Media personality Galit Gutman caused a huge furor on Friday morning when she said on Channel 12’s Keshet TV program that Charedim are “bloodsuckers who are milking Israeli society” in reference to the funds promised to the Chareidi parties in coalition agreements. Media personality Ariel Schnabel responded by stating: “Galit Gutman isn’t the story. The story is that there is only one Western country where it’s possible to say on TV that a certain group of people are ‘bloodsuckers’ without a huge scandal breaking out. What a disgrace to the Israeli media, a disgrace to those who consider themselves ‘liberal’. Look what hatred comes out of you. Where will you end up?” Radio 103FM host Erel Segal said. “‘Bloodsuckers’ and in German ‘Sie saugen unser Blut’ – Israel, May 2023 – the most watched channel in Israel. Thank you to Keshet…I wonder if Yad Vashem would consider this the ‘slippery slope.'” UTJ MK Yitzchak Pindrus responded: “Even in the Labour Party in the UK they removed a member of parliament who called ‘Talmudic Jews’ bloodsuckers. Even they understand that Goebbels’ terminology can never be used.” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated: “I condemn Galit Gutman’s ugly and incitement statement against the Chareidi sector in Israel, which is reminiscent of statements directed against our people in the past.” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir commented: “Our Chareredi brothers are ‘bloodsuckers’? Have we gone mad? Galit Gutman is inciting with anti-Semitism that has been used all these years to murder and persecute Jews. Bushah!” Keshet issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying: “Keshet strongly condemns Galit Gutman’s statement regarding the Chareidi sector on live broadcast this morning. The statements are unacceptable and should not have been said in any way. We regret this and apologize for the unnecessary harm.” “Gutman apologized for the wording of her statement and the generalization of an entire sector and was summoned to an urgent hearing with her managers, which will take place on Sunday morning.” Galit Gutman published an apology on her social media accounts: “I would like to apologize from the bottom of my heart if I offended an entire sector,” she wrote. “I love the State of Israel, and out of concern for its future, I have sharp criticism of the representatives of the Chareidi sector in the Knesset. The statements were said during a discussion on the government budget and the property tax fund. But I had no intention of harming the sector as a whole. I apologize to anyone who was hurt by these statements.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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