On a bus bound for a police station, a New York congressional nominee wrote that he had been detained for doing something most people would consider ordinary: picking olives. Near Nahalin in the West Bank, roughly eighty volunteers from the United States, Israel and Britain, many of them rabbis, had joined Palestinian families at harvest time, a seasonal rhythm that has grown fraught as settler violence spreads across the occupied hills. Their detention, and the question of what law could make such work a crime, now sits within a longer human struggle over land, belonging, and who gets to be p
Israeli forces detain about 80 foreign volunteers, including Brad Lander, during West Bank olive harvest
About 80 volunteers were detained, with the majority still held at a police station and given water but no food, according to organisers.
Harvesting olives isn't a crime under any law I know.
On a bus bound for a police station, a New York congressional nominee wrote that he had been detained for doing something most people would consider ordinary: picking olives. Near Nahalin in the West Bank, roughly eighty volunteers from the United States, Israel and Britain, many of them rabbis, had joined Palestinian families at harvest time, a seasonal rhythm that has grown fraught as settler violence spreads across the occupied hills. Their detention, and the question of what law could make such work a crime, now sits within a longer human struggle over land, belonging, and who gets to be present on it.
Brad Lander was on a bus heading to a police station when he posted what had happened. He and a group of volunteers had been picking olives in a grove near Nahalin, in the West Bank, alongside Palestinian families who had invited them to help. Lander wrote that he knew of no law that made harvesting olives a crime.
The Israeli military detained about 80 volunteers from the United States, Israel and Britain. Among them were several rabbis and Joshua Schoffman, who had served as Israel's deputy attorney general for more than a decade. The organisers, a group called Protect the Harvest, said the day had been calm until a large force of security personnel arrived. Soldiers told them the area had been declared a closed military zone, then separated the volunteers by nationality and drove them away.
Schoffman called the detention a "complete hallucination," saying he had been told he was held for olive harvesting. Lander was released with a warning, but everyone else remained in custody, including Jill Jacobs of T'ruah and eleven other American rabbis. They had been given water but no food, and the military had not yet answered questions.
The detentions come against a backdrop of violence, as settlers have attacked Palestinians trying to pick olives and those who accompany them. The volunteers had come to protect the harvest and to bear witness to the occupation. Whether authorities explain the detentions, bring charges, or release the remaining volunteers is still unknown.
Brad Lander was on a bus, being driven to a police station, when he posted his account of what had happened. "I've been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis and volunteers," he wrote. He said they had been harvesting olives in a grove near Nahalin, in the West Bank, and that harvesting olives isn't a crime under any law he knows of.
The Israeli military detained about 80 volunteers from the United States, Israel and Britain who were helping Palestinians pick olives near Bethlehem. Besides Lander, the New York Democratic congressional nominee, the group included several rabbis and Joshua Schoffman, who served as Israel's deputy attorney general for more than a decade.
The organisers, a group called Protect the Harvest, said the day had been uneventful until a large contingent of Israeli security forces arrived. In a statement, they said all the volunteers were working peacefully on the private land of a Palestinian family who had invited them, and that the army detained roughly 80 people "for reasons that remain unclear." Soldiers told the group the area had been declared a closed military zone. They separated the volunteers by nationality and drove them to a nearby police station, using minibuses for the Israelis and a larger bus for the Americans.
Schoffman called the mass detention a "complete hallucination" in a social media post. He wrote that he had been told he was being held for the crime of olive harvesting. The volunteers were asked to stop, he said, and everyone complied. There was, in his words, no friction at all with settlers or with security forces.
Lander was released with a warning. According to Protect the Harvest, everyone else was still being held. Among them were Jill Jacobs, chief executive of T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, and 11 other American rabbis affiliated with that organisation. The detainees had been given water but no food. The Israeli military and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lander is Jewish and describes himself as a liberal Zionist. He believes in Israel as a safe Jewish home but argues it cannot be a true democracy while it denies Palestinians their rights and freedom. An ally of New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, he won his primary decisively against Dan Goldman, a prominent supporter of Israel, with his critical stance on Israel a key factor. He condemns the continuing occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, supports restricting US military aid to Israel, and believes Israel's military campaign in Gaza after the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 amounts to genocide.
The detention comes against a backdrop of violence around the harvest. Settler militants have attacked Palestinians trying to pick olives across the occupied West Bank, along with anyone accompanying them. Over the weekend, a vicious assault on a US photojournalist and attacks on European diplomats and a French mayor drew international condemnation and calls for the Israeli government to rein in the militants.
On Monday, Lander had written about the purpose of his trip: to help protect the olive harvest and to shed light on the reality of the occupation. He noted that his corner of that day's harvest had been peaceful and successful, though violence, he said, was never far away. What to watch now is whether the military or police explain the detentions, whether any charges follow, and when the remaining volunteers are released.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
For reasons that remain unclear, the Israeli army showed up and detained approximately 80 people who were present.— Protect the Harvest, organisers
Schoffman called the mass detention a complete hallucination and said there was no friction with settlers or security forces.— Joshua Schoffman, former Israeli deputy attorney general
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