A leaked internal document has exposed the origins of former New York City Comptroller and Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander’s recent trip to Judea and Samaria, revealing that the journey was arranged by a radical activist group to generate international pressure against Israel. The three-page document, marked “do not share or circulate,” originated from Protect the Harvest, the organization behind the delegation. Throughout the text, the group utilizes severe rhetoric, invoking allegations of ethnic cleansing and describing Israel’s military actions in Gaza with inflammatory language. The memo makes clear that the objective of bringing foreign figures to local olive groves is to cultivate an emerging consensus that international intervention is necessary, while offering vague initiatives aimed at pressing the Israeli government.
Lander, who defeated Representative Dan Goldman in this year’s Democratic primary, played a central role during the delegation. According to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Lander deliberately entered a restricted security zone where olive harvesting required advance coordination with authorities. When Israeli forces temporarily detained the group, Lander immediately used social media to broadcast that he had been detained by the Israel Defense Forces. He was released with a warning after a few hours.
Israeli officials swiftly condemned the episode. The Foreign Ministry characterized the excursion as reckless political theater, noting that Lander’s team had been explicitly informed beforehand that formal coordination was mandatory. By ignoring those instructions, Lander bypassed established channels. The Ministry stated that the event was focused on acquiring headlines rather than gathering olives, adding that approximately one hundred coordinated harvests had already taken place across Judea and Samaria without incident.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman also criticized the maneuver, dismissing activists who travel abroad to produce performative videos. Friedman asserted that Lander’s actions served no purpose other than boosting his political profile among progressive voters in New York.
The disclosure of the planning memo follows a series of controversial foreign policy positions and public appearances by Lander. Earlier this year, he spoke at a mosque where he accused Israel of genocide—a charge vigorously rejected by the Israeli government—and warned that the situation in Lebanon could follow a similar trajectory. During that same appearance, the self-described Jewish New Yorker declared he would oppose any future U.S. military aid to Israel and expressed a desire to align with congressional critics of Israel such as Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. He concluded his remarks by reciting a passage from the Quran in Arabic.
In addition to his overseas travels, Lander’s campaign channels have promoted economic sanctions against companies that supply banking services and construction materials to Jerusalem’s suburbs, a broad category that encompasses numerous mainstream Israeli firms. The emerging documentation details a consistent pattern of political outreach aimed at satisfying the progressive wing of his base through vocal opposition to Israeli policies.
