Former Northampton rabbi detained during West Bank olive harvest

NORTHAMPTON — Rabbi Justin David, who formerly led Congregation B'nai Israel in Northampton, was detained by Israeli police last Wednesday while volunteering at an olive harvest in the West Bank. David and dozens of other rabbis and international volunteers, including New York congressional candidate Brad Lander, were held in Nahalin near Bethlehem. He was later released after interrogation, though he was one of four volunteers formally arrested and charged with crimes including "supporting a terrorist organization." All charges were dropped, and no one was deported.

David said he traveled to the West Bank as part of T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, an alliance of rabbis advocating for social justice. He emphasized his work was solely to help Palestinian families with their olive harvest, not a political protest. "This was never intended to be a civil disobedience action," David said in a phone call with the Gazette from Israel. "I think the more proper way to understand it is that we were going to do work."

The Israeli military told the Associated Press that the farmers and volunteers had not sought prior approval and were detained "due to the security risk posed by conducting an uncoordinated harvest near an Israeli community." The military later stated it viewed "the arrival of dozens of activists as an act intended solely to provoke, which undermines the harvesting process."

The detainment occurred amid rising tensions during this year's olive harvest. Israeli rights group Yesh Din and the Palestinian Farmers' Union have reported that the 2026 harvest has been the most violent in recent history, with incidents of theft, beatings, and arson. Each day, 50 to 60 volunteers would travel to a different family grove to pick and bag olives. The first two days proceeded without incident, but on the third day outside Beitar Illit, local police and military officers arrived and detained the group after spotting an observer.

David said officers were "very disorganized and unprofessional," noting they did not appear specifically trained in counterterrorism. He recalled being held for several hours and speaking with a lawyer. The reason for his interrogation remains unclear to him; he suggested it could have been random or tied to social media activity. One volunteer was shown a 2013 social media post mentioning Hamas, though that person would have been 11 years old at the time, David said.

Congressman Jim McGovern, whose district includes Northampton, said he was "outraged" to learn of David's detention. "The Israeli government should never have taken him into custody in the first place," McGovern said in a social media statement. "Occupation and settlement expansion violate international law. Harvesting olives and protecting Palestinian families from violence do not."

David was advised not to return for the final day of the harvest that Friday. Two more weeks of volunteer work had been planned, but the West Bank closed after two Israeli soldiers were killed in Hebron. David led Congregation B'nai Israel for more than 20 years, bringing social justice volunteer opportunities into the synagogue. He was arrested in New York City in 2017 while protesting Trump's refugee policies and joined protests against Netanyahu's proposed judicial changes during a 2022 sabbatical in Israel. He now serves as rabbi at the Beacon Hebrew Alliance in Beacon, New York.

This was David's second trip to Israel since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and the subsequent three years of violence in Gaza. He said both Israelis and Palestinians express resignation about the current political situation and anxiety about the upcoming Israeli election. Despite witnessing "the ugliness" of the conflict firsthand, David said he was struck by Palestinian resilience and determination to protect their families, farms, and lives.