Public Figure's Remarks Spark Outrage, Prompt Personal Attack
Translated & summarized from Ice by baba
Businesswoman Galia Albin has ignited a political firestorm in Israel with remarks on a podcast that linked supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Mizrahi ethnicity and dismissed their intelligence. Her comments, which included a dismissive clap, drew sharp condemnation from Netanyahu and others. In response, social media activist Ronit HaBibiistit launched a personal attack, referencing Albin's past and the death of her husband, Miki Albin, who died in a fall during a 1985 investigation.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Galia Albin linked Netanyahu supporters to Mizrahi ethnicity and dismissed their intelligence in a podcast interview.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Albin's remarks as "disgusting arrogance and humiliation."
- Social media activist Ronit HaBibiistit attacked Albin personally, referencing her husband's death.
- Miki Albin, Galia Albin's late husband, died in a fall during a 1985 embezzlement investigation.
- Albin expressed intent to vote for Naftali Bennett and proposed a government with Yair Lapid and Gadi Eisenkot.
A new political and media storm has erupted in Israel following controversial statements made by businesswoman and public figure Galia Albin. During an interview on the podcast "Hakol Pתוח" (Everything Open), Albin sharply criticized supporters of the Likud party, directly and offensively linking voting for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a Mizrahi (Eastern) ethnic background. She also mimicked clapping in a dismissive manner.
Albin's remarks began when she recounted encounters with women in Sderot and Dimona who, despite suffering greatly from the October 7th attacks, stated they would continue to vote for Netanyahu. Albin expressed astonishment, declaring, "The Bibiists are only Mizrahim," and asserted, "There is no connection between the hand that places the ballot and the brain." She added that she had no problem "putting on an accent." She further claimed that Netanyahu himself was the only non-Bibiist among the Bibiists, describing him as "Ashkenazi, privileged, snobbish, racist, who doesn't hold onto his supporters."
Albin also revealed her intention to vote for Naftali Bennett and proposed a government including Yair Lapid and Gadi Eisenkot. These statements drew furious reactions from the political arena, notably from Prime Minister Netanyahu, who issued a strong statement calling Albin's "arrogance and humiliation of millions of Israelis who vote for the right in Israel... disgusting" and urged the public to respond to this racism at the ballot box.
The controversy escalated when social media activist Ronit HaBibiistit, a former contestant on the reality show "Big Brother," posted a scathing personal attack on Albin. Ronit shared a screenshot from a report detailing Albin's personal life, where Albin described herself as "a known lover of men" with relationships with "the best available men in Israel and also a bit abroad," calling herself a "hopeless flirt" and open to dating men decades younger. Ronit used these statements to criticize Albin, referencing the circumstances of the death of Albin's second husband, businessman Miki Albin. In August 1985, Miki Albin died after falling from a third-floor window during an investigation into alleged embezzlement. Police and the court ruled the incident a suicide or a failed escape attempt.
In her post, Ronit sharply attacked Albin's remarks, sarcastically commenting, "If Galia Albin's husband had done something positive with his hands like clapping, he wouldn't have jumped to his death when caught for embezzlement, and if the lady had been busy clapping, she wouldn't have occupied her hands with flirting with men her children's age..." These comments are currently generating significant controversy online.
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