Israeli journalist Raviv Drucker set off a storm on Thursday when he called Israel advocacy activist and Knesset candidate Yoseph Haddad a "pet Arab."
The chairman of Haddad's Amcha Yisrael party, Ofer Winter, published a video in which he responded to the Journalist: "Drucker, shame on you. Yoseph Haddad is a 'pet Arab?' He will be the State of Israel's Minister of Public Diplomacy. Achla Yoseph!"
Winter added: "Raviv, are you not ashamed to call Yoseph Haddad a 'pet Arab?' And why? Because he loves the State of Israel?! Because he's an IDF soldier, a Golani fighter?! Because he defends the State of Israel and fights for our reputation in the world, and it drives the antisemites crazy?! Because he loves Amcha Yisrael and Amcha Yisrael loves him?"
He later connected the remarks to other statements made by politicians, and said, "The same way Gadi (Eisenkot) compared Yoseph Haddad to Mansour Abbas, now Drucker is regressing to such depths for one reason: he is s-c-a-r-e-d."
Drucker sparked controversy during a Channel 13 discussion about the “Amcha Yisrael" Party. As participants analyzed Yoseph Haddad’s popularity among the public and his electoral strength, Drucker claimed that Jews like Haddad as “only a pet Arab."
Haddad responded on his X account, describing the severe wounds he suffered in combat in Lebanon and noting that four Jewish soldiers risked their lives under fire to rescue him. “Did they do it because I am a ‘pet Arab’? For a decade, I have been deeply involved in advocacy on behalf of the country. I have gone to the most hostile campuses and been attacked, but as far as Drucker is concerned, none of that exists."
Addressing Drucker directly, he added: “You are trying to belittle me, but you are actually diminishing yourself. You have already decided how an Arab citizen should act and think. Interestingly, you do not call Jews who ingratiate themselves with Palestinians and disparage our country ‘pet Jews.’ In short, Raviv, you came across as a petty racist."