Magal calls the uproar over his remark a fake controversy
Yinon MagalHost of "The Patriots" on Channel 14, in a video posted on X
Posting a video on X hours after the broadcast, Magal calls the uproar over his remark another fake controversy. In the video he says he used the word as an underworld expression for a front man controlled by others.
Responding to
Magal called Eisenkot a monkey as an underworld expression for a front man controlled by others, not as a racial insult.
“My response to another fake "Yinon Magal controversy" (Translated from Hebrew. Original: תגובתי לעוד פייק "סערת ינון מגל")”
Original post
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Channel 14 host Yinon Magal calls Gadi Eisenkot a "monkey"; Netanyahu condemns the remark but says Likud voters are insulted every day
On the Channel 14 program "The Patriots" on October 17, 2026, host Yinon Magal repeatedly called Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot a "monkey" and said Ashkenazi elites stood behind him and ran him. Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff of Moroccan heritage, is Benjamin Netanyahu's main challenger in the October 27 election. Yashar and other critics called the remark racist. Magal said he had used the word as an underworld expression for a front man controlled by others and called the controversy fake. Netanyahu condemned the remark the next day but said Likud voters face insults every day, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the remark was not racist.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Post by Yinon Magal with a video in which he explains his on-air remark about Gadi Eisenkot. The post text and video are in Hebrew.
Reporting
About this source
Israel National News report on the video in which Yinon Magal explained his remark about Gadi Eisenkot, with the Yashar party's statement and Eisenkot's response at an election rally, in English translation.
Before the quotation
Hours after the Channel 14 broadcast in which he called Eisenkot a monkey, Magal posts a video on X explaining the remark.
After the quotation
In the video, Magal says he called Eisenkot a monkey not because he is ugly or looks like a monkey but as an expression borrowed from the criminal underworld for someone put out front and controlled from behind. He says the headlines and responses that followed are a lie.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Magal's on-air remark calling Gadi Eisenkot a monkey run by Ashkenazi elites, which critics called a racist slur. Magal calls the controversy fake and says he meant an underworld expression for a front man, which disputes the description of the remark as racist rather than defending a racial insult.
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More from this case
Read the full caseNetanyahu calls Magal's remark highly inappropriate and condemns it
“That is a highly inappropriate remark, and I condemn it (Translated from Hebrew. Original: זו אמירה מאוד לא ראויה, אני מגנה אותה)”Read statement
Eisenkot says the voice is Magal's and the hands are Netanyahu's
“Last week he talked about bereaved families. The voice is Yinon's voice and the hands are Netanyahu's hands (Translated from Hebrew. Original: שבוע שעבר הוא דיבר על משפחות שכולות. הקול קול ינון והידיים ידי נתניהו)”Read statement
Ben-Gvir says calling Magal's remark racist is a complete distortion
“It is clear to everyone that Yinon used the expression "monkey" in a political context, when what he meant, in his words, was a straw candidate run by others. Going from there to turning his words into a racist statement against Mizrahim is a complete distortion of what was said (Translated from Hebrew. Original: לכולם ברור שינון השתמש בביטוי "קוף" בהקשר פוליטי, כשהכוונה לדבריו הייתה למועמד קש שמריצים אחרים. מכאן ועד להפוך את הדברים לאמירה גזענית נגד מזרחים - הוא סילוף מוחלט של הדברים)”Read statement
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- Magal calls the uproar over his remark a fake controversy
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The Dispute Index. "Magal calls the uproar over his remark a fake controversy". First published: 2026-10-21. Last updated: 2026-10-21. https://disputeindex.com/events/6435-posting-a-video-on-x-hours-after-the