Hardline rabbi: Jews can take Palestinian olives to ‘demonstrate our ownership of the land’

Hardline Rabbi Dov Lior has issued a religious ruling stating that Jews are permitted to take olives from Palestinian groves in order to demonstrate Jewish ownership of the land. According to the ruling, consuming the olives fulfills the religious commandment to conquer the land.

The decision has drawn sharp criticism from a moderate rabbinic group, which condemned the ruling by stating that theft is strictly forbidden regardless of whether the victim is Jewish or non-Jewish.