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The IDF is investigating, and non-Orthodox rabbinical groups are speaking out, after footage on Tuesday showed a man in military fatigues pointing his weapon and firing a shot into the air near a group of volunteers at a West Bank Palestinian olive harvest, including US rabbis.
At the scene, near the northern West Bank village of Deir Istiya, a drone had hovered above the volunteers, then fell onto one of them, injuring her in the arm, footage showed.
Initially, the IDF had claimed that volunteers downed the drone with rocks, but later issued a correction. “The drone was not brought down by stones. The incident is under investigation,” the IDF’s statement said.
“The earlier response was based on initial reports and footage received, which will be included in the IDF’s internal investigation of the matter,” the statement said. It called the incident “exceptional” and said it involved “unprofessional conduct that will be investigated. Disciplinary measures will be taken against those involved accordingly.”
The incident came amid a string of reports and footage of settler violence disrupting the Palestinian olive harvest in the West Bank. Against that backdrop, groups of volunteers, including a mix of Israelis and foreigners, have come to harvest sites to protect the Palestinians and act as observers if attacks occur.
In Tuesday’s incident, the group of about 30 came from the left-wing groups Rabbis for Human Rights and Standing Together, and included a group of nine American rabbis from the liberal rabbinic group T’ruah, which has participated in previous olive harvests.
התקשרנו למשטרה, ומה קיבלנו? מתנחלים חמושים בנשקים עם מדים שהגיעו בשביל לקחת חזרה את הרחפן. הם הגיעו כאשר הם מכוונים נשק על הפעילים, לקחו את הרחפן ואז שחררו ירייה באוויר>> pic.twitter.com/lF01oLtIgX
— עומדים ביחד نقف معًا Standing Together???? (@omdimbeyachad) November 4, 2025
The rabbis belong to the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements. In response, the rabbinical associations of those three movements issued a relatively rare joint statement saying they were “appalled by the attack on a group of rabbis” by “radical settlers.”
“These colleagues were peacefully working with T’ruah and Rabbis for Human Rights to protect Palestinians during the annual olive harvest,” read the statement by the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and the Reform Central Conference of American Rabbis. “After stalking them for hours, a drone eventually struck and injured one of the rabbis, and armed settlers fired shots in the air despite there being no threat.”
The statement added, “We demand that the attackers be held accountable for their actions, and that the Israeli government use its authority to end such provocations and attacks.”
Labor MK Gilad Kariv, himself a Reform rabbi, also condemned the incident.
“This has gone beyond the defense establishment shutting its eyes and ignoring,” Kariv posted on X. “A not insignificant part of the Jewish nationalist violence in the territories is being committed in IDF uniform, with IDF weapons and by taking advantage of the position and strength of the military.”
According to footage and accounts from those present, after the drone fell on the volunteer, injuring her arm, two men in IDF fatigues arrived at the scene to pick up the drone.
The men appeared to be reservists from the emergency response team of a local settlement. They could be heard saying that the drone belongs to a settlement security coordinator, though it is unclear which settlement the drone came from.
After an argument broke out over the drone, one of the uniformed men pointed his weapon at the olive-picking volunteers while the other fired a shot into the air before the two withdrew from the area.
Kariv and Rabbi Jill Jacobs, the CEO of T’ruah, identified the injured volunteer as Rabbi Dana Sharon, a Rabbis for Human Rights staffer.
“Shooting at farmers simply trying to work their land, and at Rabbis standing beside them in solidarity, is beyond a criminal act — it is terror,” Rabbis for Human Rights posted on Facebook. “We will not let it win. We will continue harvesting across the West Bank and help Palestinians access their lands in dignity and safety.”
Several days earlier, two American Jewish women were jailed and deported from Israel, and given a 10-year ban on entering the country, after volunteering with Rabbis for Human Rights at another West Bank olive harvest. The IDF said the women had illegally entered a closed military zone.
And on Sunday, the IDF stated that several soldiers would be disciplined after video footage emerged showing them stealing olives from a grove in the West Bank Palestinian village of Sinjil, close to Ramallah, on Friday.
Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.
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