The Israeli military arrested about 80 American, Israeli and British volunteers helping Palestinians harvest olives near Bethlehem, including New York Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander, several rabbis and Israel’s former deputy attorney general.
“I was arrested by the Israeli army, with a group of rabbis and volunteers,” Lander posted from a bus taking him to a police station. “We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nahalin in the West Bank. Occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives is not a crime under any law that I know of.”
Lander, who is Jewish and an outspoken critic of the Israeli government, describes himself as a liberal Zionist. He believes in the vision of Israel as a safe Jewish home, but argues that it cannot be a true democracy as long as it deprives Palestinians of their human rights and freedom.
I was detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis and volunteers. We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nehalim in the West Bank.\n\nThe occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives is not a crime under any law that I know of. https://t.co/r7B5Q3RvjY
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) October 21, 2026
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An ally of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Lander’s critical approach to Israel was a key factor in his resounding primary victory over Dan Goldman, a prominent Israel supporter.
He condemns Israel’s continued occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, supports the restriction of US military aid to Israel and believes that the Israeli military campaign in Gaza after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 amounts to genocide.
Settler activists unleashed extreme violence against Palestinians attempting to harvest olives from their trees across the occupied West Bank, and against all those who accompanied them.
A brutal assault on an American photojournalist and attacks on European diplomats and a French mayor over the weekend sparked international condemnation and calls for the Israeli government to crack down on activists.
Olive picking Wednesday outside the village of Nahalin went without incident until the arrival of a large contingent of Israeli security forces, Protect the Harvest organizers said in a statement.
“All the volunteers were harvesting peacefully on the private land of a Palestinian family who had invited them. For reasons that remain unclear, the Israeli army showed up and arrested around 80 people present.”
The soldiers said the area had been declared a closed military zone, separated the group by nationality and took them to a nearby police station in minibuses for the Israelis and in a larger bus for the Americans.
Joshua Schoffman, who served as Israel’s deputy attorney general for more than a decade, described the mass detention as a “total hallucination” in a social media post.
“Just now they told me that I was detained for the crime of harvesting olives,” he wrote. “We were asked to stop, and everyone obeyed. There was no friction with the settlers or the security forces.”
Lander was released with a warning, but everyone else was still detained, Protect the Harvest said. Among the detainees are Jill Jacobs, executive director of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, and 11 other American rabbis affiliated with the group.
The detainees received water but no food. The Israeli army and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Monday, Lander published a first article about his trip to Palestine. “Our goals for this trip are to help protect the olive harvest – and to shine a light on the reality of the occupation,” he wrote. “Fortunately, our harvest spot today was peaceful and successful. But unfortunately, violence is never far away.”
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