Channel 14 host Yinon Magal released a video overnight Saturday clarifying remarks that sparked controversy after he referred to Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot as a "monkey."
Magal claimed his comments had been taken out of context and insisted that he had not intended to compare Eisenkot to the animal, but had instead used an expression borrowed from the criminal underworld.
The controversy began during an episode of his television program, "The Patriots," when Magal argued that Eisenkot was being presented as the public face of a political movement while members of the Ashkenazi elite were directing and controlling him behind the scenes.
"He's a monkey. They put forward a Mizrahi Moroccan. They gave you a Moroccan prime minister, as if we can't see what's really going on," Magal said.
The Yashar party strongly condemned the remarks in an official statement.
"45 years after Dudu Topaz called Mizrahim 'chachchachim,' Netanyahu's leading mouthpiece, who makes a living spreading lies and poison, tonight calls a candidate for prime minister who will return Israel to the Israelis, a former IDF Chief of Staff who served the country for 45 years and gave it everything, a monkey," the party stated.
"The fear of defeat exposes your ugly truth and what you really think of a huge and remarkable segment of the public that you have looked down on for decades. We can see right through you," the statement continued. "The hysteria is understandable. In ten days, the people of Israel will elect as prime minister the son of immigrants from Morocco, a Golani veteran, a true patriot who grew up in the periphery. And he will repair all the damage Netanyahu's government has caused here."
Eisenkot himself responded to Magal's remarks during an election rally.
"Yinon Magal said that I'm a monkey controlled by Ashkenazim, so I have nothing to say in response to such a low level of discourse. The problem isn't Yinon Magal, but the man behind Yinon Magal. We will bring change to this country. We will remove the phenomena of 'Magalism' and 'Bardugoism' from our lives and build a better country," Eisenkot said.
Magal later released the video explaining his remarks.
"I see that another Yinon Magal controversy is developing, another fake controversy ahead of the elections, so a few things need to be clarified," Magal began.
"I called Eisenkot a monkey, not, God forbid, because he's ugly or looks like a monkey, but as an expression borrowed from the criminal underworld. You put someone out front, you control him, and he's supposedly the one who takes the fall."
Magal explained that the remark was made during a political discussion regarding commentator Avishai Ben Haim's claim that an alliance exists between the Ashkenazi elite and the Arab public, which he argues is intended to exclude Mizrahi Jews.
"The discussion was about Avishai Ben Haim saying that there is an alliance here between the elite and the establishment, on the one hand, and the Arabs, on the other, to exclude Mizrahim," Magal noted, elaborating on his response: "So I said to him, what does it matter that he's a Moroccan Mizrahi? He's a monkey they put out front while controlling him from behind. The entire Ashkenazi elite is standing behind him. That's what this is about."
Magal also criticized the media coverage and the political reactions that followed.
"So they run headlines saying Yinon Magal called Gadi Eisenkot a monkey, and immediately they issue responses, and Yair Lapid responds, and as usual, it's all a lie," Magal added, concluding with a message to his viewers: "Don't get worked up over their controversies. On the contrary, when they create a controversy, relax. Thank you."