Israeli Deputy Minister in Heated On-Air Exchange Over Election Remarks
Translated & summarized from Maariv by baba
Deputy Minister Almog Cohen engaged in a heated on-air argument with presenter Ron Kaufman on 103FM radio regarding comments about Ofakim residents' voting. Cohen accused Kaufman and others of moral failings for discussing election results in the context of the October 7th massacre victims. The exchange became heated as Cohen defended his remarks and criticized the presenters for their perceived lack of shame and cultural insensitivity towards the dead.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Deputy Minister Almog Cohen clashed with presenter Ron Kaufman on 103FM over election remarks concerning Ofakim victims.
- Cohen accused presenters of moral failings for discussing election results amid the massacre's aftermath.
- He defended his comments, calling the comparison of victims' votes to election results "madness."
- Cohen criticized the presenters for their "racism and lack of culture" regarding the dead.
- The debate touched on the morality of the right-wing and the presenters' questioning of victims' families.
A fiery on-air debate erupted between Deputy Minister Almog Cohen of the Likud party and presenter Ron Kaufman on 103FM radio, concerning the discourse surrounding the voting patterns of residents of Ofakim following the October 7th attacks. Cohen accused the presenters of severe moral failings, particularly for questioning his remarks about the election results in Ofakim while victims' families were still grieving.
Cohen defended his statements, suggesting that the presenters were confused by focusing on his comments about journalist Danny Kushmaro's father, instead of the plight of "thirty-something families" affected by the massacre. He argued that comparing the votes of deceased victims to election results in their neighborhood was a sign of moral decay among the "enlightened" elite.
Kaufman challenged Cohen, questioning the morality of the right-wing, to which Cohen responded by asking if Kaufman was legitimizing the comparison of bodies to election results. Cohen asserted that he is not a moral person but insisted that this does not justify comparing victims from the same morning's attack to election ballots, asking if they had "gone mad."
Cohen further stated that the public is aware of the presenters' "racism and lack of culture" for speaking about the dead without shame. He emphasized that Ofakim has a "new sheriff" and that no one will mistreat its residents, especially those who "died heroically for the State of Israel."
Cohen concluded by stating that he had attended numerous mourning ceremonies and funerals without ever asking about the voting preferences of the deceased's parents, accusing the presenters of being "sick" and having their "heads turned into fish" for their line of questioning.
