Israeli TV Host's 'Monkeys Controlled' Remark Sparks Debate
Translated & summarized from Ice by baba
Israeli TV host Keren Marciano described herself and her colleagues as "monkeys being operated" during a Channel 12 broadcast, referencing a new campaign by the "Yisrael" party and a controversy involving Yinon Magal. The "Yisrael" party's AI video criticizes Prime Minister Netanyahu for allegedly sidelining Mizrahi Likud members. Magal had previously called Gadi Eisenkot a "monkey" controlled by Ashkenazi elites, a remark he later clarified as a slang term for a figurehead.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Keren Marciano called herself and colleagues "monkeys being operated" on Israeli TV.
- The "Yisrael" party's AI video criticizes PM Netanyahu for sidelining Mizrahi Likud members.
- The controversy involves Yinon Magal's past remarks calling Gadi Eisenkot a "monkey."
- Magal clarified his "monkey" comment referred to a figurehead, not appearance.
- Marciano's remark was a response to the "Yisrael" party campaign and Magal's comments.
During a broadcast on Israel's Channel 12, economic editor Keren Marciano commented on a new campaign by the "Yisrael" party, which features an AI-generated video critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The video depicts Netanyahu eating and suggests that he is sidelining Mizrahi (Middle Eastern Jewish) members of the Likud party, naming Miri Regev, Dudi Amsalem, David Biton, and Miki Zohar. A singer's voice in the video questions why Netanyahu is allegedly hiding these MKs and ministers from his campaign, asking, "Why doesn't he trust them?"
In response to the "Yisrael" party's campaign and the controversy surrounding Yinon Magal, a host on Channel 14, Marciano stated, "Yishai Cohen pointed out to me that today on the panel, we are all Mizrahim. I say, in the spirit of these days, we are all monkeys being operated."
Fellow panelist Barak Sari humorously added, "But they haven't made us disappear yet." Marciano replied, "They haven't made us disappear, but who knows what Ashkenazi is operating us." This exchange was a jab at Magal's recent controversial remarks during a debate with journalist Amihai Attali. Magal had referred to Gadi Eisenkot, a political rival of Netanyahu, as a "monkey" being controlled by "elitist Ashkenazim."
Magal later released a video clarifying his statement, explaining that "monkey" was a slang term for someone put forward to take the blame, not a comment on appearance. He asserted that the discussion was about a supposed alliance between the elite and Arabs to elevate Mizrahim, and that Attali had pointed to Eisenkot as a "Moroccan" representative. Magal claimed he responded that Eisenkot was a "monkey" put forward by the "Ashkenazi elite."
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