Yinon Magal, host of The Patriots on Channel 14, launched an attack on X/Twitter against released hostage Edan Alexander and his family for not thanking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In his post on X, Magal wrote: “Edan Alexander’s mother, in a disgusting display of good-naturedness and lack of culture, does not thank the prime minister.”
אמא של עידן אלכסנדר במופע דוחה של כפיות טובה וחוסר תרבות לא מודה לראש הממשלה.רק באקלים הרעיל והמופרע שיוצרים פה השמאל והתקשורת זה יכול לקרות
— ינון מגל (@YinonMagal) May 13, 2025
Magal, a former Knesset member known for his right-wing views, has since shifted his tone. He recently visited Alexander, an IDF soldier who was kidnapped by Hamas and held in captivity for 584 days. During that time, he was reportedly tortured.
'Problematic circumstances'
“Now that Edan is here and can be visited—it’s a lack of culture in my opinion,” Magal said. “What’s more, what scared him the most were the soldiers. Now we can say that the circumstances in which he was kidnapped are very problematic.”
He went on to cite fellow journalist Erel Segal, stating: “Erel Segal reported that the circumstances in which he was not with his fellow soldiers who fought are problematic, and in the end, what scared him the most was the war.”
The controversy escalated amid a broader media rivalry between N12 and Channel 14. N12's chief editor, Guy Soudry, responded with a post on X, writing: “After he slandered Edan’s mother, now they're also slandering Edan, the kidnapped soldier.”
