Channel 14 Host Calls Opposition Leader a "Monkey"

By דביר ג'ברה

Translated & summarized from N12 by baba

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Channel 14 host Yinon Magal called Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, a "monkey" and accused "elitist Ashkenazim" of controlling him. Eisenkot dismissed the remarks as low-level, blaming the "person standing behind" Magal. The Yisrael Beiteinu party condemned the comments as racist and a reflection of Netanyahu's propaganda, predicting Eisenkot's victory. Magal had previously attacked families of fallen soldiers and hostages who criticized Netanyahu.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

Channel 14 host Yinon Magal called opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot a "monkey" on air.
Magal claimed "elitist Ashkenazim" were controlling Eisenkot, who is of Mizrahi descent.
Eisenkot responded by calling the remarks "low-level" and blaming "the person standing behind" Magal.
The Yisrael Beiteinu party condemned Magal's comments as racist and predicted Eisenkot's election win.
Magal had previously attacked families of fallen soldiers and hostages who criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Channel 14 Host Calls Opposition Leader a "Monkey" — 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's 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 say 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 the country and move past "Magalism and Bardugism" to create a better nation.

The Yisrael Beiteinu party issued a statement comparing Magal's comments to those of Dudu Topaz, who in the past called Mizrahim "chachchachim." The party accused Magal, described as 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 also asserted that their fear of losing elections was 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 Golanchik, a true patriot who grew up in the periphery, as prime minister" to fix the damage caused by the Netanyahu government.

Rafi Ben-שטרית, a member of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, joined the criticism, calling Magal's remarks "peak refined and abhorrent racism" and a product of Netanyahu's propaganda. He stated that Magal's words demonstrated 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 contributed to the book "Mar HaHafkara" (Bitter Abandonment), a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Magal called the contributors "abhorrent and vile people" who should be put on a "pillory of disgrace." He specifically targeted the Bibas family, stating they should apologize to Netanyahu if they were making false accusations. Magal read out dozens of names, including hostage survivors Nili Margalit, Adina Moshe, and Clara Marmon, as well as parents of fallen soldiers and kidnapped individuals, concluding that these individuals would be remembered for eternal disgrace for falsely accusing Netanyahu of abandonment.