“This was not about harvesting olives. It was about harvesting headlines,” the Foreign Ministry said in a blistering statement.
By World Israel News Staff
Israel’s Foreign Ministry blasted Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander on Wednesday, accusing the prominent Israel critic of deliberately provoking a confrontation with Israeli security forces in Judea and Samaria and then portraying himself as a victim.
“This was not about harvesting olives. It was about harvesting headlines,” the Foreign Ministry said in a blistering statement after Lander was briefly detained while participating in an olive harvest near Nahalin, close to the Israeli community of Beitar Illit.
“Brad Lander’s latest stunt is nothing more than a calculated political provocation,” the ministry said.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Lander entered a sensitive security area and participated in an activity without properly coordinating with Israeli authorities.
The ministry said the incident was particularly egregious because Lander’s own team had contacted Israeli representatives in the United States before the trip and had been specifically informed that coordination with the relevant authorities was required.
“He chose to ignore those instructions,” the ministry charged.
Israeli authorities said the arrival of dozens of activists near an Israeli community created a security concern and that the harvest had not been properly coordinated. Lander was detained along with dozens of activists, including rabbis and other American and Israeli participants.
The IDF said Lander was released once authorities became aware of his status as a U.S. congressional candidate.
The Foreign Ministry argued that Israeli forces had a responsibility to prevent a potentially dangerous confrontation, particularly during a period of heightened security tensions.
“Had anyone been injured as a result of his reckless political theater, Lander would undoubtedly have been among the first to demand that Israeli authorities intervene and provide protection,” the ministry said.
“Brad Lander came looking for a confrontation. Now he is pretending to be its victim.”
Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York’s heavily Democratic 10th Congressional District, quickly took to social media after his release, saying Israeli authorities had let him go with a warning because of his political profile.
“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),” Lander wrote.
He demanded that the remaining activists be released and accused Israel of deliberately interfering with Palestinian farmers.
“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,” Lander wrote, describing the incident as “one more element of escalating, and very clearly state-sponsored ethnic cleansing.”
The activists involved in the harvest disputed the Israeli authorities’ account of the coordination requirements. Rabbis for Human Rights said the group had been harvesting peacefully and maintained that prior authorization was not required for the particular plot.
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 incident quickly became a political cause for Lander’s progressive allies in New York.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, one of Lander’s closest political allies, condemned Israel and repeated his accusation that the Jewish state is committing “genocide” against Palestinians.
“Today, Brad Lander, rabbis, and other New Yorkers accompanied Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest. For that, they were detained by the Israeli government,” Mamdani wrote.
“Harvesting olives is not illegal. The occupation is.”
Mamdani said he was thankful Lander had been released but demanded the immediate release of the other New Yorkers who remained in custody.
“The same Israeli government detaining them has committed a horrific genocide against Palestinians, killing more than 74,000 people over the last few years alone,” Mamdani claimed.
“The detention of these New Yorkers must end. The occupation must end. The genocide must end.”
