President defends human dignity while ministers reject criticism amid fierce debate over Israel’s moral boundaries.
President Isaac Herzog hosted the 2026 Jerusalem Unity Prize ceremony at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, using the occasion to issue a sharp warning against rising violence, extremism and moral erosion inside Israeli society.
The Jerusalem Unity Prize was founded by the families of Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Sha’er and Naftali Fraenkel, together with Nir Barkat, after the three teens were abducted and murdered in 2014. The prize was created to preserve the national unity that embraced Israel and world Jewry during those painful days.
Herzog said twelve years have passed since Israelis united in the search for the three boys, and that the award continues to protect that spirit of unity. But he warned that unity cannot survive without humanity and respect for human dignity.
The president spoke against murder in Arab society, extremist violence in Judea and Samaria, attacks on Christians and Muslims, and abuse of detainees or suspects. He said Israeli society must draw red lines, even during a just war, and must not allow brutality from the margins to enter the mainstream.
Herzog stressed that the Jewish people’s strength must be guided by morality, law and Torah values, saying every person is created in the image of God.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected the remarks, accusing Herzog of insulting Israeli citizens and defending his prison reforms against terrorists. Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf left the ceremony in protest.
The 2026 laureates included Edat HaTzofim, the Negev-Hebron Hills Covenant Initiative, the Straus-Amiel Institute, Netur Integration Beit Midrash and the Municipality of Eilat. Certificates of Merit were awarded to Rabbi Yonatan Reiss and Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif.
