Tensions flared at opposing rallies outside of Congregation Shomrei Emunah on the evening of Monday, April 1.
After local branches of Jewish Voice for Peace, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and American Muslims for Palestine organized a vigil and protest against an Israeli real estate group holding an event at the congregation, a group of Baltimore Jews quickly organized a counterprotest to show their support of Israel.
The event drew a police presence, with protesters waving Palestinian flags on one side of the street and counter-protesters waving Israeli flags on the other. A spokesperson from the Baltimore Police Department estimated that there were 120 protesters present.
While CapitIL Real Estate Agency, which was hosting an event advertising properties at Shomrei Emunah, specializes in properties in Jerusalem, other real estate agencies have drawn ire by advertising land in the West Bank for purchase.
Protests against these events have occurred all over the country, with the most notable happening at The Great Israeli Real Estate Event in Teaneck, New Jersey, in mid-March. The annual convention, held by My Home in Israel Real Estate, drew 400 attendees and two large crowds of protesters and counterprotesters. This was due in part to the fact that the real estate agency was advertising land in several West Bank settlements, including Neve Daniel, Efrat and Ma’ale Adumim.
While Israeli real estate events are not new, the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has put increased scrutiny on the practice of buying land in the country. Many of these events take place at synagogues, which has sparked criticism from both sides of the aisle. Pro-Israel Jews and their allies view protests held at synagogues as being antisemitic displays of hate at a place meant to be a sanctuary for Jews, while those supportive of Palestine feel that holding these real estate events at synagogues conflates the Jewish religion with the practice of taking land from Palestinians.
“Many Jewish residents are deeply concerned about events like this that appear to encourage select Americans to purchase property purportedly located in Israel while the Israeli government ethnically cleanses Palestinian land and denies Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homeland,” said Adam Weissman, a Jewish Voice for Peace Baltimore spokesperson, in a press release. “Any real estate events that encourage Jewish Americans to purchase land that may have been violently seized from Palestinians are flouting the Eighth Commandment – thou shalt not steal.”
But many who attended the counterprotest felt that these protests were antisemitic in nature, and that they are reflective of a recent rise in antisemitic hate crimes and public sentiment.
“I had to choke back tears a number of times last night,” wrote Ner Tamid Greenspring Valley Synagogue’s Rabbi Yisrael Motzen in a Facebook post. “For such antisemitism to be on proud display in our own living room? To recognize that that [sic] what we saw last night is representative of a movement sweeping through the US? To experience such blind hate and blatant lies in Pikesville? Where is this country heading?!”
He went on to compare the situation to the “Early years of Nazi Germany,” with the key difference being that local police, the volunteer-run Baltimore Shomrim Safety Patrol and elected officials protected the pro-Israel counter-protesters.
Baltimore City Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer (D-5), who also attended the protest, echoed this statement.
“This is just a facade and a front for them to bring this antisemitic rhetoric and behavior to a synagogue, and that’s completely unacceptable,” he said in an interview with WBFF-TV.
For some, though, the protest created an opportunity to come together and have open dialogues about their opinions. Esther Levine, a Greenspring area resident and Khal Bais Nosson member, recounted the unique experience she had with a friend who was protesting for Palestine.
“I knew a few people on the other side, because I was an Arabic studies major in college,” Levine said. “I saw [my friend], and we met in the middle and hugged. She came over to our side, and I later came over to her side, and we just talked. I’m really glad someone I knew was on the other side, to help show that we can get along and that this doesn’t necessarily divide us.”
