Property Dispute Sparks Antisemitic Abuse Against Yaakov Fauci

In April 2021, a video of an argument between two neighbours, Yaakov Fauci and Muna el-Kurd, went viral. The dispute began when Yaakov stopped a member of Muna’s family from spray-painting graffiti on the wall of his rented home. As tensions mounted, Muna shouted at Yaakov, “You are stealing my house,” to which he foolishly replied, “Yes, but if I don’t steal it, someone else is gonna steal it.”

This comment, along with photos of Fauci, quickly spread across social media as memes and even printed T-shirts. His words were often quoted as ‘evidence’ of newly arrived Jewish ‘settlers’ stealing or squatting in Palestinian properties.

To clarify the events that led up to the confrontation, Yaakov agreed to an interview with Vice News. However, his thirty-minute interview was edited down to under three minutes, further reinforcing misconceptions about the situation.

Shimon HaTzadik (Sheikh Jarrah) in eastern Jerusalem is not a settlement; it has been a Jewish neighborhood since 1875, when the land was legally purchased from Arab owners by Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities. The house that Muna el-Kurd claimed was being stolen is owned by the Committee of the Sephardic Community. Both the el-Kurd family and Yaakov Fauci are tenants there.

Contrary to claims, Yaakov is not a newly arrived Jewish American settler sent to Israel by a Zionist organization. He has lived in Israel for over twenty years, ten of which were spent as a neighbor to the el-Kurd family.

Until 1948, Jews and Arabs coexisted in Shimon HaTzadik, but during the War of Independence, around 140 Jewish families were forced to leave their homes by Jordanian forces. The Jordanian government transferred ownership of the houses to the ‘Jordanian Custodian of Enemy Properties,’ demolishing many homes and moving Arab families into the area under the pretext of tenancy.

However, ownership was never legally transferred to the 28 new families that moved into Shimon HaTzadik. It wasn’t until after the Six-Day War in 1967 that Jewish families were allowed to reclaim their homes, provided they could prove ownership.

Legal disputes over ownership persisted for decades, with courts examining documentation from both parties. Repeatedly, courts ruled that the properties belonged to Jewish families with valid documentation. Eventually, a compromise allowed Palestinian families to remain in their homes as protected tenants if they paid a nominal rent of about 1,290 ILS a year (approximately £400).

Seven families accepted this arrangement, but four, including Muna el-Kurd’s family, refused, despite evidence that her family was living in a house legally purchased by Chief Rabbi Avraham Ashkenazi and Chief Rabbi Meir Orbach in 1875—houses which remained under Jewish ownership until their expulsion in 1948. Shortly after officials from the Palestinian Authority and Fatah visited, the seven families who had initially agreed changed their stance.

Muna, a Palestinian activist, became the face of a media campaign for the families facing eviction. This campaign contributed directly to the onset of the 11-Day War in May 2021, during which Hamas launched over 4,500 rockets towards Israel.

Muna el-Kurd has been portrayed as both a victim and an activist resisting Israeli ‘ethnic cleansing.’ However, her interviews and articles reveal a different story, filled with antisemitic rhetoric and calls for violence. She has openly rejected Israel’s right to exist, stating, “We want all of Palestine, from the river to the sea… there is no such thing as Israel.” She has also praised terrorists like Dalal al-Mughrabi, who murdered 38 Israelis, including 13 children, and referred to Jews as ‘dogs’ deserving of ‘ethnic cleansing.’

Yaakov Fauci, despite not personally participating in any court cases or eviction proceedings, has faced ridicule, abuse, and numerous death threats. His family home in the U.S. has also been targeted, all due to efforts to demonize him and misrepresent Israel as a country intent on ‘ethnic cleansing.’