Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander was detained by Israeli military forces on Wednesday while participating in an olive harvest alongside Palestinian farmers and international activists in the West Bank. The incident occurred near the Palestinian village of Nahalin, situated outside Bethlehem, drawing renewed attention to restrictions in the disputed territory.
"I’ve been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis & volunteers. The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know." Brad Lander, Democratic Congressional Candidate for NY’s 10th Congressional District
Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 10th Congressional District and former New York City comptroller, was among approximately 80 to 90 volunteers taken into custody. The group included American and Israeli rabbis, human rights advocates, and other international participants who had gathered to assist local farmers with their annual olive harvest. The confrontation began after Israeli troops arrived at an olive grove where the volunteers had been working for approximately two hours. Military personnel subsequently declared the area a closed military zone before proceeding to detain the volunteers and transport them for questioning.
Following his detention, Lander confirmed the incident in a post on X, sharing a photograph from a bus carrying other participants. In his statement, Lander wrote, "I’ve been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis & volunteers. The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know." He was released several hours later after receiving a warning from Israeli authorities. Lander suggested that his public profile might have influenced the decision to release him, stating, "I’ve been released from IDF custody with a ‘warning,’ apparently because of my public profile." He noted that he informed authorities he had not yet been elected to Congress and remained only a candidate. However, some volunteers reportedly remained in custody when Lander announced his release.
Israeli military officials defended the detentions, asserting that the participants had entered an area where agricultural activities required advance coordination with security authorities. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) maintained that harvesting olives near an Israeli community without proper authorization could generate security concerns. Military officials also accused some volunteers of leveraging the agricultural activity to provoke confrontations.
However, questions have emerged regarding whether the specific location of the incident genuinely required advance approval. The Times of Israel, as cited by Trending Politics, reported that an official Israeli Civil Administration map indicated the area where the volunteers were detained was not subject to the coordination requirements described by military officials. The military subsequently stated that the Palestinian landowner would need to coordinate future harvesting activities with authorities. Rabbis for Human Rights, an organization that helped organize the visit, disputed the military’s characterization of the event. Representatives from the organization stated that Palestinian farmers had been unable to access the affected olive groves for approximately three years. They maintained that participants were engaged in peaceful agricultural work and had agreed to comply with military instructions.
Israeli police later confirmed that dozens of detainees had been released. However, reports indicated that four foreign activists faced possible deportation proceedings following questioning regarding their political activities. The incident comes as Lander prepares for the November 3 midterm elections, where he is seeking to represent a heavily Democratic congressional district in New York City. Lander has been an outspoken critic of Israeli government policies in the West Bank and has previously advocated for ending American military assistance to Israel. His campaign has received endorsements from prominent progressive Democrats, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Wednesday’s detention also follows a similar incident in July involving Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California, who was reportedly briefly detained by Israeli forces during a West Bank visit. The latest confrontation has renewed attention on the restrictions affecting Palestinian farmers and international volunteers participating in agricultural activities in the disputed territory. Israeli authorities have consistently defended such restrictions as essential for security, while human rights organizations contend that these measures can prevent Palestinians from accessing privately owned agricultural land.
After his release, Lander continued to criticize the detentions and called on Israeli authorities to free the remaining volunteers. Although the congressional candidate was released without any publicly announced criminal charges, the incident has introduced another international controversy into the closing weeks of his campaign. The circumstances surrounding the detention of the remaining participants and any potential deportation proceedings have not been fully resolved. The Israeli Foreign Ministry, in a post on X, appeared to mock Lander, suggesting he was "harvesting headlines."
