Channel 14 Host Yinnon Magal Under Fire for Calling Gadi Eisenkot "Monkey"

Channel 14 host Yinnon Magal faced a barrage of criticism on Saturday evening after referring to Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yisrael! party, as a "monkey." During his program "HaPatriotim," Magal stated, "He is a monkey, he is a monkey. Behind him are all the elitist Ashkenazim running him. He is a monkey, his name is Mizrahi Moroccan, his name is a Moroccan prime minister. It's like we don't see reality." Although Magal's remarks were intended as a cynical accusation against the left, the Yisrael! party quickly condemned them. The party stated, "45 years after Dudu Topaz called Mizrahim 'chachachim' [a derogatory term for Mizrahi Jews], Netanyahu's senior mouthpiece, who makes a living spreading lies and poison, calls a candidate for prime minister who will bring Israel back to Israelis, a former chief of staff who served the country for 45 years and gave it his all, a monkey. And why does he do it? Because he is Mizrahi. What you heard."

Gadi Eisenkot himself responded to the comments, saying, "Yinnon Magal said I am a monkey controlled by Ashkenazim, so I have nothing to answer to that level. The problem is not Yinnon Magal but the person standing behind Yinnon Magal. We will bring change to the country, we will remove the phenomenon of 'Magalism' and 'Bardugism' from our lives and bring a better country."