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Congressional Candidate Detained by Israeli Military During Olive Harvest
Confirmed
In Short: Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander, who is backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, was detained by Israeli military forces while participating in an olive harvest with Palestinian farmers in the West Bank on Wednesday.
Lander, a former New York City comptroller and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, was part of a group of 90 volunteers, including rabbis and activists, who were detained by Israeli law enforcement.
The group, which included Lander and members of Rabbis for Peace, was reportedly harvesting olives with Palestinian farmers when Israeli forces arrived and detained them.
Lander, who is Jewish, said in a video posted by the group that Palestinians have the right to harvest their land in peace.
The group included 33 US citizens, as well as British and Canadian citizens, according to Rabbi Jacobs, a 51-year-old conservative rabbi from Manhattan.
This is not the first time Lander has faced law enforcement during protests; he was previously knocked to the ground by NYPD officers during a demonstration against federal immigration authorities.
Lander's detention highlights the ongoing tensions surrounding the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, which is considered a crime under international law.
What's confirmed
- The occupation is a crime under international law.
What's still developing
- A progressive congressional candidate backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank on Wednesday morning.
- And he's not the first to get into a dust-up with law enforcement, either.
- Socialist candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who defeated Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., in their primary race, said she was knocked to the ground by NYPD officers during a protest against federal immigration authorities shooting an illegal immigrant in the Bronx this month.
- Lander is one of several anti-establishment candidates who Mamdani backed in New York City Democratic primaries this year.