It isn’t frequently that I decide in advance to watch and listen to a well-advertised television interview. One such rare instance took place last Tuesday when Yinon Magal – the provocative and controversial host of The Patriots talk show on Channel 14 – appeared on the Channel 11 talk show A Meeting with Roni Kuban.
Kuban’s program is calm, smooth, and informative, reputed to be the best interview program on Israeli TV these days. It features a wall displaying a well-researched collection of photographs from the interviewee’s life.
Kuban is an intelligent, curious interviewer who does his homework meticulously before every program and is never deliberately unpleasant or insulting to the person he is interviewing.
Would Kuban maintain his calm in the interview?
I was curious to see whether Kuban would maintain his usual calm, matter-of-fact demeanor during his interview with Magal. The answer was: Not exactly.
He was not rude, mocking, or insulting in the way that Magal is in on his own Channel 14 program (not towards his panelists, most of whom are extreme right-wingers like himself, or to his guests, invariably right-wingers) to the Left and center in general and to Left-wing and centrist personalities in particular.
Kuban chose to respond to Magal with cynicism and even referred to the way Magal grappled with one of his questions as “pathetic.” The question was whether Magal could remember an occasion on which he had criticized Benjamin Netanyahu – whom he is known to worship.
Magal recalled a time when Netanyahu made a grand entrance with his wife Sara to one of the annual Independence Day ceremonies on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Since these ceremonies were at that time hosted by the Knesset Speaker, Magal had apparently considered Netanyahu’s hijacking of the event uncalled for.
“Certainly, you can do better than that,” Kuban retorted, to which Magal reacted by picking up his cell phone and calling a colleague (in the middle of the interview) to refresh his memory. He then came up with his alleged criticism of Netanyahu when the latter failed to abide by his rotation agreement with Benny Gantz during the National Emergency Government formed in the 23rd Knesset against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What was quite extraordinary, however, was how Kuban managed to get the narcissistic Magal to open up about his beliefs, his various shortcomings, and his failures in life.
Magal stated that he believes in the approaching arrival of the Messiah – which is also why he believes that this is one of the best periods in Israel’s history, in which most Israelis (Jewish, of course) are seeking their sources, that it opens up new settlement options, and that is not one of the worst periods as is commonly maintained.
He also believes in God (although he wears a kippah only on Saturdays) and that what happened on October 7 was God’s punishment for various anti-religious events in Israel.
“So, it is God and not Netanyahu, who is responsible for the October 7 catastrophe?” Kuban asked. Magal didn’t even make an effort to answer this impossible question seriously.
Magal resented being referred to as a “shofar” – a sounding board for Netanyahu’s government – rather than an authentic journalist. As far as he is concerned, it is the entirety of the mass media in Israel (including Yisrael Hayom), with the exception of Channel 14, that is engaged in the spreading of lies and trying to depose any right-wing government, rather than honestly reporting events.
Surprisingly, Magal admitted that when he served as an officer in Sayeret Matkal during the 1990s, he had difficulties commanding his team. He also spoke openly about the fact that at the end of his military service, he traveled to India where he took hallucinatory drugs. Magal related that when he was in Goa, while under the effects of drugs, he stood in the middle of a street and directed the traffic with a broomstick. According to him, while this was happening he was recognized by some Israelis who had served with him in the army and were also visiting Goa.
Magal also admitted that his short career as an MK in Habayit HaYehudi under Naftali Bennett, came to an end in November 2015 because of accusations of sexual harassment against him, and that in the past he was perhaps over-permissive in his behavior.
When Kuban asked him to choose one of the photographs on the studio’s wall, he chose a photograph from the beginning of his “downfall” at that time.
Why does all this matter?
It matters because despite everything, Magal is known as a charmer. I personally have never experienced or observed Magal’s reported charm, and I found his curious interaction with Kuban last Tuesday – in which he seemed eager to “supply the goods” but at the same time made it clear to Kuban that he views him as part of the lying media – a little perverse.
Whenever I watch The Patriots, I find Magal’s tone of voice and intonation rather repulsive. Many panelists on the program are equally repulsive in their manner of speech, and I keep saying to myself that if they would only speak in a less mocking and more friendly tone, from time to time I could even agree or sympathize with what they say, or at least feel some camaraderie towards them.
As if to add validity to what I am saying, last Saturday night, as I was adding the finishing touches to my article, Magal and the panel of six of The Patriots devoted close to 20 minutes to mocking the Left in Israel, and the antisemites – real and imaginary – abroad.
In particular, they mocked the wretchedness of the inhabitants of the Gaza border area in their efforts to plan the reconstruction of their homes destroyed by Hamas on October 7; and the invented fact that there were only five people present at the demonstration against the government and for the immediate return of the hostages, which was held on Kaplan street in Tel-Aviv that evening.
In reality, after the police had used anti-riot water cannon vehicles to disperse a crowd of thousands, it was announced that five demonstrators had been detained, with the number of detainees later updated to 21.
The program also made fun of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for condemning the government’s decision to increase the number of new apartments to be built in Ma’aleh Adumim and its environs as a reaction to the terrorist attack that had occurred on Highway 1 near the town on the outskirts of Jerusalem last Thursday.
Blinken had argued that this decision was in breach of international law because Maaleh Adumim is built on “occupied territory.” The panel added that the institution of international law in general appears to be designed merely to delegitimize Israel.
Listening occasionally to the daily program that Magal broadcasts with Ben Caspit on the 103FM radio station, I have actually heard Magal speaking like a normal human being, although there have been several blow-ups and walk-outs on this program as well.
The bottom line is that unfortunately Magal has a say in the Israeli media, and the fact that the rating of The Patriots keeps rising, means that there is a growing audience for these messages and the style of this program. This is certainly a cause for concern about what awaits us in the future, media-wise.
The writer worked in the Knesset for many years as a researcher and has published extensively both journalistic and academic articles on current affairs and Israeli politics. Her most recent book, Israel’s Knesset Members – A Comparative Study of an Undefined Job, was published by Routledge.