Pres. Herzog condemns 'brutalization' in Israeli society amid rising violence

Israeli President Isaac Herzog warned Sunday of a growing “brutalization” within Israeli society, citing rising violence, attacks by extremist groups and the increasing murder rate within the Arab-Israeli community.

Speaking at the Jerusalem Unity Prize 2026 ceremony, Herzog said Israeli society was facing a dangerous moral deterioration that must not be allowed to spread into the mainstream.

“I wish I could speak today only about unity," Herzog told the audience.

"But to my great sorrow, we are living through days in which violence is not the only thing rearing its head. Alongside it, at the margins of our magnificent Israeli society, a terrible process is creeping in – a terrible process of brutalization. It is a slow and disturbing process, one that threatens to enter the mainstream of Israeli society, and we will not allow it," the president argued.

Herzog specifically referenced violence caused by “a lawless mob in Judea and Samaria,” referring to a minority of violent extremist Jews.

He also pointed to the growing murder rate within the Arab-Israeli community, which has been a persistent issue for years.

Separately, he condemned Jewish attacks against Muslims and Christians, describing such incidents as “disgraceful and ugly conduct by extremists.”

"I stand here and say aloud: unity begins with humanity," Herzog said. "Preserving human dignity, the image of God in every person, is the foundational condition for the entire edifice we are building. Even in the most just of all wars, we must preserve the image of God within us, and within every person who lives among us, or alongside us."

Herzog also criticized National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over his treatment of detainees from the anti-Israel Global Sumud Flotilla.

"It is forbidden to abuse detainees, however contemptible they may be," Herzog stated. "It is forbidden to take the law into one’s own hands. It is forbidden to harm people of other faiths and their symbols. And we cannot tolerate this brutalization that is emerging from the margins of our society and threatening us all.”

The criticism followed the publication of a video by Ben-Gvir showing his encounter with detained flotilla activists, drawing condemnation both inside Israel and abroad.

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Brandtson joined the international criticism after speaking with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

“The images shared by the extremist minister Ben Gvir, which showed the detained flotilla activists, are shocking and unacceptable,” Brandtson stated.

The incident was also criticized by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

Ben-Gvir, who has frequently faced domestic and international criticism for his conduct, responded by accusing Herzog of being unfit to serve as president.

"A president who calls hundreds of thousands of citizens of the State of Israel beasts is not fit to be president. Period," Ben-Gvir wrote in a post on 𝕏.

"I am proud of the changes I led in the prisons, with the end of the terrorists' kindergarten, with the fact that the prisons have turned into real prisons," he continued. "And of the fact that Israel no longer turns the other cheek to terror supporters."

The flotilla incident also prompted renewed criticism from Ireland, one of Israel’s harshest critics in Europe.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin called for a review of European Union trade relations with Israel.

“It’s no longer tenable that it would be business as usual with Israel, given its scant regard for European Union citizens,” Martin argued.

“The right to protest is a sacred one, within any democracy. The flotilla was in international waters and people were essentially abducted by the Israeli government on the high seas,” he claimed.

Ireland has emerged as one of the strongest critics of Israel in the Western world.