Eli Ohana Under Fire: 'He Feeds on Government Channel Narratives and Lacks Political Knowledge'
Eli Ohana criticized a potential alliance between MK Yoav Segalovitz and the Ra'am party, labeling Mansour Abbas an 'anti-Zionist.' In response, MK Merav Ben-Ari accused Ohana of lacking political expertise and serving as a mouthpiece for the ruling party's narratives.
Former footballer Eli Ohana, currently a broadcaster on 103FM radio and a host on Channel 12, is known as a prominent supporter of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During his morning show on 103FM, Ohana addressed reports that MK Yoav Segalovitz is in talks with Mansour Abbas regarding joining the Ra'am list. Ra'am stated that candidate additions would only be discussed following the party's primaries later this month.
According to N12, senior officials within the Yesh Atid party have opposed the move, labeling the potential alliance with Ra'am a "mistake."
Ohana expressed his strong disapproval of the report:
"Mansour Abbas is an anti-Zionist. If it were up to him and his party, no one would remain in Israel; in their eyes, no Jew is worthy of being in Israel. If a police superintendent joins such a party, then in my opinion, we have reached the bottom."
MK Merav Ben-Ari (Yesh Atid) criticized Ohana's comments, arguing that he lacks a grasp of the political system, unlike his colleague, journalist and media consultant Barak Seri.
In a post on her X account, Ben-Ari wrote:
"Eli Ohana has never met Mansour Abbas, has not spoken to him—perhaps interviewed him for a few minutes, and even that is uncertain. The same goes for Segalovitz. Ohana is fed mainly by the government channel and social media; he has no political knowledge, nothing. I doubt he knows the difference between a preliminary bill and a government one. Sitting next to him is Barak Seri, a 'political fox,' a professional with political connections and extensive knowledge of the Knesset and the government. They interview together for the sake of the false symmetry that the Israeli media has imposed on itself."
Ben-Ari further criticized certain Israeli media outlets for faithfully echoing the ruling party's narratives: "If you listen to the government radio (Galey Israel) or the government channel, you will not find any symmetry, only a 'poison machine' and similar messages. The Israeli media provides a permanent platform for racism and Bibist messages. You don't even need Channel 14; everything is here in prime time, every day and every week."
