Israel\u2019s president, Isaac Herzog, on Sunday delivered an unusually harsh indictment of what he described as \u201ca terrible process of brutalization\u201d creeping into Israeli society.<\/p>\n
He cited examples of thuggery like a surge of \u201cmob\u201d violence by Jews against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the abuse of detainees in Israeli custody.<\/p>\n
Mr. Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, was speaking at an event to award the annual Jerusalem Unity Prize at his official residence. The award was established by the families of three Israelis who were abducted and killed by Palestinians in the West Bank in 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I could speak today only about unity,\u201d Mr. Herzog said before launching into a discussion of the actions taken by some Israelis that have prompted international censure and, he said, are \u201cthreatening us all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are segments among us that are barely shocked by violence anymore,\u201d Mr. Herzog said. \u201cCertain other segments treat it lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n
He warned that extremist and inhuman behavior is being normalized, and even celebrated, by some people on the margins of Israeli society and that such violent conduct was \u201cthreatening to enter the mainstream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Herzog also took note of the rise of gun violence<\/a> within Israel\u2019s Arab minority, which makes up about a fifth of the population. And he denounced the \u201cdisgraceful and ugly conduct by extremists against Christians<\/a> and Muslims who live among us<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n But he reserved particular condemnation for extremist settlers in the West Bank, describing them as a lawless, anarchistic mob whose attacks \u201cdefile our home and depart from every basic norm \u2014 moral, legal or Jewish.\u201d<\/p>\n And he excoriated what he called \u201cbrutal acts\u201d against detainees by \u201ca handful of people who think that detainees, those under interrogation or suspects have no human rights at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Israeli presidents as a rule act as a unifying voice and avoid controversy. But Mr. Herzog appeared to be expressing frustration at the lack of limits placed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s governing coalition, the most right-wing and religiously conservative in Israel\u2019s history.<\/p>\n Mr. Netanyahu himself has minimized the intensifying and sometimes deadly settler violence<\/a> against Palestinians as the work of \u201ca handful of kids.\u201d Israeli security forces often turn a blind eye to the violence, and in some cases join the attackers in the service of expanding the Jewish settlement project.<\/p>\n The Israel Prison Service and other authorities issue flat denials of abuse in detention facilities despite mounting evidence of mistreatment of detainees<\/a>, including sexual assault.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s far-right minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, is widely accused of encouraging thuggish behavior. He has boasted of toughening conditions for Palestinian security prisoners.<\/p>\n Last week, Mr. Ben-Gvir posted a video of himself taunting detained pro-Palestinian activists<\/a> while they were handcuffed and pinned down to the deck of a ship. Israeli forces had intercepted their flotilla, which was aimed at breaching Israel\u2019s naval blockade of Gaza. In the minute-long video<\/a>, at least one of the detainees can be seen being manhandled by police officers.<\/p>\n Mr. Ben-Gvir\u2019s actions drew outrage both abroad and at home \u2014 including a rebuke from Mr. Netanyahu, a political ally.<\/p>\n On Sunday, Mr. Ben-Gvir took umbrage at Mr. Herzog\u2019s remarks, which made use of a Hebrew word that can be translated as \u201cbestial.\u201d<\/p>\n