Yinon Magal responds to the storm: "They wanted to show that we have no heart and that we are cruel"
Following sharp criticism of his remarks against Gadi Eisenkot and his family members, Yinon Magal claims his words were taken out of context and fires back: "The event is a cheap manipulation. The point is to show that we have no heart."
Yinon Magal, host of the television program "The Patriots," caused an uproar last week after expressing sharp criticism of Gadi Eisenkot and casting aspersions on his children: "Your test is not who your parents are - but who your children are." This was in response to the fact that Eisenkot's mother wears a head covering and has a Moroccan accent.
The television host's controversial statement sparked great anger among politicians and well-known media figures, and triggered a large-scale public discourse in Israel. Last night (Saturday), Yinon Magal responded to the storm he caused and said:
"They took the words out of context. We were speaking in the sense of tradition. The discussion was about traditionalism and Mizrahi identity. When Shushan spoke about Eisenkot's mother, I spoke about Eisenkot's daughter and said: 'Don't tell me who your parents are, tell me who your children are.' In the sense of tradition and Judaism."
In his remarks, the Channel 14 host noted that his critics used his statement to claim that he and other panel members on the show behave cruelly toward Gadi Eisenkot, who lost his son in December 2023 during a battle that took place in the Gaza Strip.
"The event is, of course, a cheap manipulation. Not that we are surprised. After all, what is the point? The point is to show that we have no heart, that I am crude regarding Eisenkot's bereavement. Like Rotman allegedly said, that is what they said, that the blood of Hillel and Yagel Yaniv who were murdered in Huwara is redder than the blood of those murdered on October 7th. Or like they said for months that Netanyahu wants the hostages to be murdered in the tunnels. It is all the same rhetoric all the time that basically we have no heart, we are cruel people. They took it out with manipulation and malice. This will not pass, it is instead of dealing with the argument itself."
