Brad Lander says he was detained during West Bank olive harvest

Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 10th congressional district, said Wednesday that Israeli forces detained him during an olive harvest in the West Bank. Rabbis for Human Rights said about 90 volunteers and activists were detained while accompanying Palestinian farmers. Lander described his detention in a social media post, saying he was harvesting olives with rabbis and volunteers in a grove near Nehalim. The Israeli rights group said the harvest took place near Palestinian farmers in the West Bank. The accounts identify the incident as occurring Wednesday, October 21. Rabbis for Human Rights said the volunteers had been helping farmers harvest olives and that Israeli forces arrived after the group had been working for about two hours. The organization said authorities designated the area a closed military zone for 24 hours. That account was not accompanied in the supplied reports by an immediate explanation from Israeli authorities. Rabbi Jill Jacobs, chief executive of the American rights organization Truah and one of those detained, said the group agreed to leave but was put on buses and taken to a police station. She said some detainees were inside the...