Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank on Sept. 11, 2022. Photo by Sraya Diamant/Flash90
Officials in the heavily Jewish New Jersey town of Teaneck are preparing for a protest Sunday over an informational meeting pitching local Jews on buying property in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other pro-Palestinian groups have condemned the event as a violation of international law regarding settlement building in occupied territory, and U.S. rules on racial discrimination. The town manager said he had received numerous requests to shut the event down but lacked the authority to do so because it does not violate local ordinances or state law.
Such informational sessions are not uncommon in American Jewish communities. They typically showcase properties and explain the legal requirements and tax implications of buying property in Israel and the West Bank.
Many learned of the upcoming Teaneck event after Rich Siegal, a resident who identifies as anti-Zionist resident, Rich Siegal, lambasted it at a recent session of the town council. A video of his remarks went viral, garnering more than 120,000 views on Instagram.
“If we allow this sale to go through, we are enabling a local synagogue to violate both domestic anti-discrimination laws and international law,” Siegal said. “We’re not entitled to have a real estate event where we only invite Jews for properties that are only available to Jews where Arabs are being actively kicked out of their homes right now.”
A spokesperson for the synagogue that is hosting the event, Congregation Keter Torah, told northjersey.com that it was “not being run by the synagogue” but by “a private company renting the venue.”
That company, My Home in Israel, showcases apartments and houses in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other areas of Israel as well as in Ariel, a city of 20,000, and other West Bank settlements. The company did not respond to an inquiry on Friday.
The New Jersey chapters of CAIR and American Muslims for Palestine called for a federal probe into the event and said they expect demonstrations on Sunday.
“Houses of worship should be sacred spaces,” a CAIR-NJ spokesperson, Dina Sayedahmed, said in a statement. “It is deeply concerning to see anyone use a house of worship to allegedly flout international law by selling off stolen land.”
CAIR’s New York chapter condemned the events and urged people to protest similar meetings next week in Cedarhurst, Long Island, and Flatbush, Brooklyn.
In Teaneck, the town manager, Dean Kazinci, said in a statement that its officials were “preparing a comprehensive plan that focuses on maintaining public order, safeguarding the rights of peaceful demonstrators, and ensuring the protection of the synagogue and its visitors.”