Illegal West Bank settlements are being promoted at North American synagogues

The sale of property in the occupied West Bank being promoted at multiple synagogues in North America is stirring controversy due to the illegal nature of the settlements per international law as well as its discrimination against non-Jews going against domestic laws.

Two of the most recent examples of such sales have taken place near Toronto and in New Jersey, where property sales are being promoted without recognition that these homes are the result of Palestinian displacement, directly or indirectly, going against international law. Moreover, the targeting of buyers from specific religious backgrounds, implicitly or explicitly, goes against the law in the US and Canada.

The events appear to be part of a larger real estate fair, with others being hosted in Montreal and New York state. 

Activists and rights advocates have been protesting these real estate promotions, saying that the settlements represent a major obstacle to peace in the region, given that around two million Palestinians are living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, and many others can't return to their ancestral lands from which they or their families were expelled by Zionist forces in 1947-1948.

When pressed by local media, some of the synagogues' leaders say that real estate transactions are not taking place at their houses of worship. In addition, they say that real estate is in Israel proper. 

However, a review of the website My Home In Israel shows multiple properties advertised in parts of the West Bank. Regardless of the specifics, many are outraged at the use of synagogues to sell land or homes from which Palestinians were expelled.

Chelsey Lichtman, a member of the group Jews Say No to Genocide, said it's "sacrilegious" to use synagogues as places to hold real estate events, according to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

"The synagogues are holding events that [are] trying to get Canadians to invest in stolen Palestinian land in Israel," said Lichtman, who also works as a real estate agent.

"Selling stolen Palestinian land contributes to the ongoing colonisation of Palestinian people," CBC reported her as saying.

In the US, communications manager for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Dina Sayedahmed said in a public statement, "Houses of worship should be sacred spaces, and it is deeply concerning to see anyone use a house of worship to allegedly flout international law by selling off stolen land." 

She added the members of the local Jewish and Muslim communities have been speaking out against these events. The next one is scheduled for 10 March at a synagogue in Teaneck.

These real estate promotions come at a sensitive time for those opposed to Israeli settlement expansion. As Israel's bombardment of Gaza continues into its sixth month, there are growing concerns that the small enclave will see the return of Israeli settlements. In January, Israeli settlers held a conference advocating for the return of settlements to Gaza.