Pro-Palestinian groups decry real estate events at synagogues over concerns occupied land being sold

Pro-Palestinian supporters are calling for a second real estate event planned north of Toronto to be called down over concerns it involves the selling of land in the occupied West Bank.

On Sunday, dozens of people gathered near the Aish Hatorah synagogue in Thornhill, Ont., to protest an event that organizers say was aimed at helping people in the Toronto area buy property in Israel. They were met with pro-Israeli counterprotestors and Jewish leaders took issue with the Sunday protest taking place outside a synagogue.

But Pro-Palestinian protestors say companies associated with the event market property in the West Bank, where over two million Palestinians live under Israel's military occupation, according to the United Nations (UN).

A similar event is expected to take place Thursday at another synagogue in the area. It is unclear whether the two events are connected.

"We weren't there because it's a synagogue, we were there because we were protesting against a real estate show," said Ghada Sasa, who was at the protest over the weekend. 

"[These events] shouldn't be allowed to happen when they're explicitly advertising land on occupied territory."

Sasa said the issue is personal to her as her grandfather's family was "expelled" from the land in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, which was when the state of Israel was established. They've since not been allowed to return, she said.

She is calling for an immediate "injunction" against upcoming real estate events selling land on occupied Palestinian territory.

The UN, alongside Canada, consider Israeli settlements in the occupied territories to be in violation of international convention, with the federal government saying they "constitute a serious obstacle to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace." 

The protest is the latest local flashpoint arising from tensions sparked by the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, which killed some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners. Israel has since responded with a relentless assault that has so far killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian figures.

Natalia Birnbaum, a Realtor who helped organize Sunday's event, told CBC Toronto it's "absolutely, 100 per cent false" that property located on "disputed" land was promoted during the event.

"There was no sales for anything in the West Bank, anything on disputed territory," she said, noting the projects on offer were being built on "existing" and "established" areas.

"I don't know ... where or how they're getting this," Birnbaum said.

The Home In Israel brokerage, which participated in Sunday's show and is based in the Israeli city of Netanya, said despite the protests, the event was a "great success" and thanked people who showed support, according to a post that was translated from Hebrew on their Facebook page.