A ceremony honoring efforts to strengthen unity in Israeli society sparked controversy on Sunday after Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned Jewish extremist violence against Arabs in Judea and Samaria and warned against the mistreatment of detainees, prompting fierce criticism from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Speaking at the presentation of the 2026 Jerusalem Unity Prize at the President’s Residence, Herzog said Israel was witnessing “a terrible wave of violence carried out by a lawless mob in Judea and Samaria” and cautioned against what he described as a growing process of “brutalization” on the fringes of Israeli society.
“We are witnessing a terrible wave of violence carried out by a lawless mob in Judea and Samaria,” Herzog said. “Acts that defile our home and depart from every basic norm—moral, legal or Jewish.”
The president slammed recent attacks on members of other faiths.
“We are exposed to disgraceful and ugly conduct by extremists against Christians and Muslims who live among us, as if the basic morality of human beings, the commandments of the Torah of Israel regarding the love of the stranger who dwells alongside us, carry no meaning whatsoever. And we are exposed to brutal acts by a handful of people who think that detainees, those under interrogation, or suspects have no human rights at all.”
He stressed the importance of preserving human dignity even during wartime.
“I stand here and say aloud: Unity begins with humanity,” Herzog said. “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.”
He added, pointedly, “It is forbidden to abuse detainees, however contemptible they may be. 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.”
Otzma Yehudit backlash
Herzog’s comments drew a harsh backlash from Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party. Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, a member of the party, left the ceremony in protest, while Ben-Gvir later issued a statement accusing the president of insulting a large segment of the Israeli public.
“A president who calls hundreds of thousands of citizens of the State of Israel [living in Judea and Samaria] ‘beasts’ is not fit to serve,” Ben-Gvir stated.
Defending his policies as national security minister and his recent treatment of pro-Palestinian flotilla activists detained by Israeli authorities, Ben-Gvir said he had ended what he described as “summer camps for terrorists” in Israeli prisons and asserted that “Israel no longer turns the other cheek.”
The controversy eclipsed a ceremony intended to highlight initiatives promoting unity and social cohesion across Israeli society.
The Jerusalem Unity Prize was founded by the families of Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Fraenkel, the three Israeli teenagers abducted and murdered by Hamas terrorists in 2014, together with former Jerusalem Mayor and current Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat, who addressed the ceremony.
“What unites us is far greater than what divides us,” said Barkat, credited with creating the prize, which seeks to preserve the sense of national solidarity that emerged during the search for the three teens and in its aftermath.
“Twelve years have passed since the entire people of Israel mobilized to search for Eyal, Gilad and Naftali,” Herzog said. “In all the years since, this prize has been awarded to preserve that very energy of unity.”
2026 laureates
This year’s national Jerusalem Unity Prize was awarded to the Religious Division of the Israeli Scouts Movement, known as Edat HaTzofim, for fostering shared values, leadership and volunteerism among religious youth across Israel. The local prize went to the Negev-Hebron Hills Covenant Initiative, established after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks to bring together residents of the western Negev and Gush Etzion in an effort to promote social healing and national solidarity.
The international award was presented to the Straus-Amiel Institute for strengthening ties between Israel and Jewish communities worldwide through rabbinic leadership and educational outreach. The Netur Integration Beit Midrash received the educational institutions prize for creating a learning framework that brings together students from diverse religious and social backgrounds, while the Municipality of Eilat was recognized in the local authorities category for initiatives that advanced communal resilience, civic partnership and unity among residents.
Certificates of merit were awarded to Rabbi Yonatan Reiss, founder of the Chedvata network of haredi hesder yeshivot, for promoting meaningful national service among ultra-Orthodox youth, and to Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, for advancing shared society and strengthening ties between the Druze community and the State of Israel.
Herzog concluded his remarks by urging Israelis to uphold the values that bind the country together.
“Our people is a magnificent people, with tremendous strengths,” he said. “But in order to act with those strengths, we must draw red lines.”
