Prominent Israeli rabbi rules Jews may pick olives from Palestinian groves

Prominent Israeli rabbi rules Jews may pick olives from Palestinian groves Israel’s prominent rabbi Dov Lior ruled on Friday that Jews may pick olives from Palestinian-owned groves in the occupied West Bank, Haaretz reported. Lior claimed the land belongs to the Jewish people, and said harvesting it publicly asserts Jewish ownership and fulfils the religious duty of "conquering the land." The ruling contradicts a letter issued a week earlier by six other Israeli rabbis , who said picking olives from Palestinian groves was forbidden as theft. It comes amid a surge in settler attacks during the…