Prominent Israeli Rabbi Dov Lior issued a Jewish religious ruling on Friday permitting settlers to steal olives from Palestinian orchards in the occupied West Bank. Lior’s ruling claims that Palestinian landowners who could not access their olives during the harvest season due to Israeli restrictions have been sufficiently compensated in the years they had access to the fruit, classifying the theft of olives from Palestinian farms as an “additional virtue.”
The Decree and the Harvest Violence
Lior argued in his ruling that the land remains under Jewish ownership because it was never purchased by Arabs from the Jewish people or from any individual Jew. The text asserts that settlers should “conquer the land” far from Jewish communities in order to publicly “demonstrate our ownership.” The ruling coincided with a wave of settler pogroms against Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest season. On Friday, at least 19 people were injured in 34 attacks by the Israeli military and settlers on Palestinians harvesting their crops across the West Bank.
Top Israeli rabbi issues ruling permitting settlers to steal Palestinian olive harvest——Israeli Rabbi Dov Lior has issued a religious ruling permitting Israeli settlers to take olives from Palestinian-owned land across the occupied West Bank, claiming that harvesting the crop… pic.twitter.com/nsapr3TN6a
Veteran photojournalist Heidi Levine, who was on assignment for The Washington Post, was hospitalized after Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank attacked her and a group of Palestinians. Levine stated that she was kicked repeatedly while on the ground and stripped of her equipment during an attack she estimated lasted 10 minutes. Nathaniel, a witness at the scene, said he was worried Levine was going to be killed and credited young Palestinian men with helping him reach her, saying they “stepped up and provided cover” by throwing rocks.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it was treating two people after they were beaten by settlers: a 63-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man. Human rights group Yesh Din documented 82 violent incidents against olive harvesters, 135 instances of crop theft and 39 cases of damage to or destruction of trees.
Political Condemnations and Religious Pushback
Mamoun Abu Amer, an analyst on Israeli politics, stated that the settler issue is sometimes confined to the ‘Hilltop Youth’ by those who claim the settlers are peaceful and law-abiding. Meanwhile, Knesset member Gilad Kariv of the left-wing Democrats Party criticized Lior, stating that whoever stands on the sidelines in this issue joins the camp of Rabbi Dov Lior and his criminals.
International and domestic officials responded to the violence with statements of condemnation. The Prime Minister’s Office said on X that “Israel unequivocally condemns violence against anyone. Jews, Arabs, Christians, or journalists.” Concurrently, US Tammy Duckworth of Illinois called for those responsible to be held accountable and for Israel to stop enabling broader efforts to annex the West Bank.
Investigation and Official Response to the Attack
The circumstances surrounding the confrontation near the village of Abu Falah remain under investigation. Israel Police opened an investigation after receiving reports of the attack, stating that they “view any act of violence with great severity, particularly when it involves members of the media carrying out their work.” The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated they would examine “all circumstances” around the incident after forces were dispatched following reports of a violent confrontation, with footage showing soldiers at the scene where one filmed with his phone and a second hurled a smoke grenade as a man begged him, Please don’t do it!
