Brad Lander released after Israeli forces detained him at a West Bank olive harvest

Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller and Democratic nominee for the 10th Congressional District, said Israeli forces detained him Wednesday while he was helping Palestinian farmers pick olives in the occupied West Bank, and released him hours later with a warning, Gothamist and ABC7 reported.

What Lander and organizers say happened

In a post on X, Lander said he was detained along with a group of rabbis and volunteers harvesting olives near Nahalin, a Palestinian village southwest of Bethlehem. "Harvesting olives isn't a crime under any law I know," he wrote. In a later post, he said he had been released with a "warning," apparently because of his public profile, adding that he had told officers he was only a nominee, not yet a member of Congress. He said several dozen people detained with him were still being held and should be released, according to ABC7. Gothamist reported that he announced his release just before 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Rabbis for Human Rights, one of the groups that organized the harvest, said volunteers had been working for about two hours when Israeli army, police and Border Police forces arrived and declared a 24-hour closed military zone, ABC7 reported. The group said volunteers agreed to leave but were detained for identification and taken to a police station, where foreign nationals were separated from Israeli volunteers.

The group's acting director, Anton Goodman, told Gothamist by phone that he was still being held at an Israeli police station. He said security forces told the group, "No, we're going to detain you all," after he offered to leave. Goodman put the group at about 70 Israeli and international volunteers, including about 15 rabbis; the organization's own count cited by ABC7 was roughly 90 volunteers and activists. The volunteers were trying to reach olive groves that Palestinian farmers had not been able to access for years, organizers said.

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and a former City Hall spokesperson, wrote on X that 33 American citizens were being held as of Wednesday morning, Gothamist reported. Neither the State Department nor the Israel Defense Forces immediately responded to Gothamist's requests for comment.

Why it matters in New York

Lander, a close ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, unseated Rep. Dan Goldman in the June Democratic primary and is expected to win the 10th District, which covers parts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, on Nov. 3. Israel was a major issue in that race, and Lander has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, Gothamist noted. He traveled to the West Bank this week with the "Protect the Harvest" coalition, which he said supports Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest. The trip comes as settler attacks during this year's harvest have drawn international condemnation.

Early voting in New York begins Saturday, Oct. 24.