Repatriates' Day against the backdrop of the word "monkey": where has Israel descended

On Repatriates' Day, October 18, 2026, an article on the Vesti website criticizes the gap between official statements about the value of aliyah and real cases of racism. Examples include the insult to Gadi Eisenkot by comparing him to a monkey on a TV channel and mockery of Avigdor Lieberman's accent. The author argues that without political consequences, xenophobia will persist.

On October 18, 2026, Repatriates' Day, author Evgenia Lamikhova on the Vesti website raises the issue of the gap between official statements about the value of aliyah and the actual treatment of repatriates in Israel. Two incidents are cited as examples: a racist insult against politician Gadi Eisenkot, who was compared to a monkey on a popular TV channel, and years of mockery of Avigdor Lieberman's Russian accent, including by the Minister of Diaspora. The author notes that on the holiday, the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration's website had no publications, and the Repatriates' Week events were postponed by the Ministry of Education. The article argues that the lack of political and legal consequences for such statements renders tolerance lessons meaningless.