Channel 14 Host Yinon Magal Sparks Outrage After Calling Gadi Eisenkot a Monkey
Channel 14 host Yinon Magal referred to Yashar! party leader Gadi Eisenkot as a monkey on air, sparking sharp condemnations from Eisenkot, Yair Lapid, and political allies.
Channel 14 host Yinon Magal sparked outrage on Saturday evening during his program "The Patriots" by referring to Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the "Yashar!" party, as a "monkey" while commenting on his Moroccan heritage.
Controversial Remarks on Air
"He is a monkey, he is a monkey. All the elitist Ashkenazis behind him are managing him," Magal stated on air. "He is a monkey, his name is Mizrahi Moroccan, they gave you a Moroccan prime minister, as if we do not see reality."
Magal's comments drew immediate and sharp condemnation across the political spectrum, touching on sensitive issues of ethnicity, racism, and political discourse in the country.
Party and Political Reactions
The "Yashar!" party issued a fierce response, comparing the rhetoric to historical political insults.
"Forty-five years after Dudu Topaz called Mizrahis 'chachchachim'—the senior shofar of Netanyahu, who makes a living spreading lies and poison, calls a candidate for prime minister who served the state for 45 years a monkey. And why does he do it? Because he is a Mizrahi," the party said.
Gadi Eisenkot himself responded briefly, stating, "Yashar said I am a monkey operated by Ashkenazis, so I have nothing to answer to this sub-level—the problem is not Yinon Magal, but the man standing behind him."
Opposition figures also weighed in heavily. Yair Lapid, number two in the "Be-yachad" list, condemned the remarks and criticized the silence of the ruling coalition.
"Yinon Magal, the senior shofar, the man of Netanyahu, called Gadi Eisenkot a 'monkey' on Channel 14 and clarified that it is because Eisenkot is 'Moroccan-Mizrahi'... Netanyahu as usual is silent. The ministers of "Likud" are silent," Lapid stated.
