Israeli Military Detains Brad Lander in West Bank During Volunteer Trip
Supported by
Israeli Military Detains Brad Lander in West Bank During Volunteer Trip
Mr. Lander, a Democratic congressional nominee from New York, had been helping Palestinian farmers. He said he was released after about three hours, but that other volunteers were still in custody.
Brad Lander, a Democratic House nominee in New York City, was detained on Wednesday in the West Bank by the Israeli military while he participated in an international delegation to harvest olives alongside Palestinian farmers.
Mr. Lander shared news of his detention on social media, where he posted a photo of himself on a bus and said he was with a group of rabbis and other volunteers. In a phone interview, he said he had been detained for roughly three hours and then released, but that dozens of Israeli and international participants in the solidarity mission remained in custody.
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The Times says dozens of Israeli and international participants stayed in custody but never says Palestinian farmers were detained too. Without this, a reader believes only foreign and Israeli volunteers were held, and the Palestinians whose harvest it was drop out of their own story.
How we know
- Al-Monitor reported“Israeli police said it had detained Palestinian olive harvesters and dozens of Israeli and foreign activists”US Democratic congressional candidate Lander detained by Israeli authorities in West Bank (opens in a new tab)
- Anadolu Agency (English) reported“along with dozens of activists and Palestinian farmers”US Democratic congressional candidate Lander among those detained by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank (opens in a new tab)
The annual olive harvest, which began last month, is a significant Palestinian cultural rite and an economic lifeline for Palestinian villages in the West Bank. Attacks by Israeli extremist settlers in the territory have spiked in recent weeks, the latest in a surge of settler violence against Palestinians over the last few years. Mr. Lander, who is Jewish and a longtime advocate for Palestinian rights, has called Israel’s occupation of the West Bank “a crime under international law.”
“I was eventually released and I was told I was being given a warning, that my actions were illegal and wrong, and that we had created a public disturbance and gone where we weren’t supposed to go,” Mr. Lander said in an interview from the Palestinian town of Beit Jala in the West Bank.
In a statement, the Israeli military said it had detained “dozens” of people in an area near the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit “due to the security risk posed by conducting an uncoordinated harvest near an Israeli community.” It did not specify the nationalities of those detained and did not specifically mention Mr. Lander.
Related Content
Advertisement
Read the original article on nytimes.com (opens in a new tab)