Imagine Tibetan Buddhist monks helping organize a private real estate fair in Paris for Tibetan families interested in buying homes in their ancestral homeland.
As a matter of politics, China governs Tibet and considers it an integral part of its territory and rejects Tibetan independence. As a matter of religion, history and heritage, Tibetans have maintained their connections to their homeland for centuries.
The real estate event is a test between these viewpoints.
The fair brings together developers, real estate agents, lawyers and families considering where to live, raise children and rebuild their communities. But against this personal desire, imagine French left-wing politicians and activists calling for the fair to be prohibited, accusing organizers of facilitating international crimes and questioning whether French citizens relocating there should continue receiving consular services.
There would undoubtedly be questions about why a private gathering of families and property professionals had become the subject of such political scrutiny.
Now replace the Tibetan families with Jewish families, and Tibet with Israel.
On November 15, the privately organized Icube Israeli real estate fair is scheduled to hold its 95th edition in Paris. Established in 1990, the fair brings together developers, brokers, lawyers, financial advisers and families interested in purchasing homes in Israel. It has enflamed anti-Israel agitators and politicians.
Aymeric Caron called for authorities to prohibit an October aliyah fair, alleging that it promoted immigration to what he described as illegal Israeli settlements.
Ersilia Soudais reportedly sought cancellation of similar events in Paris, Marseille and Lyon.
Andrée Taurinya accused French authorities of “complicit silence” for allowing aliyah fairs and raised allegations of complicity in war crimes. She also proposed restrictions on consular services for French citizens living in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
Sylvie Ferrer, in a November 3 parliamentary question, specifically raised concerns about the upcoming November 15 Icube event, citing its previous exhibitors and alleged connections to settlement-related projects.
The controversy has also reached the media. TRT Français has published critical coverage of Israeli real estate fairs in Paris, highlighting allegations about properties in disputed territories and reporting calls for demonstrations against the events.
All this is unfolding in France, where antisemitic incidents have increased sharply and many Jewish families are reconsidering their future.
If there would be no outcry of Tibetan monks holding a real estate fair to buy property in Tibet, there should be no cause célèbre for Jews buying property in the Jewish holy land.
