Cohen-Eliya attacks Netanyahu over Magal rebuke

Prof. Moshe Cohen-Eliya, a prominent religious-Zionist legal scholar, launched a direct attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his decision to condemn remarks made by Channel 14 host Yinon Magal about Gadi Eisenkot. Cohen-Eliya accused Netanyahu of rushing to condemn the statement unjustly, and explicitly referenced the prime minister's electoral needs.

"Netanyahu rushed to condemn Yinon Magal's words, and not justly," Cohen-Eliya wrote, after Netanyahu had described Magal's statement as "a very unworthy remark."

Cohen-Eliya went further, directing a pointed message to Netanyahu specifically against the backdrop of the election campaign.

Moshe Cohen-Eliya (YouTube / Argaman Institute)

"So with all due respect to Netanyahu and his need to win the elections, I think there is here a sociologically accurate diagnosis of the problem, and Yinon must not apologize for his words. Because they are not racist, but rather expose the manipulative racism of the old hegemony," he wrote.

In doing so, Cohen-Eliya positioned himself against the prime minister's stance, presenting a completely opposite view on the statement that sparked the controversy. While Netanyahu chose to condemn Magal, Cohen-Eliya argued the words were justified in their meaning and that no apology was warranted.

According to him, Magal did not use the term "monkey" to refer to Eisenkot's ethnic origin, but rather to describe a person serving the interests of other parties.

However, he clarified that personally he would not have used the word "monkey," due to its sensitive connotations in the context of ethnic discourse in Israel.

Despite the reservation, Cohen-Eliya maintained that his personal acquaintance with Magal has significance in understanding his intent. According to him, he is convinced there was no racist intention in the statement.

"I don't think Yinon needs to apologize. I think his words are very accurate sociologically, regarding the use of Mizrahi or knitted-kippah ornaments to whitewash the machine for preserving the power centers of the old hegemony," he wrote.