i24NEWS ArabicPolitics11:48

Netanyahu Condemns Host's Racist Slur Against Eisenkot

By i24NEWS

Translated & summarized from i24NEWS Arabic by baba

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Arabic · 6 newsrooms covering

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned TV host Yanon Magil for calling Gadi Eisenkot, a candidate for prime minister, a "Moroccan oriental monkey." Eisenkot responded by calling Magil "despicable" and accusing Netanyahu of hiding Mizrahi (Eastern) individuals in his party. Magil's remarks, which included comparing Eisenkot to a monkey controlled by Ashkenazi elites, sparked widespread condemnation and accusations of racism and division.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned TV host Yanon Magil's racist slur against Gadi Eisenkot.
Yanon Magil called Gadi Eisenkot a "Moroccan oriental monkey" on his TV program.
Gadi Eisenkot responded by calling Magil "despicable" and accusing Netanyahu of hiding Mizrahi individuals.
Magil's remarks were widely condemned as racist and divisive.
Eisenkot highlighted his Moroccan heritage and military service in response to the slur.

Netanyahu Condemns Host's Racist Slur Against Eisenkot — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday condemned remarks made by TV host Yanon Magil, who called Gadi Eisenkot, a candidate for prime minister, a "Moroccan oriental monkey" on his "Patriots" program on Channel 14.

"This is a completely inappropriate statement, and I condemn it," Netanyahu said in an interview with Radio North. He added that he wished Eisenkot would also condemn statements made by Gali Albin and others who referred to Likud members as "chimpanzees and baboons."

Eisenkot, responding to Magil's comments at the "Future for the Envelope" conference in Sderot, called Magil a "despicable human being." He described Magil's statement as "obsessed" and stated, "There is no place for this in Israeli discourse. Benjamin Netanyahu is hiding the Mizrahim in his party." Eisenkot, whose parents immigrated from Morocco, noted his upbringing in Tiberias and his military service, emphasizing that his background was never an issue in his career, including his time as IDF Chief of Staff.

Magil had previously stated on air, "You're happy he's Mizrahi? They put a monkey and behind him all the Ashkenazi elites who run him. (Ronen) Manelis runs him and tells him what to say. He's a Moroccan oriental monkey." Following the broadcast, a statement on behalf of Eisenkot declared, "One of Netanyahu's main mouthpieces called a candidate for prime minister a monkey, just because he is Mizrahi. The fear of losing reveals your ugly truth and your opinion about a huge and amazing public you have dared to despise for decades. We see you."