Eisenkot says the voice is Magal's and the hands are Netanyahu's
Gadi EisenkotChairman of the Yashar party and former IDF chief of staff, speaking at a conference on the communities near the Gaza border
Speaking the day after the broadcast, Eisenkot says Magal spoke about bereaved families the week before and that the voice is Magal's but 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)”
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
Reporting
About this source
Hebrew report by the news site Kipa on Benjamin Netanyahu's Radio North interview about Yinon Magal's remark, with Netanyahu's words in the original Hebrew and Gadi Eisenkot's remarks at a conference on the communities near the Gaza border.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
At a conference on the communities near the Gaza border, Eisenkot describes Magal's remark as delusional, calls the Channel 14 host a contemptible person and says nobody asked him about his parents' origins.
After the quotation
Eisenkot also accuses Netanyahu of hiding the Mizrahim in his own party.
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 Eisenkot a monkey run by Ashkenazi elites. Eisenkot, the target of the remark, describes it as delusional, calls Magal contemptible and says Netanyahu stands behind him, which condemns the remark.
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- People and groups discussed
- Yinon Magal, Benjamin Netanyahu
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
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
Magal calls the uproar over his remark a fake controversy
“My response to another fake "Yinon Magal controversy" (Translated from Hebrew. Original: תגובתי לעוד פייק "סערת ינון מגל")”Read statement
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- Eisenkot says the voice is Magal's and the hands are Netanyahu's
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The Dispute Index. "Eisenkot says the voice is Magal's and the hands are Netanyahu's". First published: 2026-10-21. Last updated: 2026-10-21. https://disputeindex.com/events/6436-speaking-the-day-after-the-broadcast-eisenkot-says