Brad Lander Says Israeli Forces Detained Him at West Bank Olive Harvest
The New York congressional candidate was released with a warning after the military said the harvest was uncoordinated, and Israeli volunteers face a 28-day ban
By AXY World Desk ·
Key points
- Congressional candidate Brad Lander said Israeli forces detained him during an olive harvest in the occupied West Bank and later released him with a warning.
- The IDF said the detentions were due to the security risk of an uncoordinated harvest near an Israeli community and said a request must be filed in advance.
- Lander said more than 40 international volunteers and 28 Israelis were involved, and Protect the Harvest said all but four detained people were released by Wednesday afternoon.
- Israeli members of the group face a 28-day ban on returning to the West Bank, which Lander said means they cannot take part in the harvest.
- Lander said he was apparently released because of his public profile and that the grove had not been harvested since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
Congressional candidate Brad Lander said on Wednesday that Israeli forces detained him while he was taking part in an olive harvest in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian territory that Israel has controlled militarily since 1967. Lander, a former New York City comptroller who is running in New York's 10th District, said he was later released with a warning. He first announced the detention in a post on X and then described it again in an interview.
The Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, is the name of Israel's military. In a statement, the IDF said soldiers, border police and other officers detained people harvesting olives "due to the security risk posed by conducting an uncoordinated harvest near an Israeli community." The volunteers were working in a grove close to an Israeli settlement, a community built on land Israel captured in 1967. Most of the international community regards settlements in the occupied territories as illegal under international law, and Israel disputes that position.
Who Was in the Olive Grove
Lander said he was harvesting olives for Palestinians alongside more than 40 international volunteers, including Americans, and 28 Israelis. The group was affiliated with a coalition of human rights groups. Lander said Israeli authorities told him his actions were illegal and that the group had been "causing a disturbance of public order."
He rejected that description in direct terms. "But I assure you, all we were doing was harvesting olives," he said. "So if by 'disturbance of public order' they mean the order of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, I guess maybe, but we were very peacefully harvesting olives."
Beck Strober, a spokesperson for Protect the Harvest, one of the groups in the volunteer effort, said that Wednesday afternoon that all but four of those detained had been released. Lander later wrote on X that everyone in the Protect the Harvest delegation had been released. The two accounts differ on timing, and the most recent statement from Lander says the full delegation was freed.
The Military's Stated Reason for the Detentions
The IDF's position is that coordination was required before anyone entered the grove. "Harvesting in this area requires a request to be submitted to the relevant authorities in advance of the start of the olive harvest season," the IDF said. "This coordination is necessary to ensure the security of the area and maintain public order."
That explanation puts the dispute on procedure. The military says the problem was the lack of a request filed in advance. Lander and the volunteers say they were doing ordinary, peaceful work on olive trees. The military's statement does not dispute that the volunteers were picking olives. It says the harvest itself was the security concern because of where it took place.
The location is central to why the detentions became a political story. Lander said the grove had not been harvested since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, according to him and to the spokesperson for Protect the Harvest. He said Palestinian farmers "haven't felt safe to harvest their olive trees" because the grove sits near a nearby Israeli settlement. If that account is accurate, the volunteers were not disrupting a routine harvest. They were trying to restart one that had stopped for nearly two years.
Why the Grove Had Sat Unpicked Since October 2023
The Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 started a war in Gaza that has since reshaped politics across the region and in the United States. Lander has been among the Democrats more openly critical of Israel's government and of that war. He has described the war in Gaza as a "genocide," a term that Israel rejects.
In the West Bank, the olive harvest is an annual event that many Palestinian families depend on, both for income and to keep a hold on their land. When trees are left unpicked for long periods, that can weaken a family's claim to the land and cut into the income the crop provides. This could explain why Lander framed the volunteer work as support for farmers who, in his telling, have been kept away from their own trees.
The military and the volunteers tell the story from opposite ends. For the IDF, the point is that a harvest near a settlement needs to be arranged in advance. For Lander and Protect the Harvest, the point is that Palestinian farmers have not been able to pick safely for two years and that outside volunteers are one way to get the crop in.
Lander's Account of Why He Was Released
Lander told NBC News he was apparently released because of his "public profile." He said Israeli authorities kept calling him "congressman" during the detention. He said he tried to correct them. "I tried to explain to them I wasn't a member of Congress, just a primary winner," he said, referring to the Democratic primary this year.
The remark points to a practical reality. A candidate with a public profile draws attention, and that may have affected how quickly the authorities moved to release him. Lander did not claim to know the reason for certain. He said he was apparently released for that reason.
He then turned the point into a broader charge against Israel's policies. "If they don't want a diplomatic or international incident, they should stop state-sponsored ethnic cleansing," he said. "Releasing me is not going to change the facts of occupation." Israel's government has rejected claims that its actions amount to ethnic cleansing, and the IDF's statement did not address that charge.
What the 28-Day Ban on Israeli Volunteers Means
Strober said the Israeli members of the group will not be allowed to return to the West Bank for 28 days. Lander later said the multiweek ban "means they will be unable to participate in the olive harvest." That is a practical penalty for the Israeli volunteers, who are a smaller part of the group than the international volunteers but a visible one.
The ban could keep those volunteers out of the grove for the rest of the picking period, depending on how long the harvest runs. It also means the group will have to work with fewer members and may have to rely more heavily on the international volunteers, including the Americans in the delegation. The next test is whether the restriction is enforced as described and whether the military adds to its explanation of the detentions.
How the Detentions Fit Into New York's 10th District Race
Lander's Democratic primary race against Rep. Dan Goldman was dominated by the candidates' views about Israel. Both men are Jewish. Lander has been more critical of Israel's government and of the war in Gaza than Goldman has been, and the primary turned on that difference. The detention gives Lander a story that puts his position on Israel in a setting outside the district.
This could keep Israel at the center of the district's politics. A candidate who was detained by the Israeli military while doing volunteer work is likely to be asked about the episode, and Lander's own account, with its direct language about the occupation, is likely to define how supporters and opponents read it. The episode also puts the question of Israeli military control over the West Bank in front of voters who may not have followed the olive harvest itself.
For readers, the central question is simple. Israel says the harvest was an unauthorized security risk near a settlement. Lander and his group say they were restoring a harvest that Palestinian farmers had not been able to carry out for nearly two years. Both claims can be checked against the military's future statements, the ban's enforcement, and whatever the grove yields this season.
Questions and answers
Why was Brad Lander detained in the West Bank?
Lander said he was detained by the Israel Defense Forces while taking part in an olive harvest. The IDF said soldiers detained people harvesting olives due to the security risk of an uncoordinated harvest near an Israeli community.
Was Brad Lander released?
Yes. Lander said Israeli authorities released him with a warning. Protect the Harvest said all but four of those detained had been released by Wednesday afternoon, and Lander later said everyone in the delegation had been released.
What happens to the Israeli volunteers now?
Protect the Harvest spokesperson Beck Strober said the Israeli members of the group will not be allowed to return to the West Bank for 28 days. Lander said the ban means they will be unable to participate in the olive harvest.
Topics: Brad Lander, West Bank, Israel Defense Forces, Olive harvest, New York's 10th District, Dan Goldman, Protect the Harvest
Sources: NBC News