Yinon Magal Apologizes to Hostage and Bereaved Families After Outcry

Radio host Yinon Magal apologized on Wednesday to families of hostages and bereaved families for remarks he made about participants in the "Mr. Abandonment" book. The controversy erupted after Magal called the book's participants "despicable people" and "the lowest people living in the State of Israel" during a broadcast on Tuesday. He also suggested that the only way for them to "atone" was to vote for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During his radio show on 103FM, Magal initially attacked his co-host Ben Caspit, accusing him of misrepresenting his words and orchestrating a "blood libel" campaign against him. "You ignited the whole event, you have no integrity, your whole life is politics," Magal stated, comparing the treatment to that allegedly directed at Netanyahu. He claimed he had intended to exclude the families from his criticism.

Later, during a segment where he replaced Erel Segal, Magal faced direct questioning from Eyal Berkovich, who demanded a more explicit apology. Berkovich called Magal's initial apology "half-hearted" and insisted he "made a huge mistake" and "must apologize" to the affected families.

Magal reiterated his apology to the bereaved and hostage families but stressed that "it is forbidden to fabricate a blood libel." He admitted it was a mistake not to have clarified his position earlier, stating, "I had to clarify things earlier, I had to do it from the start, and that was a mistake, and I completely accept that." He insisted he had no intention of hurting the families.