A progressive congressional candidate backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank on Wednesday morning.Brad Lander, a former member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), scored an upset primary victory this year against Rep.Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.
But he was far from the New York City-area district this week, posting on X that he and others were being held by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) while on a trip to help Palestinian farmers harvest olives in disputed territory."I’ve been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis & volunteers.We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nehalim in the West Bank.
The occupation is a crime under international law.Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know," Lander posted on X.LIBERAL MS NOW WRITER CALLS MAMDANI PRIMARY SWEEP A 'GENUINELY SCARY NIGHT FOR NEW YORK CITY JEWS'Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, and Brad Lander, former New York City comptroller and U.S.
Democratic House candidate for New York, campaign during a primary election in New York, on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.(Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)Lander is one of several anti-establishment candidates who Mamdani backed in New York City Democratic primaries this year.
And he's not the first to get into a dust-up with law enforcement, either.Socialist candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who defeated Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., in their primary race, said she was knocked to the ground by NYPD officers during a protest against federal immigration authorities shooting an illegal immigrant in the Bronx this month.MAMDANI'S TEAM REPORTEDLY CLASHING WITH SOCIALIST CANDIDATE HE ENDORSED OVER ICE SHOOTINGRabbis for Human Rights said congressional candidate Brad Lander was detained by Israeli law enforcement while in the West Bank this week.(Rabbis for Human Rights via X)Lander is the former New York City comptroller and a former...