Brad Lander, NY-10 Nominee, Detained by IDF in West Bank, Released With Warning

5.0 · 10d ago · WORLD

The Facts

  • Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York's 10th Congressional District, was detained by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday while helping Palestinian farmers harvest olives. ✓5 · NBC News, NPR, Fox News, Al Jazeera, NY Times
  • About 80 volunteers and activists were detained together, according to NPR and to Rabbis for Human Rights as cited by Al Jazeera. ✓2 · NPR, Al Jazeera
  • Lander said he was released after about three hours, while other volunteers remained in custody. ✓2 · NY Times, Al Jazeera
  • The group was detained near the village of Nahalin (spelled Nehalim by Fox News), outside Bethlehem. ✓2 · Al Jazeera, Fox News
  • Lander, a former NYC comptroller, defeated Rep. Dan Goldman in the 2026 Democratic primary for NY-10. ✓2 · NBC News, Fox News
Dive deeper · 6 more factsShow less
  • The IDF and the Israeli government had not responded to requests for comment at the time of reporting. ✓2 · NBC News, Al Jazeera
  • Lander said on X that he was released from IDF custody with a 'warning'. He said he told officers he was not yet a congressmember, only a nominee. Al Jazeera only
  • According to Rabbis for Human Rights, the group had accompanied farmers for about two hours when Israeli forces told them they were in a closed military zone. The volunteers were then taken to a police station. Al Jazeera only
  • The detained group included American, Israeli, Palestinian, British and Canadian volunteers, per Rabbis for Human Rights. Al Jazeera only
  • Lander was in the West Bank with the 'Protect the Harvest' coalition. NBC News only
  • Israeli police said earlier in the week that they arrested 10 people suspected of taking part in settler violence against Palestinians and others. A UN report from July said more than 900 Palestinians were injured in settler attacks since the start of the year. NBC News only

Context

Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York's 10th Congressional District, was detained on Wednesday by Israeli forces in the West Bank while joining a volunteer olive harvest with Palestinian farmers. He said he was released after about three hours with a warning, while dozens of other volunteers remained in custody.

Rabbis for Human Rights said about 80 people were detained after forces told them they were in a closed military zone. Israeli authorities had not commented at the time of reporting.

Conflicting Reports

  • Fox News and NBC News, published early, said it was unclear whether Lander had been released; Al Jazeera and NY Times later reported he was freed.
  • Fox News attributes the group to 'Rabbis for Peace' while Al Jazeera cites the organisation as Rabbis for Human Rights; Fox's photo caption also uses Rabbis for Human Rights.

Sources (6)

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