A progressive congressional candidate claims he was detained by Israeli forces while trying to harvest olives in the West Bank.
House candidate Brad Lander, who is backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, posted about the detention on X. He included a photo, which appears to show uniformed military members boarding a bus full of “rabbis & volunteers.”
Look:
I’ve been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis & volunteers. We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nehalim in the West Bank.
The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know. https://t.co/r7B5Q3RvjY
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) October 21, 2026
“I’ve been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis & volunteers. We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nehalim in the West Bank. The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know,” he wrote.
The group was later released, which he also made a post about.
Watch:
I’ve been released from IDF custody with a “warning,” apparently because of my public profile (I told them I wasn’t even a congressmember yet, just a nominee).
But several dozen rabbis & participants harvesting olives with me are still in detention. For harvesting olives. They should all be released immediately.
To be clear: Palestinians face far worse consequences every day. These detentions by the IDF are one more attempt to undermine Palestinians’ right to harvest their olive groves, travel on their roads, and live in their homes. Yet one more element of escalating, and very clearly state-sponsored ethnic cleansing.
We’ll update on their status as soon as we hear.
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) October 21, 2026
The IDF also released a statement explaining the detention, claiming the “uncoordinated harvest” posed a “security risk” due to the fact that it was seemingly done without a necessary request.
“Earlier today, a number of harvesters, accompanied by dozens of individuals, arrived to conduct an uncoordinated olive harvest in an area near Beitar Illit. Harvesting in this area requires a request to be submitted to the relevant authorities in advance of the start of the olive harvest season. This coordination is necessary to ensure the security of the area and maintain public order,” the statement read. “Due to the security risk posed by conducting an uncoordinated harvest near an Israeli community, IDF soldiers, Border Police forces in Judea and Samaria, and officers from the Judea and Samaria District Police arrived at the scene and detained those present.”
While these would usually be the kind of posts that progressive leftists would flock to as an excuse to bash Israel, it appears that the comments went in a completely different direction. Many of them accused Lander of being a “Zionist” and engaging in performative stunts for attention.
Look:
More theatrics from Brad Pander.
In a 2017 feature titled “Please Don’t Arrest Me Until the Cameras Are Here,” The Wall Street Journal detailed how Brad Lander regularly engages in choreographed, non-confrontational arrests to build political profiles and highlight causes.… pic.twitter.com/y6509CN29f
— Reza Chowdhury (@RezaC1) October 21, 2026
@bradlander @rabbis4HR @israelispeaceny @ucpinpalestine You’ll never wash the blood of the 1000s of Palestinians you have on your hands @bradlander.
They let you go so quickly because they know you’re a proud Zionist who was happy to invest millions of $ from working class NY’ers’ pension funds into Israeli weapons manufacturers.
— MarketWatch Sucks Donkey Dong (@kay_enne) October 21, 2026
Sure Brad. You don’t do anything that isn’t a publicity stunt.
— Jeff (@Jeff_mortensen) October 21, 2026
As someone living in your district, this seems like a waste of time
— Kyle Russell (@kylebrussell) October 21, 2026
You literally invested in Elbit Systems, the company that produces the bombs used to slaughter Palestinians in Gaza
You condemn BDS as antisemitic
Stop the grift
— Propaganda & co (@propandco) October 21, 2026
Detained and taking selfies .. such performative nonsense from a walking clown show
— Michael A. Cohen (NOT TRUMP’S FORMER FIXER) (@speechboy71) October 21, 2026
