Israeli TV anchor Yaron London apologizes for calling Arabs 'savages'

KAN’s official response was to label London’s words, “the unfortunate remark of a provocateur” and called on him to apologize.

By HANNAH BROWN
YARON LONDON 370 (photo credit: Wikipedia)
YARON LONDON 370
(photo credit: Wikipedia)
Veteran Israeli television anchor Yaron London, who never seems to miss an opportunity to put his foot in his mouth, apologized on Tuesday for controversial remarks he made on Monday, when he called Arabs “savages” on KAN’s Channel 11, Israel’s public broadcast network.
Speaking on his television program, London and Geula, London said, “The Arabs are savages. They hate not only Jews. More than anything, they’re murdering one another. Right, left, forward, to the east, to the west, Arabs are slaughtering Arabs.”
KAN’s official response was to label London’s words, “the unfortunate remark of a provocateur” and called on him to apologize.
On Tuesday, London issued a press release in which he said, “Many people, particularly our Arab viewers, were hurt by what I said... That night, I listened to a recording of the program and found that I had made a mistake in my language. My choice of language was improper and they have reason to be offended. I apologize for that.”
He went on to explain that he was talking about the leadership in countries that border Israel and not “the individual Arab.” He had been talking about why the team that created the HBO drama, Our Boys, about the murders of Jewish and Palestinian teens in 2014, focused more on the Jewish killers of a Palestinian boy rather than the murders of three Jewish teens committed by Arabs. He said he was talking about the fact that the Jewish public was surprised that Jews would commit such a crime but not that Arabs had killed Jewish students.
“I deeply apologize for that and make it clear: God forbid that I should think that the Arabs are savages,” he said.
London has a long history of making sexually charged remarks that have offended many. London’s co-host, Geula Even-Sa’ar, who was not on the show on Monday, criticized him on the air last week for making sexist comments when he described a conversation he had with the late television presenter, Dudu Topaz.
She also criticized her co-host in June when he claimed that he touched a woman’s breast after she patted his stomach. He even touched her stomach on the show to make the point that it was acceptable behavior, which she called shocking.
Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev said KAN should fire him, tweeting, “It’s enough, Yaron London has to go. You really don’t see the difference between patting someone’s stomach and touching a woman’s breast?”
Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel also said KAN should suspend London.


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