An image in which a photo of Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay was replaced with that of a chimpanzee has been making the rounds on social media after an interview he gave Yedioth Ahronoth, which was highly critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu, Gabbay told Yedioth's weekend supplement 7 Days, "is ending his career as the Israeli version of (former Italian prime minister) Berlusconi."
"It's convenient for Netanyahu to run his legal battles from the prime minister's seat. To that end, there is no political price he's not willing to pay, there is no system he's not willing to eliminate, there is no state official he's not willing to crush," Gabbay continued.
"Netanyahu is like the auto-immune diseases that attack the body," he concluded.
The Zionist Union condemned the photoshopped image of Gabbay as an ape, saying it is racist. The party alleged that radical right-wing elements were behind the photo and claimed the comparison was done because of Gabbay's Mizrahi ethnicity.
Zionist Union MK Amir Peretz slammed the photo on his Facebook page, saying, "Where have all of the right-wing commenters gone? All of those who put out automatic comments and condemnations in a Pavlovian response? Where are all of those who told us about the 'condescending and elitist left wing'? Why are we not hearing from them when right-wing activists replace the photo of the Labor party chairman Avi Gabbay, who is of Moroccan origins, with the photo of an ape? Where are all of the prominent right wing figures? All of those who were (justifiably) alarmed when Garbuz spoke at the square? Your hypocrisy is revealed, and the public is beginning to understand that you don't care about real change and the fight against racism. All you care about is to attack the 'Left.'"
MK Eitan Cabel also slammed the photo on his Twitter page, writing: "Right-wing activists are displaying racism of the lowest kind. It is probably hard for them to see a Mizrahi man heading a party, and they stoop to the lowest level in posting this photo."
Likud MK Miki Zohar did condemn the photo, writing on Twitter: "The ape photo put instead of Avi Gabbay—is neither appropriate nor dignified."
At the same time, Zohar also slammed Gabbay's comments in the interview, saying "The comparison Avi Gabbay made between the PM and serious illnesses—the man simply loses it every time."
Gabbay himself was not bothered by the photo, saying "I don't get worked up over it, it is a testament to who they are, not who I am."