NY Candidate Lander Says He Was Detained in West Bank Olive Harvest
17 sourcesUpdated Oct 21, 20261 min read
Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 10th Congressional District and a former city comptroller, said Israeli forces detained him Wednesday while he and a group of rabbis and volunteers harvested olives alongside Palestinian farmers near Nahalin in the West Bank. Rabbis for Human Rights said roughly 80 to 90 people were held after authorities declared the area a closed military zone. The group said detainees were identified and photographed before being taken to a police station, and foreign nationals were separated from Israeli volunteers. Lander had joined an advocacy coalition to assist Palestinian farmers and document conditions in the West Bank. His team said it was awaiting word on whether he would be released, arrested or deported.
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Right· 2 sources
Detaining nearly 100 people just for accompanying farmers during harvest feels like an overreach even in a declared closed zone.
Lander joining the olive harvest as a volunteer shows real commitment to seeing conditions on the ground firsthand.
