Deputy Minister Calls on Beersheba Fans to Ostracize Anchor Danny Kushmaro

Deputy Minister Almog Cohen has launched a scathing attack on prominent Israeli news anchor Danny Kushmaro, calling on fans of the Hapoel Beersheba football club to ostracize the journalist following controversial comments regarding residents of Ofakim.

The public uproar erupted after Kushmaro delivered a sharply critical monologue on the Friday Studio news program. In his broadcast, he took aim at residents of the Mishor HaGefen neighborhood in Ofakim, questioning why the majority voted for right-wing parties despite suffering heavy casualties during the October 7 massacre.

Speaking in an interview on the "Evening Journal" program on Galey Yisrael radio, Deputy Minister Cohen voiced severe condemnation. "When Danny Kushmaro despicably insults the fallen and attacks the dead, it crosses yet another boundary—following the military insubordination he previously encouraged and other lines he has crossed," Cohen stated.

Cohen directly addressed supporters of the southern football club, noting his own allegiance to Beitar Jerusalem while praising Beersheba's sporting reputation. "I call on the Hapoel Beersheba fans listening to me: this man diminishes the club's honor. He cannot be associated with it. Do not allow it. Tell him and ask him why he refuses to even apologize," he urged.

This controversy stands in sharp contrast to Kushmaro's recent advocacy for the club's supporters. Alongside fellow journalist Almog Boker, Kushmaro spearheaded a public campaign after Dutch club AZ Alkmaar banned Israeli fans from attending an away match in the UEFA Europa League. The journalists condemned the move as antisemitic and politically motivated, calling on Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar to intervene urgently.

Born and raised in Beersheba to Romanian immigrant parents, Kushmaro began his media career in local southern radio stations while studying at Ben-Gurion University. Joining the Israel News Company in 2001, he established himself as one of the country's leading broadcasters, anchoring both the flagship Friday Studio and the main evening newscast while maintaining a proud southern identity tied to Hapoel Beersheba.