A Showcase for Israeli Property Creates Rancor in a Diverse Town

Hundreds of demonstrators protested on Sunday outside an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Teaneck, N.J., where 35 Israeli real estate companies were promoting their properties to potential American buyers.

The demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and signs denouncing Israel. Some brought prayer rugs and paused their chants to pray. Cars honked in support, or drivers and passengers flung vitriol at the demonstrators.

The demonstrators traded profanities and taunts with a much smaller group of pro-Israel counter-demonstrators, and police had to break up a few potential fights, but overall they kept the two groups separated.

The real estate show, at Congregation Keter Torah, is one of several in the area this month that have sparked heated protests. And just before the local events, at a sales event outside Toronto last weekend, a man was arrested on charges of attacking pro-Palestinian demonstrators with a nail gun.

Two Israeli companies, called Home in Israel and My Home in Israel, are holding shows in New York and New Jersey within a few days of each other, sometimes in the same Orthodox synagogue. Both companies say the events are promotional, with no actual sales.

Opponents say that the shows violate United States fair housing laws because most of the properties are available only to Jews, and that the Teaneck real estate fair, because it includes properties in the West Bank, also violates international law.