Israel Considers Probing Rabbi Lior Over Olive Harvest Ruling

Israeli law enforcement is considering a criminal investigation into Rabbi Dov Lior, a prominent figure in the Hardal religious Zionist stream, following a religious ruling he issued permitting Jews to harvest olives from Palestinian orchards. While legal sources suggest that incitement to racism is a borderline offense and that the ruling does not contain an explicit call to violence, a senior law enforcement official stated that the ruling constitutes a call for theft and that "it is appropriate for the rabbi to be investigated."

Earlier, the organization "Kol Rabanim for Human Rights" filed a complaint with the police against Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba, suspecting him of incitement to racism, incitement to violence, and instigation to property theft. The complaint was filed after the rabbi's ruling, published last Friday, which allowed Jews to enter Palestinian lands and harvest olives from their groves.

The complaint was submitted by the organization's acting executive director, Anton Goodman, on behalf of 170 rabbis affiliated with the group. "I am sorry that I have to file a police complaint against a rabbi in Israel, but reality requires us to stand by the Torah," Goodman said. "Entering the lands of others and taking their harvest against the law is not what God wants from us in this land."

Rabbi Lior's ruling was published at the start of the olive harvest season, during a week that saw reports of attacks against Palestinian harvesters, journalists, and European diplomats participating in the harvest. Activists from "Kol Rabanim for Human Rights" stated that during each harvest season, their members work alongside Palestinian farmers in orchards across the West Bank, both to assist with the harvest and to protect the farmers, mitigate violence, and document events.