N.J. man among those detained as volunteers protect Palestinian farmers in West Bank from violence

WASHINGTON — A Cedar Grove man was among those detained by Israeli forces while helping Palestinian farmers harvest their olive crop in the West Bank, an action that Rep. Analilia Mejia called an “outrageous abuse of power.”

Alan Gordon was one of dozens of Americans, Israelis and Palestinians  participating in the annual harvest in the West Bank, where right-wing Israel settlers have been attacking residents. The group also included Jewish religious leaders and Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander of New York. 

“The problem in the West Bank is not peaceful volunteers helping Palestinian families harvest their crops,” said Mejia (D-Glen Ridge).  “It is violent settlers terrorizing Palestinian communities with the backing and protection of the Netanyahu government.”

Gordon and the others have since been released. Reports said about 90 people initially were detained.

Mejia, a critic of the Israeli government, said the Israel Defense Forces should have been protecting the participants from the ongoing settler violence.

“These volunteers traveled thousands of miles to stand alongside Palestinian farmers facing threats of violence, intimidation, and displacement,” Mejia said. “Instead of protecting these families from settler attacks, Israeli forces detained the very people trying to keep them safe. That is an outrageous abuse of power, and I unequivocally condemn it.”

The IDF defended its actions, saying the action was taken “due to the security risk posed by conducting an uncoordinated harvest near an Israeli community.”

“Harvesting in this area requires a request to be submitted to the relevant authorities in advance of the start of the olive harvest season,” the IDF said on X. “This coordination is necessary to ensure the security of the area and maintain public order.”

American organizations representing Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis criticized the IDF’s actions.

“That farmers need to have others serve as a protective presence from violent settlers is itself a betrayal of Jewish values,” the rabbis said in a statement. “Yet recent settler attacks on Palestinian harvesters and those working alongside them — and authorities’ failure or refusal to stop such attacks – have made that protective presence necessary.”

Mejia said that volunteers shouldn’t be needed to keep the farmers safe and blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the settler violence.

“For generations, Palestinian families have cultivated this land, relying on their olive harvests to sustain their livelihoods,” she said. “Yet Netanyahu’s government continues to embolden violent settlers, expand illegal settlements, and use military force to deepen an occupation that denies Palestinians their fundamental rights.”

Mejia has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza after attacking the enclave in response to the Hamas attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023.