Brad Lander detained

New York politician Brad Lander was briefly detained by the Israel Defense Forces while harvesting olives in the West Bank.

“i've been detained by the idf, along with a group of rabbis & volunteers. we were simply harvesting olives in a grove near nehelim in the west bank”

Lander's campaign background

Lander, the former New York City comptroller and council member, joined rabbis and volunteers for Protect the Harvest, a non-profit helping Palestinian farmers harvest olives.

Lander's statement

Lander said he was harvesting olives with volunteers when armed military members stopped them and placed them on buses.

“we were simply harvesting olives in a grove near nehelim in the west bank”

IDF release statement

The IDF released Lander with a warning after he was detained, stating he was released once the matter was brought to their attention.

“regarding reports of the detention of a congressional candidate we note that he was released once the matter was brought to our attention”

Lander's release details

Lander was released with a warning after he told authorities he was not yet a congressmember but a nominee.

“i told them i wasn't even a congressmember yet just a nominee”

Rabbis for Human Rights response

Rabbis for Human Rights said they were harvesting peacefully and disputed allegations of not following protocol with authorities.

“we came to accompany farmers to land they have not been able to reach in three years”

Israeli Foreign Ministry reaction

Israel's Foreign Ministry called Lander's detention a 'stunt' and claimed he ignored instructions to coordinate with Israeli authorities.

“his own team contacted israeli representatives in the united states ahead of his visit and was explicitly informed that proper coordination with the relevant authorities was required”

Lander's defense

Lander said he informed the U.S. embassy of his trip and was not told to coordinate with Israeli authorities about the harvesting.

“when we got off the bus we didn't go through a checkpoint we didn't pass any israeli military or any kind of security”