
Professor at UC Davis. Father of 3. Join me on Bluesky (@drcontrexin.bsky.social) for science. Here for politics. Views 100% my own!
California, USA
Joined February 2018
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An “uncoordinated olive harvest.” This is insane.
Is @bradlander a provocateur? Absolutely. Did he come looking for a spectacle to burnish his far-left credentials? Without a doubt.
Was the IDF justified in removing him from an area where an uncoordinated olive harvest was taking place? Yes. But did doing so play directly into his hands? Also yes (just google his name and see the number of articles all over the world).
We can argue all day that Lander was wrong and Israel was right, but that misses the point. In his political circles, he is now the victim of Israeli aggression, which is exactly the image he came looking for. Israel should have known better than to give him what he wanted.
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
The Israeli Foreign Ministry is lying.
No coordination was required, and we were never told that it was. We were not in a restricted security area. We did not pass any checkpoints.
Palestinian farmers do not — and should not — need permits to harvest their own olive fields. But they fear doing so, because the IDF doesn’t protect them from settler violence.
We’re trying to model solidarity & co-existence between Jews and Palestinians, and to call attention to the horrors of the occupation. The Israeli government is trying to foment violence between Jews and Palestinians, and to make it impossible for Palestinians to harvest their olive groves, drive on their roads, or live in their homes.
This was not about harvesting olives.
It was about harvesting headlines.
Brad Lander’s latest stunt is nothing more than a calculated political provocation.
Lander traveled to a foreign country, deliberately entered a restricted security area, and participated in an unauthorized activity without the required coordination.
What makes this stunt even more outrageous is that his own team contacted Israeli representatives in the United States ahead of his visit and was explicitly informed that proper coordination with the relevant authorities was required.
He chose to ignore those instructions.
At a time of heightened security tensions, Israeli security forces have a responsibility to protect lives, prevent dangerous incidents, and maintain public order.
Had anyone been injured as a result of his reckless political theater, Lander would undoubtedly have been among the first to demand that Israeli authorities intervene and provide protection.
Brad Lander came looking for a confrontation. Now he is pretending to be its victim.
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
I’ve been released from IDF custody with a “warning,” apparently because of my public profile (I told them I wasn’t even a congressmember yet, just a nominee).
But several dozen rabbis & participants harvesting olives with me are still in detention. For harvesting olives. They should all be released immediately.
To be clear: Palestinians face far worse consequences every day. These detentions by the IDF are one more attempt to undermine Palestinians’ right to harvest their olive groves, travel on their roads, and live in their homes. Yet one more element of escalating, and very clearly state-sponsored ethnic cleansing.
We’ll update on their status as soon as we hear.
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
Today was our second day in the olive groves with the “Protect the Harvest” coalition.
Listen to Amira Musallam from @ucpinpalestine share a horrific story of a mom and two small kids who were violently attacked by settlers earlier this year — in a house that sits just above the olive grove where we harvested today.
These are the kinds of assaults that Palestinians in the West Bank are subject to constantly. We’ll keep shining a spotlight on what’s happening here – in the pursuit of ending the scourge of state-sanctioned settler terrorism.
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
Today, Brad Lander, rabbis, and other New Yorkers accompanied Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest. For that, they were detained by the Israeli government.
Harvesting olives is not illegal. The occupation is.
I am thankful that Brad has been released. But other New Yorkers remain detained, and they must be released immediately.
The same Israeli government detaining them has committed a horrific genocide against Palestinians, killing more than 74,000 people over the last few years alone.
The detention of these New Yorkers must end. The occupation must end. The genocide must end.
I am waiting for @netanyahu and @Isaac_Herzog to pipe in calling Brad Lander a liar who is staging a photo up. Or maybe Mr. Witkoff will be brazen enough to compliment Netanyahu & Herzog as great humanitarians like Putin & Trump.
The world needs a new generation of leadership!
When the government of Israel and its military and law enforcement are arresting rabbis and volunteers who have journeyed 6000 miles to protect Palestinian farmers harvesting olives and not the violent terrorists harassing and attacking the farmers - it tells you all you need to know about this government's moral compass.
The time is long past for every rabbi and every Jewish leader - and every Jew - globally who cares about the future of the Jewish people and the values on which we were raised to speak out and take action.
This illegal and immoral occupation must end. It's not just the fate of the state of Israel at stake, it's the soul of the Jewish people.
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navi Pillay has called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stand trial for genocide in Gaza. trib.al/YAT9y9I
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
Brad Lander: "We're being arrested by the Israeli military for harvesting olives."
🔗Read more: haaretz.com/west-bank/2026-1…
Credit: Tamar Glazerman, @rabbis4HR
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
Mississippi's Attorney General has ruled that a white Senatobia police officer was justified in fatally shooting a Black infant, Kohen Wiley, in June. Senatobia's police chief was fired last month after he was found to have used racial slurs in private texts.
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
Laura Loomer proudly says she is on the side of Amy Acton’s mother, a woman who protected a pedophile that raped her own daughter.
Seriously screw every Republican who is attacking @VivekGRamaswamy over this ad by Amy Acton’s @amyactonoh own mother calling Amy out for being a liar.
Don’t you all remember when Democrats ran an ad against @RepGosar featuring his siblings?
Don’t you remember when Democrats paraded Mary Trump around to attack President Trump.
The GOP is full of losers who hate winning. Now they are running defense for Amy Acton, a drunk woman who locked Ohio down during COVID instead of further investigating whether or not Amy Acton lied about her mother and stepfather.
I am on the side of Amy’s mother.
Amy’s mother is a woman and the Democrats told us that we need to believe all women.
If you live in Ohio, get out and vote for @VivekGRamaswamy!
I’ve seen new polling today that shows him up in the polls. Don’t believe the betting markets whose investors are Democrat mega donors.
Vivek is winning.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Acton's mother lost custody of her children after years of documented issues, including time spent living in a tent and a spouse who sexually abused her daughter Amy (Acton). Amy Acton's brother has also confirmed this story.
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wkbn.com/news/local-new…
time.com/collections/co…
vindyarchives.com/news/2019/aug/…
614now.com/2020/culture/c… actonforgovernor.com/meet-amy/
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
If you turn on your TV, you'll see lies claiming Prop 40 is a Trojan Horse and will come for everyone. Gabriel Zucman explains why this is false, and why we need a wealth tax, not just an income tax, on billionaires.
Vote YES on Prop 40
Vote NO on Props 41 & 42
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
Amy Acton's estranged mother lost custody of her children after her second husband was charged with rape and indicted by a grand jury. In court, Amy's mother stood by her husband instead of her twelve-year-old daughter. They haven't spoken since that day in court, nearly 50 years ago.
Politics has become such a disappointing sport of outrage-fueled mud-slinging, personal attacks targeting families, and blatant lies designed to divide. Candidates should debate the issues and focus on convincing voters that their plans and leadership will make life better. That's what politics should be about: bringing people together. Stunts like today's attack ad against Dr. Acton are beneath anyone seeking to lead. nytimes.com/2026/10/20/us/po…
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is facing backlash over an ad featuring his opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother urging voters not to elect her.
Acton’s mother lost custody of her children after her husband was charged with sexually abusing Acton as a child.
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
ICE and CBP are OUT OF CONTROL.
Democrats WILL investigate their abuses when we win back Congress.
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
UPDATE—New video shows ICE hit man on bike with their unmarked car on purpose.
Agents were speeding the wrong way down a one-way street in residential neighborhood.
Still no reason given for targeting Ricardo Gonzalez—a U.S. citizen—in the first place.
ICE run over U.S. citizen riding his bike—break his arm.
Agents handcuff him behind his back without calling paramedics.
They inflict even more injuries—send him to the hospital in serious condition.
Then agents detain another U.S. citizen—for yelling at them on the sidewalk.
Man with the broken arm's daughter says he was hit on his e-bike by an unmarked car.
He was then tased twice and pinned to the ground—currently receiving treatment at the hospital.
Multiple ICE vehicles were running through stop signs—speeding the wrong way down one-way streets.
All on a weekend afternoon with kids playing outside.
Incident occurred near the intersection of East 56th Street & Elm Avenue in Long Beach, California.
Stop ICE Net doesn't have an account on this platform—so posting first full length, English translated, and credited video here to help raise awareness.
A U.S. citizen was hospitalized with serious injuries after federal immigration agents reportedly used a Taser on him during a violent detention in Long Beach on Saturday, sparking outrage among neighbors and local elected officials. ktla.com/news/local-news/us-…
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
Corporate Democrats are now just screaming the quiet part - they are openly admitting they would rather have GOP/MAGA rule than work with the populist wing of the Democratic Party
James Carville says he'd rather have Republicans keep control of the House than Democrats winning the chamber by 5 seats.
"I would rather the Republicans keep the House by five than the Democrats win by five, because if that happens, they’re hostage to the DSA. Like, Hakeem cannot move. There’s no place for him to go."
Jorge E. Contreras retweeted
UPDATE: The fines have not stopped @A_train2_ from honoring the girls Israel has killed.
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