Racism controversy erupts in Israeli election campaign after broadcaster calls Eisenkot a ‘monkey’

A racism controversy has emerged ahead of Israel’s 27th October parliamentary elections after a television broadcaster supportive of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to his political rival, Gadi Eisenkot, as a “monkey,” reigniting debate over ethnic discrimination against Mizrahi Jews. Eisenkot, a former Israeli military chief of staff of Moroccan descent who leads the Yashar party, has emerged as a leading contender in election polls, raising the possibility that he could become Israel’s first prime minister of Mizrahi origin. During a program broadcast on the pro-Netanyahu Channel 14, presenter Yinon Magal described Eisenkot as a “monkey” and suggested that he was being controlled by members of the Ashkenazi political establishment. Magal claimed that Eisenkot’s campaign manager, Ronen Manelis, was directing […]