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Media Belatedly Corrects False Story of NJ Synagogue ‘Sale’ of Palestinian Land
Apartments are seen in the Israeli settlement of Efrat, Aug. 18, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
On March 6, more than 20 McClatchy news sites across the United States commendably pulled a false United Press International (UPI) story by Adam Schrader, two days after the wire service had itself already independently corrected their mistake.
UPI’s March 3 article, “New Jersey synagogue will allegedly auction off occupied Palestinian land,” had initially falsely alleged:
Palestinian groups are calling for supporters to protest a purported auction of homes on occupied Palestinian land at the Keter Torah Synagogue in New Jersey.
A review of homes listed in the sale at My Home In Israel Real Estate shows cottages in Efrat, a settlement in the West Bank. The cottages are listed for $1.3 million. The sale is expected to take place on March 10, though does not appear on the Keter Torah Synagogue calendar.
“If we allow this sale to go through, we are enabling a local synagogue to violate both domestic anti-discrimination laws and international law,” local activist Rich Siegel told Democracy Now. “Now, there’s other reasons we shouldn’t allow it, OK? There’s a genocide going on right now.”
One day after the publication of Schrader’s story, which was faulty and false on multiple levels, UPI itself made extensive revisions and corrections to the article, starting with the headline.
The improved headline is “Protest planned against synagogue event marketing West Bank homes.”
It’s impossible to know, however, how many people read the first version of the article.
UPI’s corrected story made clear that, contrary to Schrader’s original reporting, there was to be no “sale” of “Palestinian land” at the New Jersey synagogue.
The significantly amended story now reports:
Palestinian groups are calling for supporters to protest an event at a New Jersey synagogue marketing the sale of homes in the West Bank.
A review of homes listed to be showcased in the real estate event by My Home In Israel Real Estate shows cottages in Efrat, a settlement in the West Bank. The cottages are listed for $1.3 million. The event is expected to take place on March 10 at Keter Torah Synagogue in Teaneck, N.J.
Palestinian groups had encouraged supporters to protest the event, calling it an auction. Juda Engelmayer, a spokesperson for the synagogue, told UPI that the place of worship has been rented by a group of developers to hold the event.
“That said, it’s solely educational and informational, discussing the options, tax and financial implications for U.S. citizens buying property abroad,” Engelmayer said. “No sales happen there and it’s not an auction of any sort.”
Furthermore, UPI’s correction appended to the bottom of the updated story notes: “This story has been updated to clarify that the event is not an auction and to include statements made on behalf of Keter Torah Synagogue.”
Additional changes to Schrader’s original report include the deletion of Richard Siegel’s statement to Democracy Now repeating the false charge of a synagogue sale of allegedly Palestinian land against the backdrop of what he called genocide. Similarly, the following two paragraphs platforming the fringe anti-Israel groups Jewish Voice for Peace piling on with the false genocide smear and other unfounded accusations of war crimes no longer appear in the article:
Meanwhile, a local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, a Jewish group that seeks an end to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, has told its followers on Instagram to protest Keller Williams in Englewood.
“Zionists at Keller-Williams think they’re entitled to steal land from Palestinians and sell it to white Americans,” the group said in its post on Saturday. “Let’s show up on Tuesday and let them know how we feel about them breaking domestic and international laws while the terrorist regime they shamelessly support commits daily war crimes in its genocide of an indigenous population.”
Among Schrader’s numerous errors, he had wrongly reported that the Israeli settlement of Efrat is built on “Palestinian land.” Israeli settlements in the West Bank are built on disputed land, not “Palestinian land.” The territory’s status, like that of all of the West Bank, is to be resolved by negotiations anticipated by UN Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian interim accords, the 2003 international “road map” and related diplomatic efforts taking 242 and 338 as reference points.
The co-authors of resolution 242, US Under Secretary of State Eugene Rostow, US ambassador to the United Nations Arthur Goldberg, and British ambassador Lord Caradon made clear at the time and subsequently that Jews and Arabs both had claims in the territories, that no national sovereignty over the territories had been recognized since the end of Ottoman rule, and that negotiations would be necessary to resolve competing claims. At no time in history were Palestinians ever sovereign over the land on which Israeli settlements are located. Previous media outlets to correct this point include The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Voice of America, and NBC, among many more.
The cooked up story, granting a national spotlight for fringe anti-Israel activists accusing a New Jersey synagogue of illegally selling Palestinian land against the purported context of genocide, puts a target on the back of the Jewish institution at a perilous time when American antisemitism, including violent attacks against Jewish establishments, is on an all-time high. UPI is to be commended for making the much needed changes to the article, which should never have appeared, and hopefully going forward, Schrader’s problematic coverage on Jews and Israel will undergo heightened fact-checking prior to publication.
Meanwhile, by the morning of March 6, Schrader’s false and defamatory reporting still appeared on 20 or so McClatchy newspapers which had yet to update with UPI’s March 4 corrected version
In response to communication from CAMERA, editors at McClatchy subsequently removed Schrader’s story entirely from its publications across the country including Charlotte Observer, Ledger Enquirer, Merced Sun-Star, Miami Herald, Tacuma News Tribune, Fresno Bee, The Olympian, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Island Packet, Idaho Statesman, Modesto Bee, Bellingham Herald, Herald Sun (Durham), The State, Wichita Eagle, San Luis Obispo Tribune, Tri-City Herald, Bradenton Herald, Telegraph (Macon), The Sacramento Bee, and Sun News (Myrtle Beach).
As of this writing, March UPI’s post on X (formerly Twitter) falsely reporting “New Jersey synagogue will allegedly auction off occupied Palestinian land,” still appears, although CAMERA alerted UPI to the baseless post on March 6.
ICYMI, @UPI completely rewrote, corrected Adam Schrader’s misreporting. There’s no “auction,” it’s not “Palestinian land,” & developers (not synagogue) ran the marketing event. Not clear why false tweet stills stands @CAMERAorg @judae https://t.co/tNKNk6PJ72 pic.twitter.com/ALs532cas9
— Tamar Sternthal (@TamarSternthal) March 6, 2024
Tamar Sternthal is the director of CAMERA’s Israel Office. A version of this article previously appeared on the CAMERA website.
The post Media Belatedly Corrects False Story of NJ Synagogue ‘Sale’ of Palestinian Land first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
The post Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival
Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
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