Channel 14 Host Yinnon Magal Expresses Hurt Over Netanyahu's List Decision

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a last-minute decision Tuesday to reserve a spot on the Likud party list for his associate, Channel 14 commentator Yaakov Bardugo. However, another Channel 14 personality, host Yinnon Magal, was not included and expressed his disappointment.

Speaking on his radio show on 103FM, Magal told interviewer Nadav Peri that he felt hurt by the decision. "Fairly, I was hurt. What can I tell you, I think I am worthy, I think I am suitable. I think I have given a lot of myself for the "Gush" [a reference to the religious Zionist bloc] and the success of the group. I didn't understand why I didn't get a phone call, but okay, I continue to support the bloc," Magal stated.

When asked what he told someone else from the station who inquired about his situation, Magal reportedly said, "It's beneath him. He is waiting for the moment when the tribal chief finishes his political career, one way or another, and then he will enter the event. He has already done the Knesset, that was enough for him. He will aim for the next stage of his political career at the very top."

Netanyahu's decision to reserve a spot for Bardugo came just hours before the party lists were finalized. In addition to Bardugo, Netanyahu reserved spots for six other individuals: Rani Guili's mother, Talik; reservist Elisha Medan; head of the "HaBitachonistim" movement, Amir Avivi; former MK Eli Goldschmidt; attorney David Peter; and bereaved father Itzik Bonzel.