Trump-backed NY gubernatorial candidate attends picketed Israeli real estate event |
New York Jewish Week via JTA — The Republican candidate for governor of New York told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he attended Thursday’s Israeli real estate expo in midtown Manhattan to show that he was an Israel supporter and investor.
Bruce Blakeman, who has been endorsed by US President Donald Trump, was among the hundreds of people at the day-long event. In the evening, as has become routine at similar events in the five boroughs, scores of protesters gathered.
Previous Israel real estate events have included a small number of properties in West Bank settlements, which the protesters say they are targeting.
Asked if he was worried that the New Yorkers who accompanied him at the Jerusalem Real Estate Expo were fixing to leave for Israel, Blakeman answered cheekily: “Not when I’m governor.”
He added, “They’ll have two places. They’ll want to live in both.”
Throughout the day, representatives from dozens of Israeli real estate companies handed out pamphlets and shared information about properties for sale. Some of the properties being shown were in Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, which many countries consider illegal.
Blakeman, the executive of Long Island’s Nassau County, trailed Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul........