Dallas Jewish Voices for Peace Protest American Real Estate Companies Using Texas Synagogues to “Illegally” Sell Occupied Land in Jerusalem

The Dallas Fort Worth chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP DFW) gathered for a peaceful protest against CapitIL Real Estate for hosting a land sale event of occupied land in Israel at the Congregation Shaare Tefilla in north Dallas last Sunday, July 28.  

The group says it stood across the street on the day of the event to raise awareness in the community, express its solidarity with Palestinians here and abroad, and demand that profiting from war crimes and genocide stands in direct opposition to Jewish values. 

Such land selling has caused extreme outrage, particularly as Israel’s deadly siege of Gaza continues, with over 40,000 Palestinians killed so far in retaliation for Hamas’ attack on October 7 last year. Critics say the mass destruction of Gaza and the displacement of almost two million civilians is part of an ongoing land grab. 

In an interview with AMT’s podcast series (Muslim ViewPoint), JVP DFW representative Deb Armintor said: “They use Jewish synagogues as a kind of a cover or kind of a shield to hold these land sales … not only are they selling stolen land, but they're also targeted towards a specific religious community … Zionist Jews From the research we've done, they're very tight with security.” 

Armintor says that her group received a tip from the Los Angeles chapter that the real estate agency was planning an event in Dallas.  

JVP DFW also expressed its opposition in an official statement, “As Jews, we will stand together in unequivocal opposition to Capitil’s attempt to associate our beloved religion and holy spaces with Israel's violent dispossession of Palestinians from their homes. We remain rooted in our movement’s demands for an end to U.S. weapons for Israel, for a permanent ceasefire, and for Palestinian freedom.” 

The group added its ubiquitous slogan, “#NOT IN OUR NAME!” 

Its believed that CapitIL Real Estate and Congregation Shaare Tefilla did not male any response to the demonstration from dozens of protesters outside the building. 

These kinds of real estate events are being routinely held in the US and Canada, and according to journalist and filmmaker Eleanor Goldfield, the land is being sold to right-wing orthodox Jews who are being targeted by realtors with Israeli links. 

JVP Rabbinical Council condemned real estate events by Israel-based agency My Home for selling illegally occupied Palestinian territories at the Shaarey Zedek Congregation in Valley Village and the Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles in June. In April, an anti-Zionist group protested a land sale at Shomrei Emunah in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Meanwhile orthodox Jews protested Texas-based real estate company Keller Williams in Englewood, New Jersey in March at the Ahavath Torah Synagogue in another land sale in closed-door meetings where only registered guests were allowed in. 

CapitIL Real Estate lists Old City, Gilo and Abu Tor, three neighborhoods in illegally occupied East Jerusalem, on its website and shows a property, not currently for sale, on their listings map in the Old City. 

Historically, Israel expropriated land to establish Gilo in the Palestinian villages of Sharafat, Beit Jala and Beit Safafa, in 1973. Abu Tor was described by Israeli forces as being “conquered and cleansed” in  the 1967 Six-Day War. 

JVP say realtors engaging in this activity are violating the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which prohibits housing discrimination based on national origin, religion, ethnicity, gender and other protected categories. They are not broadly advertised to the public and instead target individuals supportive of the Zionist settler movement. 

Groups like JVP say Palestinians, the legitimate owners of the land being sold through these virtual real estate tours, are excluded from the process and are even prevented from buying back their own land. 

International humanitarian law dictates that Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories are protected under the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states, “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” 

Some of the land being sold is believed to include areas where illegal settlements have been built - in contravention of multiple UN resolutions. 

JVP nationally and here in Texas have been outspoken against the current mass killing in Gaza and their opposition to Israel’s government led by its controversial Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces being charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court. 

During his recent visit to the US and address to Congress, hundreds of JVP members demonstrated and many were arrested. Amintor says, “Jewish Voice for Peace believes that as a war criminal, he should not be invited to this country, and he should have been arrested upon setting foot on US soil … instead of Netanyahu being arrested, you had peaceful protesters who were the ones being arrested for protesting a genocide.”