developing· Politics· Updated 23:22

Israeli Media Personality Yinnon Magal Insults Gadi Eisenkot, Calls Him "Monkey"

Channel 14 host Yinon Magal sparked a political uproar on Saturday evening after calling opposition leader and former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot a "monkey" during his program "HaPatriotim". Magal claimed that Eisenkot, who is of Moroccan Mizrahi descent, is a puppet controlled from behind the scenes by "elitist Ashkenazim" such as his campaign manager Ronen Menelis.

14 newsrooms · 3 languages · since 20:10

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Israeli Media Personality Yinnon Magal Insults Gadi Eisenkot, Calls Him "Monkey" — Illustration by baba

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What happened

01Channel 14 host Yinon Magal called opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot a "monkey" during his Saturday evening program.
02Magal claimed that "elitist Ashkenazim" are controlling Eisenkot, referencing his Moroccan Mizrahi heritage.
03Gadi Eisenkot dismissed the remarks as low-level and blamed the person standing behind Magal.
04Eisenkot's party compared Magal's comments to Dudu Topaz's infamous 1981 racist speech against Mizrahi Jews.
05The party accused Magal of spreading lies and venom out of fear of losing the upcoming election on October 27.
06Rafi Ben Shitrit of Yisrael Beiteinu condemned the comments as the peak of distilled and abhorrent racism.
07Eisenkot vowed to bring change to Israel and eradicate the phenomena of "Magalism" and "Bardugism" from public life.

Eisenkot, the chairman of the Yashar party, dismissed Magal's remarks as low-level and sub-human. He stated that the real problem is not Magal himself, whom he described as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's senior mouthpiece, but the person standing behind him. Eisenkot vowed to bring change to Israel, eradicate the phenomena of "Magalism" and "Bardugism", and build a better nation.

Eisenkot's party issued a harsh statement comparing Magal's comments to comedian Dudu Topaz's infamous 1981 "chachchachim" speech. The party accused Magal of spreading lies and venom out of a fear of losing the upcoming election on October 27, which they said revealed his contempt for a large segment of the public. They predicted that Israel would elect Eisenkot, a son of Moroccan immigrants who grew up in the periphery, as prime minister.

Summarized by baba from the reports of 14 newsrooms. Updated 23:31