Veteran Israeli television personality Yaron London apologized on Tuesday for saying on air that “Arabs are savages.”
London, 79, had made the remarks a day earlier during his show “London and Geula”, which airs on Kan, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation’s television channel.
“The Arabs are savages (“pir'ei adam," the biblical description for Ishmael -ed.),” London said. “They hate not only Jews. Above all, they murder one another. Right, left, forward, to the east, to the west, Arabs are slaughtering Arabs.”
Towards the end of the program, London clarified, "My producers told me that there were already protests about my statements about murderous Arab civilization on social networks, so I guess it'll go like this: Arabs and sworn leftists are going to say 'London's a racist.' Right-wingers are going to say, 'Even leftist London says the Arabs are murderous.' It's boring, don't do it."
Following the remarks, the Israeli Public Corporation called London a "provocateur of yesteryear" and demanded that he apologize by midnight on Tuesday or face a suspension or even termination.
On Tuesday, London said in a statement, “Many people, particularly our Arab viewers, were hurt by what I said. During the night, I heard a recording of the program and found that I had tripped up in my language. My choice of language was improper and they have reason to be offended. I apologize for that.”