He added that she didn’t learn about Kirel. “So what? Because of that she doesn’t deserve a budget?"
He then continued about Kirel saying: "I would’ve donated her some clothes so that she would have a little more.”
Gafni’s comments elicited swift pushback from opposition voices.
MK Meirav Ben-Ari of the Yesh Atid Party said, “MK Gafni made a repulsive comment directed at Noa Kirel…. And I ask you, why does he even interfere with what Noa wears? Why is it his business?”
Haaretz writer Chaim Levinson also questioned how Gafni was aware of Kirel's outfit given the ban on pictures of women in Charedi newspapers, saying: “How did Gafni know what Noa Kirel was wearing? Was there a picture in [Haredi newspaper] Yated Ne’eman?”
Hagit Pe’er, who heads Na’amat, a women’s organization affiliated with the Labor Zionist movement, said, “While Noa Kirel represents the beautiful face of Israel to the world, Gafni makes sure that he reminds the world of the darkness we won’t allow here. Noa—you are amazing, strong and empowering. You’ll probably get along just fine without Gafni.”
Kirel finished third in the Eurovision final on May 13.
