Netanyahu asks spokesman who made racist remarks about Mizrahi Jews to remain in office

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asks his embattled spokesman, Ziv Agmon, who offered his resignation after racist comments that he had made about Moroccan Jews were leaked to the press, to remain in his position until a replacement is found.

“I have received Ziv Agmon’s apology,” Netanyahu says in a statement released by his office. “The remarks attributed to him should not have been said, and it is good that a clear apology was issued for them.”

Israel, says Netanyahu, “is facing serious challenges, and responsibility requires stability and functional continuity.”

He says he has never heard any racism from Agmon.

“Based on my deep familiarity with his work, professionalism, and loyalty to the state, I asked him to continue in his role until a suitable replacement is found,” says Netanyahu.

Agmon, who is also Netanyahu’s de facto chief of staff, referred derogatorily to Likud lawmakers of Middle Eastern, or Sephardic, descent, calling MK Nissim Vaturi a “baboon” and MK Eli Revivo a “retarded Moroccan,” and said that “it’s unclear how these people get elected to the Knesset.”

He also called Netanyahu “finished” after Hamas’s onslaught of October 7, 2023.

“On the night of the Passover Seder, we open the door and say: ‘Let all who are hungry come and eat,'” says Netanyahu in his statement. “These words remind us that a strong people is one that stands firm on its principles, but also opens its heart, forgives, and shows compassion.”

“The statements were made. The apology was given. The public has heard,” says Netanyahu.

“Now the responsibility of all of us is to put this matter behind us and move forward together, for the sake of Israel’s security and the unity of the people.”