Channel 14 Host Calls Opposition Leader a 'Monkey,' Sparks Outrage

By דביר ג'ברה

Translated & summarized from Mako by baba

CenterCharged tone

Hebrew · 15 newsrooms covering

Plus

Channel 14 host Yinon Magal called Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu, a "monkey" and claimed he was controlled by "elitist Ashkenazim." Eisenkot responded, criticizing Magal's "low level" and blaming the "person behind" him. The Yisrael Beiteinu party condemned the remarks as racist and compared them to past slurs against Mizrahim, predicting Eisenkot would win the upcoming election. Magal also recently faced backlash for calling families of fallen soldiers and hostages "despicable" for participating in a book critical of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The story in 6 lines · by baba

Channel 14 host Yinon Magal called opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot a "monkey" on air.
Magal claimed Eisenkot was controlled by "elitist Ashkenazim" and was a "Moroccan Mizrahi."
Eisenkot responded, calling Magal's comments "low level" and blaming an unnamed figure behind him.
Yisrael Beiteinu condemned the remarks as racist and compared them to past slurs against Mizrahim.
The party predicted Eisenkot would win the election and fix damage from the Netanyahu government.
Magal also recently attacked families of fallen soldiers and hostages for criticizing Netanyahu.

Channel 14 Host Calls Opposition Leader a 'Monkey,' Sparks Outrage — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

Channel 14 host Yinon Magal referred to Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, as a "monkey" during his program "HaPatriotim" on Saturday. Magal claimed that "elitist Ashkenazim" were controlling Eisenkot from behind the scenes, adding, "He is a monkey, his name is Mizrahi Moroccan, let's have a Moroccan prime minister. It's like we don't see reality."

Eisenkot responded to the remarks, stating, "I have nothing to answer to such a low level. The problem is not Yinon Magal but the person standing behind Yinon Magal." He added that his party would bring change to Israel and move past "Magalism and Bardugism."

The Yisrael Beiteinu party issued a statement, comparing Magal's comments to those made by Dudu Topaz 45 years prior, who called Mizrahim "chachachim." The party accused Magal, a "senior mouthpiece of Netanyahu," of spreading lies and venom, calling Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff, a "monkey" because he is Mizrahi. The party asserted that their fear of losing is revealing their "ugly truth" and their disdain for a large segment of the population. They predicted that "Israel will choose a son of immigrants from Morocco, a true patriot who grew up in the periphery, as prime minister" in ten days, and he would fix the damage caused by the Netanyahu government.

Rafi Ben Shitrit, a member of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, condemned Magal's comments as "pure and abhorrent racism," calling them a product of Netanyahu's propaganda. He stated that Magal's words demonstrate Netanyahu and his spokespeople's "loss of direction and complete loss of composure."

In a separate incident last week, Magal criticized families of fallen soldiers and hostages who participated in writing the book "Mar HaPekara" (Master of Abandonment), a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Magal called them "despicable and vile people" and suggested they should stand on a "pillory of shame." He specifically targeted the Bibas family, stating they should apologize to Netanyahu if they are making false accusations. Magal read out dozens of names of individuals who participated in the book, including hostage survivors Nili Margalit, Adina Moshe, and Clara Marmon, as well as parents of fallen soldiers and kidnapped individuals. He concluded by saying these names would be remembered for eternal shame on the "pillory of shame" for making false accusations against Netanyahu. Magal later partially retracted his statements on air, saying, "For the sake of the matter, I will exempt the families of October 7th."