An Israeli broadcaster describes Eisenkot as "a monkey with a Mizrahi, Moroccan name"

Channel 14 Israeli broadcaster Yinon Magal sparked widespread political controversy after describing Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar! Party and former Israeli Chief of Staff, as a "monkey." During Magal's Saturday evening broadcast, he linked his description to Eisenkot's Moroccan Mizrahi origins.

Yinon Magal described Eisenkot as a "monkey" and said, "He is a monkey, he is a monkey. Behind him, all the Ashkenazi elites control him. He is a monkey, with a Mizrahi Moroccan name; they put a Moroccan as your Prime Minister. As if we cannot see the reality."

Eisenkot responded sharply, saying he has nothing to say to "this level of vulgarity," adding that the problem, in his words, is not with Magal but with "the person behind him." Eisenkot also pledged to work to bring about change in Israel and end what he described as the phenomenon of "Magalism" and "Bardugoism," referring to Yinon Magal and broadcaster Yaakov Bardugo.

Eisenkot's Yashar! Party also accused Magal of racism.

Yashar! issued a strongly worded statement, saying that Magal's remarks bring to mind the controversy sparked by the late Israeli artist Dudu Topaz nearly five decades ago, when he used an insulting expression against Mizrahi Jews.

The party believes that referring to Eisenkot, who served in the Israeli army for 45 years, as a "monkey" and linking this to his Moroccan origins reflects a racist attitude and a disparagement of a wide segment of Israeli society.

The statement added that "the fear of loss reveals the ugly truth," regarding how some parties view a wide segment of Israelis, confirming that the party seeks to lead political change in the country.

Other opposition officials also condemned the statements.

Yesh Atid Party leader Yair Lapid joined the wave of criticism. Lapid referred to previous statements attributed to Magal regarding the Bibas family and other bereaved families, accusing him of insulting those who have lost their loved ones.

Lapid further criticized the silence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ministers and members of the Likud party, announcing his support for Eisenkot and his family.

For his part, Rafi Ben Shetrit from the "Yisrael Beiteinu" party described Magal's statements as an expression of racism, while Efrat Rayten, a member of the Democrats Party, attacked the broadcaster and accused him of contributing to the dissemination of incitement and hate speech.