Knesset Deputy Speaker, MK Eliyahu Revivo, sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today (Wednesday), containing an unequivocal demand to immediately dismiss Ziv Agmon, the Prime Minister's spokesman and acting chief of staff.
The demand comes in the wake of a report last night by political commentator Amit Segal, which featured embarrassing and humiliating quotes attributed to Agmon. According to the report, the speaker made racist statements towards Mizrahi Jews, towards the Likud - and also towards MK Revivo personally.
Revivo, who also signed the letter in his capacity as chairman of the Israel-Morocco Friendship Group, made it clear that the remarks attributed to Agmon offend the core of Likud's voters. "Most of Likud's voters over the years have been traditional and popular Mizrahi," Revivo wrote.
He added that since the publication, he has been inundated with comments from supporters expressing deep shock at the comments.
In his letter, he emphasized that he was confident that Prime Minister Netanyahu was disavowing the harsh statements, but demanded immediate action to immediately remove the speaker from his various positions.
In the recordings, Agmon can be heard speaking offensively towards people of Mizrahi descent: "Now we know where our Moroccans came from. From Africa. A baboon is a monkey.".
Regarding Likud MKs, he said: "Vaturi is a baboon, Revivo is a Moroccan retard. Eli Dellal is a clown. It's a shame it's impossible to reserve the entire list and finish the primaries.".
Commentator Amit Segal spoke today with Gideon Oko and Amichai Atali on the Sheva Teshia program on 103fm radio about the publication that is shaking up the Prime Minister's Office.
""The prime minister didn't address it, he sent Agmon to issue a statement and the statement doesn't exactly contain a denial, I don't really believe it's possible to deny it, these quotes were said five times in different formats: also on WhatsApp, phone calls, voice calls, face-to-face conversations. The question is how much longer will this continue there," Segal said.
Segal then recounted the course of events: "I contacted Agmon yesterday at three in the afternoon with the things, the claim was that the things were not said. Pike, AI, it was in unofficial responses. What happened next is that at the time of publication at eight in the evening, no statement was made on his behalf or from the Prime Minister's Office, I assume they wanted to see what was there.
""Netanyahu left the government meeting to watch the article. Around midnight, Agmon issues a statement through the Prime Minister's Office. The Prime Minister's Office says it is not signing off on this at the same time, it is his. We will wait to see how it looks because there are calls from all coalition members to fire him. Aryeh Deri issued a very angry statement and then told other MKs that he was disappointed that Netanyahu did not fire him, including Smotrich.".
He further noted: "Yesterday at 7:40 PM, news came out in two media outlets that Ziv Agmon was supposed to leave anyway, he and another senior official, it could change at the last minute. The translation of this is that we want to make preparations and it was planned in advance. It's what's called a shock absorber, but it's not really a shock absorber.".
Segal referred to the investigations against the bureau's members during this term, against the backdrop of the current storm: "Netanyahu will say that those who were arrested and interrogated are because the police are pursuing them. The case with Ziv Agmon is completely different. Assuming you don't buy the strange version that it's a forgery. If they were to say that I said such things, then the first thing I would do is file a defamation lawsuit in the Magistrate's Court closest to where I live, but he probably has good reasons not to do that.".
Segal analyzed the circumstances of Agmon's appointment and clarified the problematic aspect: "The Prime Minister's Office at the base is generally a place with a lot of intrigue, this Prime Minister's Office is the most investigated office. There is the claim that it is the most corrupt place in the history of the country, and there is the claim that in certain departments of it I definitely agree with that there was a campaign or attempt to fish out the Prime Minister's head, arresting someone for something unrelated and telling him we will release you if you bring us what you know.
""Yesterday's case is absolutely not that case. Yesterday's case is about someone who was brought in solely based on his loyalty, and in general we learned a lesson in politics. If there is an ideological connection with someone, then the ideology will survive. If you have a personal connection with someone, then he may survive. If you bring someone in based on loyalty, the first thing that flies out the window is loyalty. There is no such thing as loyalty. We can think of several defections in politics in recent years. You bring in someone who is an unknown figure just because you think he will be loyal, and in the end he is the first to leave. I think that is the important lesson in this affair. Of course, it would be good for the Prime Minister's Office to have the best people there and not an eclectic collection of people.".
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