Channel 14 panelist Yotam Zimri called Yashar party chairman and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot a “monkey” on Sunday during a discussion on “The Patriots” of US President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s October 27 election.
Zimri said in English that Trump had effectively told Israelis to “choose Bibi, not the monkey,” prompting laughter from fellow panelists, including Yinon Magal, who had used the same term to describe Eisenkot on the program a day earlier.
Magal’s earlier remarks drew criticism after he described Eisenkot as a figurehead controlled by Ashkenazi elites.
During the initial discussion, Magal said, "He's a monkey, he's a monkey. Are you impressed by the fact that he's Mizrahi?" He later added, "They put a monkey there, and behind him all the elitist Ashkenazim are running him."
Magal also singled out Eisenkot's campaign manager, Ronen Manelis, claiming that he controlled Eisenkot and told him what to say. Addressing another panelist, Magal added, "They gave you a Moroccan prime minister, as if we don't see the reality. It's the emperor's new clothes."
In response to Magal's remarks Saturday, Eisenkot suggested that Magal was acting on behalf of other parties, saying, “The problem is not Yinon Magal, but the man standing behind Yinon Magal.”
Netanyahu condemns 'inappropriate' remarks
The second incident came hours after Netanyahu condemned Magal’s original remark as “highly inappropriate,” while arguing that derogatory language was also frequently directed at Likud voters.
"I would be happy if Gadi Eisenkot condemned all the remarks by Gali Albin and others about Likud supporters being chimpanzees and baboons. It is inappropriate,” the prime minister said.