A small group of protesters demonstrated outside of RE/MAX Futura’s Valencia Street offices Friday afternoon in response to RE/MAX International’s ventures in Israel’s Occupied Territories. Organized by the activist group Code Pink, the demonstrators objected to the international real estate company’s role in developing homes in what the protesters perceive as illegal Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory.
“They have offices in Israel and they are selling settlement property that belongs to Palestinians,” said Martha Hubert an organizer with Code Pink. “We had a petition to deliver with hundreds of signatures and they closed the office.”
The protesters gathered in front of RE/MAX for roughly 20 minutes of peaceful protest, while four police cruisers parked along Valencia Street surveyed the scene. The real estate office had closed for the afternoon. An employee who came out at one point would not comment but said they had plans to close the office regardless of the protest.
However, the real estate office clearly knew the protest was planned. On a window cracked from vandalism connected to recent demonstrations in response to the Ferguson Grand Jury decision, RE/MAX Futura had posted a sign with the following statement:
RE/MAX Futura is a 100 percent independent minority owned small business. We do not have any connection to RE/MAX International franchises.
Last week, we experienced senseless vandalism during the protest against the Grand Jury decision. Any damage you inflict on us comes out of our pocket and has no impact on RE/MAX International.
RE/MAX Futura was not available for further comment, but we’ll update this story as warranted.
Every American has a connection to Israel. The U.S. gives over one million dollars a DAY in military and other support to Israel. As long as our tax dollars are used to support the Israel Apartheid Regime, we have every right to take a stand.
Great genius, and please tell me about your protest activities against Egypt, which also gets a ton of US aid. Or a dozen other countries I’m sure you don’t like. Hypocrite.
And puuuleezzeee…look up the definition of apartheid- a system of discrimination by race, creed, etc. There are over 1 million Israeli citizens that are Arab Muslims, Christians, etc. so how exactly is Israel racist? The issues between Israel and Palestinians are between 2 separate countries, and are basically a war between nations until resolved. Nothing to do with that totally bullsh!t apartheid label idiot-white-fantasy-feel-good-protestors try to attach.
Dear clueless and (mostly) white people that have no connection to Israel or the Middle East: you are pretentious and absolutely clueless to the dynamics going on in the region. Hint: it’s not a yes/no, good/bad, right/wrong matter. There are nuances to both sides that you know nothing about. I know it makes you feel good about yourselves to ‘take a stand’, but now that you have (lamely) done so, run along now to your (otherwise) boring and pathetic lives. Thank you.
Great comment. Lames with nothing else to do.
Looks like the protesters didn’t realize that they are two entirely separate businesses.
Oops.
If they are two entirely separate businesses, why are they both called RE/MAX?
ABOUT RE/MAX
RE/MAX International holds contracts with franchises worldwide and offers its influence, training, and branding to its franchises. RE/MAX Israel is one of these franchises, owned by Bernard Raskin and operated in Jerusalem in an office called RE/MAX Vision. RE/MAX International advertises the settlement properties of RE/MAX Israel on its website: Through its franchise system of operations, RE/MAX International draws 1 percent profit from sales in the Israeli settlements.
Established in 1995, RE/MAX Israel boasts that it is the largest network of real estate agencies in Israel with over 100 branches; on its website, it refers to itself as “the number one company in Israel.” RE/MAX Israel’s base of operation is in the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. RE/MAX offers properties in all the major West Bank settlements, including: Adam (Geva Binyamin), Beit Arye, Beit El, Giva’at Ze’ev, Ma’ale Adumim, Oranit, Salit, Sha’arei Tikva and Zufim. In occupied East Jerusalem the company markets and rents properties in the settlement neighborhoods of Gilo, Har Homa, Ramot, The French Hill and Pisgat ze’ev.
RE/MAX International and RE/MAX Israel profit from the continued dispossession of Palestinians. Put simply, RE/MAX is an occupation profiteer!
So get your ass on a plane to Ben Gurion and protest in Israel, lazy. The israeli operations have nada, zip to do with a minority owner REMAX in frisco. Shees, get a clue.
As a life long progressive, I am really getting sick and tired of knee jerk left-wingers. These people have no problem with Egypt bulldozing thousands of homes in Rafah, mistreatment of Palestinians in Jordan and Lebanon – only Israel. Hmmmm. It reeks, though I’m sure half of them are Jewish, and the other half will tell you about their Jewish friends or in-laws, or that they grew up in a Jewish neighborhood…. It still reeks. Demonstrating against a locally owned minority real estate office makes tons of sense too.