Netanyahu condemns TV host Yinon Magal for calling Eisenkot a 'monkey'

Update, 18 October, 13:07 Israel time

Netanyahu made his condemnation in an interview with Radio North 104.5FM, The Times of Israel reported, quoting him as calling Magal's words a highly inappropriate remark that he condemned. The outlet described Magal as a pro-government political commentator on Channel 14.

The Times of Israel also gave more detail on the comments Netanyahu wanted Eisenkot to denounce. It identified the speaker as businesswoman Galia Albin and said she had caused controversy during a podcast appearance by mocking Sephardic Likud voters. According to the report, she clapped and chanted the prime minister's nickname, "Bibi", several times, then questioned whether those voters could think for themselves. Netanyahu said he would have liked Eisenkot to condemn all such remarks.

Haaretz reported that Netanyahu urged Eisenkot to reject what it called alleged racist rhetoric aimed at Likud voters by people who support him. Haaretz rendered Magal's original phrase as calling Eisenkot a "monkey controlled by Ashkenazi elites" and referred to Eisenkot as an opposition party leader.

Neither new report says whether Magal has apologised or whether Channel 14 has responded.

The story as first reported

Yinon Magal, a presenter on the Israeli broadcaster Channel 14, called Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar! party, a "monkey" and claimed that Eisenkot is run by "elitist Ashkenazim" standing behind him, Ynet reported. Eisenkot answered that the comment was beneath the level of public debate, and his party accused Magal's camp of revealing what it called an ugly truth out of fear of losing. Magal, according to Ynet, said he had been referring to an expression from the criminal underworld.

The remark prompted condemnations the following morning, including from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called it a very inappropriate statement, N12 reported. Before Netanyahu spoke, Yashar! had publicly asked why neither he nor his Likud party had denounced Magal, and a Likud activist had posted a video in which Eisenkot was replaced by a monkey, according to The Times of Israel.

Who the people involved are

Eisenkot is a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the country's military, and now leads Yashar!, a party contesting Israel's upcoming election. Magal is a television host whom The Times of Israel describes as one of the most prominent public figures supporting Netanyahu. The Jerusalem Post, in its report on the broadcast, highlighted Magal's claim that Eisenkot is controlled by others behind the scenes.

Likud is Netanyahu's party. The figures who responded from inside it included David Elbaz, a member of the Likud's internal court, which hears disputes within the party.

Why the word carried an ethnic charge

Israeli Jewish society has long been shaped by a distinction between Ashkenazim, Jews whose families came from Europe, and Mizrahim, Jews whose families came from the Middle East and North Africa. Eisenkot's family background is Moroccan. The Times of Israel wrote that Magal's remark is widely seen as a racist slur aimed at that heritage, and Yashar! itself described it as a racist statement.

Speaking at a conference about the communities bordering the Gaza Strip, Eisenkot framed it the same way, N12 reported. He called it a delusional statement that he is a "Moroccan monkey" and said nobody had asked him about his parents' origins. Paraphrasing the biblical line about Jacob's voice and Esau's hands, he said the voice was Magal's while the hands were Netanyahu's, and added that the prime minister "hides the Mizrahim" in his party.

Magal's own account differs. According to Ynet, he said the word came from underworld slang. The reports do not explain what he meant by it in that sense.

Responses from Likud

In a post on X, Elbaz described Magal's words as an unfortunate statement and called on him to apologise to Eisenkot, warning that the episode could cost Likud the election, Ynet reported. A Ynet alert quoted him demanding an apology "immediately".

At the same time, Rami Ben-Yehuda, described by The Times of Israel as a prominent Likud activist, shared the monkey video. Ynet said it was generated with artificial intelligence.

Yashar! said that more than 12 hours had passed without any condemnation from Netanyahu or Likud, according to The Times of Israel. Netanyahu's comments came later that morning. N12 quoted him saying he condemned the remark and would be glad if Eisenkot in turn condemned statements by Gali Albin and others describing Likud supporters as chimpanzees. Ynet quoted him saying the statement was not appropriate, that he himself is called a traitor every day, and that there is a phenomenon directed at Likud voters.

What the reports do not say

• None of the reports says whether Magal apologised or retracted the remark after the condemnations.
• The reports do not say whether Channel 14 responded or took any action.
• Magal's explanation that he meant an underworld expression is reported without detail of what that expression is.
• The reports do not record any official Likud party statement beyond the comments of Netanyahu and Elbaz, or any response from Ben-Yehuda about his video.
• The full wording and context of Magal's original broadcast are only partly quoted in the available reports.