American group Keller Williams and its Israeli subsidiary Home in Israel. Palestinian Kippas and keffiehs are united under Palestinian flags fluttering in the wind. Together, they denounce the holding of this event, in which real estate located in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank is offered for sale. More than 490,000 people currently live there.

“We first did a direct mail campaign to ask the synagogue to cancel this event, because it is not a Jewish, religious or cultural event to sell stolen land. We learned that after thinking of cancelling it, they decided to organize it anyway. So we called on the Jewish community and our Palestinian brothers to come together. It is a very moving evening for us, because it is difficult to demonstrate in front of a synagogue, but it is a message of love and justice for our Jewish traditions,” says Sarah Boivin, representative of Independent Jewish Voices (VI) in Montreal.

Following the attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which caused the deaths of at least 1,200 people, according to the Hebrew State, Israeli reprisals have so far claimed more than 30,200 lives in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. At the same time, the Netanyahu government is promotingAlyah, or “return to the Land of Israel of the international Jewish diaspora” (a ministry is devoted to it), more particularly to North American Jews.

It is in this context that an Israeli real estate tour is being organized for the first time in Montreal, Toronto and several cities in the United States this month. On the event site, the list of cities where goods are offered for sale attracts attention. Indeed, there are several localities located in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law: Neve Daniel, Efrat and Ma'aleh Adumin.

“Such transfers constitute a war crime, which may involve the individual criminal responsibility of those involved”, underlines a recent report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. For its part, Canada reaffirmed its position on November 20, 2023: “As successive Canadian governments have done, Canada does not recognize the permanent control exercised by Israel over the territories occupied since 1967, and strongly opposes Illegal settlements in the West Bank.”

So did the oldest synagogue in Canada really host a lounge offering illegal goods for sale? It is to try to understand the state of mind of the participants of this real estate fair that La Converse went there.

Undisguised sales

“Are you Jewish? ” The question was asked to one of my colleagues when she showed up at the entrance of the Montreal synagogue to cover the lounge as a journalist. Her negative response was followed by a categorical refusal to let her in. Like her, several people, registered to participate in the event, were unable to cross the security line established by the police and at the edge of which an event officer was responsible for screening the entrances. However, buying real estate is not reserved for people of the Jewish faith, since Israeli law allows foreigners to settle or invest there.

Finally, I manage to enter, pretending to be looking for information for a fictional father planning to buy in Israel. Inside, under the imposing chandelier of the synagogue hall, there is indeed a real estate fair, with advertising stands and banners.

From the first booth, I was encouraged to move to Israel. “A lot of Jews have been coming to live in the Holy Land since October 7, you have to come. Come on vacation and you won't want to leave, it's home! ” A promoter assures me.

A little further on, at another booth, a woman shows me several real estate projects, including a particularly luxurious one located in Efrat, an illegal settlement in the West Bank. “Look on the Internet, you will see that it is really very beautiful. The community there is great, and it's cheaper than in Israel,” she brags without hiding. Foreigners are also exempt from tax for a purchase in Efrat. A way to save money, while expanding Israel's presence in the West Bank.

The current conflict does not seem to be weighing on the real estate market at all, according to an exhibitor to whom I am submitting my concerns about the current context in the Middle East. “We have more demands than offers, the market is only going up, it is a guaranteed investment, it is a guaranteed investment, assures me the developer. Don't worry about the context! The only problem with Palestinians is that we no longer have them to work on construction sites. But we are in the process of bringing in Chinese people to replace them.”

Here, Judaism, Zionism and Real Estate are one and the same. The real estate business has everything to gain, since these settlements, considered illegal by the international community, are recognized by Israel. The construction of 3,426 homes has just been approved by an Israeli authority in the settlements of Ma'aleh Adumin, Kedar and Efrat in the West Bank. One more market for the sector, and one more example of the strategy of the Jewish State.

Several intrusions by Jewish activists

During the evening, three members of the Independent Jewish Voices manage to enter. After a few moments, they shout their opposition. “Shame on you, I am Jewish and you are shaming us! It's illegal and shameful! shouts one of them, immediately expelled by security to applause.

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Asked about the preparation of these intrusions, Sarah Boivin assures that these are individual initiatives, which she welcomes. “This shows how desperate the members of Independent Jewish Voices are. These are very courageous actions to make our voices heard and ask our religious authorities to make a decision of integrity and to stop supporting a genocidal regime,” she said.

But the desired effect is far from being achieved, and many are amused by these interruptions. “It's not illegal, it's our home! ” says an exhibitor. “Don't the poor understand that we don't care about them outside? ” quips a real estate agent from Keter Advisor.

Two visions of Judaism

Exhibitors then improvise a counter-demonstration, Israeli flags in hand. “Israel is alive,” they sing in chorus.

“The colonies are our home! You're the one who says it's illegal, we're told it's Israel,” says Gabriel, a 28-year-old Montreal resident. “They say they're Jews, but they can't be Jews and be against Israel,” says Sarah (not her real name).

A few meters away, face to face, separated by a string of police officers, two visions clash around the same religion. “We are living in a moment that is very representative of what the Jewish community is: a very united community, but which has major differences, especially political ones. Anti-Zionist Jews have existed since Zionism existed, but our minority is growing. Our generation has learned that not only can we, but We have to reject Zionism in order to be in accordance with our religious principles,” analyzes Sarah Boivin. “We are not protesting against the synagogue, but against this completely illegal real estate fair,” underlines one protester.

On Thursday, Independent Jewish Voices learned that an interim injunction from the Superior Court, dated Tuesday, March 5, is targeting them. It prohibits the organization, as well as several pro-Palestinian organizations, from demonstrating within 50 meters of 6 Jewish community establishments in Montreal.

On the other hand, no action has been taken against the organizers of this North American tour to promote Israeli real estate, whether legal or not. On March 7, she stopped in Toronto, again in a synagogue. Independent Jewish Voices are surprised by the silence of the Quebec and Canadian authorities and are calling for strong decisions to ban these illegal sales, considered by the United Nations to be “war crimes.”

Despite several attempts, we did not get any response from the representatives of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue and the organizers of the real estate fair. I went back to the place. Calm had returned to the place of worship, which I found closed on this Sabbath day, the day of rest for the Jewish community.