‘Moroccan monkey’: Israel’s ethnic divide still shapes its elections

It would be reasonable to expect ethnic origin to matter less in Israeli elections. Most Israelis were born and raised in the country, and marriages between Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews have increasingly blurred boundaries inherited from their grandparents’ countries of birth. Yet, almost five decades after Likud’s historic victory in 1977, ethnic identity remains a potent campaign weapon. With a week until the election, the prospect of Israel’s first Mizrahi prime minister has brought those tensions back to centre stage.

On Saturday evening, Yinon Magal, a prominent media ally of Benjamin Netanyahu and a host on the pro-Netanyahu Channel 14, called Gadi Eisenkot a “monkey”, portraying the son of Moroccan immigrants as a figurehead controlled by Ashkenazi elites. “They put a monkey; behind him are all the elitist Ashkenazim who manage him,” Magal said, adding that Eisenkot's adviser, Ronen Manelis, “manages him and tells him what to say.”

The attack targeted precisely what makes Eisenkot politically threatening: his ability to challenge Likud’s longstanding claim to represent Mizrahi Israelis.

Among traditional Likud voters wary of Israel’s established elites, Eisenkot’s Mizrahi background and working-class roots are important selling points. Alongside his military credentials, they offer disillusioned supporters a reason to consider changing parties without feeling they are abandoning their community or its values. With several recent polls placing Likud around 20 seats, compared with the 32 it won in 2022, these voters represent a crucial electoral battleground.

Magal’s attack sought to undermine that appeal with a familiar message: whatever Eisenkot’s origins, the people supposedly controlling him belong to the same establishment Likud voters have long distrusted. The implication is that authentic Mizrahi representation depends less on a candidate’s background than on loyalty to Netanyahu.