Story perspectives

Netanyahu Condemns Channel 14 “Monkey” Slur at Eisenkot

By Drooid · Oct 18, 2026, 11:02 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Channel 14 commentator Yinon Magal’s “monkey” slur against Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot.
Netanyahu said Eisenkot failed to condemn remarks calling Likud supporters chimpanzees, baboons, or traitors.
Magal called Eisenkot a “monkey” and a puppet of “Ashkenazi elitists” on Channel 14’s “Patriots” show.
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman labeled Magal Netanyahu’s “chief mouthpiece” and linked language to spokesman Ziv Agmon.

History

Historical Context

Yitzhak Rabin’s 1995 assassination, carried out with three shots after a pro-Oslo rally, shocked Israel and sparked the 1996 Shamgar Commission’s call for tighter speech controls. The event epitomized the cultural clash between right-wing religious leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu and the secular peace camp. Today’s Netanyahu-Magal insult exchange revives that same polarizing rhetoric.

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Story summary

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Channel 14 commentator Yinon Magal’s “monkey” slur against Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot.
Netanyahu said Eisenkot failed to condemn remarks calling Likud supporters chimpanzees, baboons, or traitors.
Magal called Eisenkot a “monkey” and a puppet of “Ashkenazi elitists” on Channel 14’s “Patriots” show.
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman labeled Magal Netanyahu’s “chief mouthpiece” and linked language to spokesman Ziv Agmon.

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