'Jewish terrorists': Pro-Israel columnist Bret Stephens speaks against West Bank settler violence

Bret Stephens, a pro-Israel New York Times columnist, used his Tuesday column to condemn West Bank settler violence, calling the perpetrators 'Jewish terrorists' and warning that unchecked attacks threaten Israel's security and Zionism. He cited a letter from retired IDF deputy chief Matan Vilnai to President Trump, and Israeli military figures showing settler-related crimes rose to 867 in 2025 from 682 in 2024. Stephens dismissed Netanyahu's framing of the violence as the work of 'juvenile delinquents.'

Bret Stephens, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist known for his robust defense of Israel, used his Tuesday column to directly condemn West Bank settler violence, calling the perpetrators 'Jewish terrorists.' He warned that unchecked attacks now pose a threat to Israel's security and to Zionism itself. Stephens drew heavily on a public letter sent Sunday to US President Donald Trump by Matan Vilnai, a retired IDF deputy chief of staff, on behalf of Commanders for Israel's Security. The letter cautioned that Israeli security services have been effective against Palestinian terror groups but hamstrung when it comes to curbing Jewish extremists. Stephens cited Israeli military figures showing nationalistic and settler-related crimes climbed to 867 incidents in 2025, up from 682 the year before. He also cited Eran Shamir-Borer of the Israel Democracy Institute, who told him the government has specifically declined to place suspected Jewish settlers under administrative detention, a practice regularly deployed against suspected Palestinian terrorists. Stephens dismissed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public framing of the violence as the work of roughly 150 'juvenile delinquents,' arguing that a government capable of eliminating a Hamas commander deep inside Iran cannot plausibly claim it's unable to rein in a few hundred vigilantes. The article also includes reactions from Rabbi Jill Jacobs of T'ruah, who said the issue reflects government policy aimed at annexing the West Bank, and from David E. Bernstein, a professor at George Mason's law school, who called the violence anti-Zionist.