Netanyahu: Pundit’s slur against Eisenkot is ‘very inappropriate,’ but Yashar chief must condemn all anti-Likud remarks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemns remarks by pro-government Channel 14 political commentator Yinon Magal, who called Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot a “monkey” and claimed he was controlled by “Ashkenazi elitists,” while accusing Eisenkot of failing to denounce similar rhetoric directed at Likud voters.

“That is a highly inappropriate remark, and I condemn it,” Netanyahu tells Radio North 104.5FM.

However, Netanyahu also criticizes remarks by businesswoman Galia Albin, who recently sparked controversy after mocking Sephardic Likud voters during a podcast appearance, clapping her hands and enthusiastically chanting “Bibi, Bibi, Bibi,” using Netanyahu’s nickname, before questioning their ability to think independently.

“I would have liked Gadi Eisenkot to condemn all the remarks by Galia Albin and others calling Likud supporters chimpanzees and baboons,” Netanyahu says. “That is inappropriate, and this is inappropriate.”

Albin appears not to have made such comments, and it is unclear whether  there is any connection between her and Eisenkot.

The premier claims that insults directed at his supporters are a daily occurrence, saying, “Although Yinon said something yesterday that he should not have said, every day I hear the arrogance, condescension and contempt directed at Likud voters.”

“I wish this were a one-time occurrence. It happens every day, and almost all of it is directed at Likud voters,” he says.

Netanyahu also accuses Eisenkot of failing to condemn those who call him a “traitor.”

“Not only does Gadi Eisenkot fail to condemn it, he personally uses it against me,” he adds.

Netanyahu’s remarks come after Yashar publicly criticized the premier and Likud for failing to condemn the remarks by Magal, one of the premier’s most prominent supporters, which is widely seen as a racist slur against Eisenkot’s Moroccan heritage.