Who the heck advised Benjamin Netanyahu to launch his incendiary attacks on Anthony Albanese as a “weak” politician who had “abandoned” Australia’s Jews? One adviser, it turns out, is Sky News presenter Sharri Markson, who last week brought us an exclusive “interview” with the Israeli prime minister.
With just a little digging, The Politics has discovered that in October last year Markson had a private 45-minute sit-down with Netanyahu in Jerusalem for an off-the-record briefing on his war plans. Markson described the meeting as a privilege, and akin to meeting Winston Churchill during the Second World War. She later told viewers she was unable to go into details of what Netanyahu said. However, she was quite at liberty to say what she had told him:
“I told him how domestic politics was influencing foreign politics in Australia. I explained how Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong’s desperate desire to appease Muslim voters in Sydney’s marginal seats in the west is behind many of the government’s hostile policies towards Israel. I spoke to him of the anger that many Australian Jews feel towards the Albanese government over its betrayal of Israel at its time of need. I explained to Netanyahu how the Albanese government had fast-tracked visas for nearly 3,000 Gazans without adequate security checks. And I said this was a big political issue on the front page of the papers.”
Attack … attack
After Australia announced on August 11 that it would recognise a Palestinian state, Netanyahu attacked Albanese via a tweet. His words earned him a rebuke from some Jewish leaders in Australia. He promptly repeated his attacks during a 16-minute “interview” with Markson last week. Spoiler alert: the “interview” contains strong echoes of what Markson told Netanyahu last year. Markson raised the Netanyahu-Churchill comparison, and wondered if Albanese was guilty of showing appeasement in the same way Britain had to Hitler. Netanyahu:
“I’m sure he has a reputable record as a public servant, but I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness that he showed in the face of these Hamas terrorist monsters.”
On Monday night, Media Watch host Linton Besser described the “interview” as an example of advocacy interviewing. Respected Australian journalists contacted by Media Watch panned it.
Michael Gawenda, former editor-in-chief of The Age:
“This was the definition of a soft interview. It was beyond soft. It was not journalism. There was not a single challenging question. Indeed the questions weren’t questions at all but statements of agreement with what Benjamin Netanyahu had said about Australia and Albanese in particular, so that all he had to do was agree.”
Ray Martin, television journalist:
“It was clearly not an interview but a sycophantic endorsement of Benjamin Netanyahu.”
You can read all the responses here.
Markson might also have found a line of questioning from the writings of veteran correspondent Thomas Friedman at The New York Times who argued that the Netanyahu government is committing “suicide, homicide and fratricide” as it becomes a “pariah state”.
Murdoch mysteries
It was quite a role switch: Markson the adviser became Markson the interviewer. Hearing some of her own words back, it was a fine line between Markson as ventriloquist.
Although it eviscerated the interview, Media Watch didn’t didn’t go to the bigger picture of the long-running close relationship between the Murdoch family and Netanyahu. In January 2024, Lachlan Murdoch travelled to Israel for what was intended to be a secret trip to meet Netanyahu. In 2016, he met with Netanyahu in Israel with the PM reportedly attempting to persuade him to buy the daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth and start a Fox News-style channel for Israel.
The Murdoch-Netanyahu relationship was surely pivotal to Markson securing her “world exclusive” last week as well as the tone and content of the broadcast. It must have helped, too, in securing a 45-minute “private briefing” last year to discuss war plans. It’s not every humble journalist who can knock on the door and gain that kind of access. And it’s not every day a leader like Netanyahu will gain that kind of treatment.
The thing is that Markson and the rest of the rabble at Sky aren’t journalists. Not many Australians take them seriously, if May 3 is any indicator. Bibi won’t enhance his credibility by associating with any of them, but he seems to prefer to do that – maybe he doesn’t feel comfortable being asked real questions …
Most of those morons would fit in seamlessly with the half wits that Trump surrounds himself with.
What’s stopping them from emigrating to the US or Israel?
“Mr Netanyahu, how do you sleep at night knowing that you are starving people to death?” asked Shari.
Or, “Was it necessary to try to justify a double tap on a hospital in Gaza?”
No, the Murdoch’s are not interested in the truth, and, god help any journalist who asks if the rabble raising during the SARS CoVid19 pandemic could have contributed to the rise of the “Sovereign Citizens movement” deemed by the FBI as one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations in the US.
One wonders if we could proscribe the Murdoch media organization???
Please.
Markson is a serial fantasist. He investigation into covid 19 amply demonstrated that.
How belittling of Netanyahu to refer to Albanese’s ‘reputable public service record’! It was incredibly rude, showing clearly the sort of gutter man he is.
I’d say Netanyahu is behind the lack of meeting with DJT. But do the decent Australians care? I certainly don’t. And I strongly doubt whether Markson has any credible journalistic education.
Linton Besser is doing a great job on ABC Media Watch. His analysis and commentary is always spot on!
I agree Ed! Media Watch is always a great presentation on ABC. Sharri could pick up a few tips about real journalism if she watched it. Quite honestly I felt nauseated watching her. It all goes to show, a person can have looks but have nothing going on up top. It was embarrassing to watch!
Shari doesn’t want to know.
The reality is that the vast majority of Australians are appalled by what the Israelis are doing in Gaza, killing thousands of innocent citizens including children.
Speaking for myself, any empathy I may have once had for the Israelis, especially following the 7 October killings, has long disappeared.
So I’m at a loss to understand the purpose of Ms Markson’s ‘interview’. It certainly would not encourage more Australians to support Netanyahu’s position. It just makes her look like an apologist for a massacre.
The most important fact is who watches sky after dark?
There go to brain trust consist of Barnaby, canavan, Ashby, Hanson any nutty Jew they can find and it is relentless.
I used to watch them after a couple of cones.
They still didn’t make sense but they were funny in a three stooges sort of way.
Now it’s just stupid.
It is constant wall of white noise.
Us poor white people.
We are the victims, and so it goes on.
It’s hard to believe that anyone watches that shit, let alone gives it any credibility.And for every cone Gloria,God takes an hour off your life and gives it to Keith Richards..there’s no other explanation.(thankyou, Billy Connelly)
Connolly
Viewership of the Leader debates during the last Election had the Sky Debate at 200k. All the other Networks had audiences around 1 million. So, that gives you some insight as to Sky’s popularity as a source of political information. Even then, the specially selected undecided voters panel gave the nod to Albo over Dutton.
As soon as Netanyahu used “weak” as a descriptor for Albo you knew that he’d been leaked Liberal Party Polling. This piece shows that Markson was the most likely source. Markson is infamous for announcing on her show that all the polling was wrong in the last Election and that Dutton and co were set to win easily. She’s still wiping that pie off her face.
The other interesting factoid is the role of ex-Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith who was run out of politics following him getting plastered and driving his car into a constituent’s fence. Since early 2025, Smith has lived in Jerusalem, working as a senior political advisor for Sharren Haskel, Israel’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. This woman was prominent in the press earlier this week chastising Albo for, you guessed it, being “weak”.
It is free to air in the regions.
Ratty I am deeply embarrassed to admit that I have a close relative in regional Queensland who says she loves Sky News channel as that’s where she gets all her news. Same person freely admits that she believes literally in the creation story. Same person has qualifications to teach in Qld schools. Work that out! I can’t!
Hand over my face as I admit that my brother has been photographed wearing a MAGA cap.
His daughter says “Dad spends too much time alone on his cattle property and talks a lot of shit”.
Of course it wasn’t an interview. It’s Sharri Markson on Sky TV. Drivel for drongos.
That’s a bit rude to the gloriously lovely Spangled Drongo! But a lovely word…
The arrival of the migratory spangled drongo to Brisbane, tells us we are about to have a wet season.
This glossy black bird with a fishtail is a mimic.
Pity it isn’t around long enough to teach it to call, Katter is mad, you know!
As a one time school principal when supervise my staff I would ask them to be self-critical. Sometimes I would ask them to tell me about the worse lesson they’ve taught recently and why it was so bad. Sharri Markson’s boss could apply this principle. Oh my god that interview was a shocker. In teaching principles, no preparation, no resources, no questioning, loss control of students. She should be ashamed, totally unprofessional.
Shari’s boss is ultimately Murdoch.
I felt like an extra vomit after see the twit on MW. She is such a pain in the ar$e, it’s a wonder she has a voice even on SAD.
I found Sharri Markson’s response particularly galling.. the ‘left leaning’ retired journalists were not commenting on left vs right politics, they were commenting on the quality of the journalistic questions. And for the fact that they were no longer working in mainstream media? They’re all ex-professionals, if they were still working in MSM they wouldn’t be commenting.
Markson and Fordham, both imposters. Neither would have a job anywhere if it wasn’t because of their respective family connections. Both have been repeatedly exposed for their shallow and misleading comments. Journalists by any measure, they are not.
At what point do enough Australians recognise that our most dominant media organisation, foreign owned, regularly conducts campaigns that are against our national interest?
Bibi, killer
Having seen the piece on Media Watch, I’m mystified as to how you could call that an interview (or even an inner view in the current parlance).
More a gushing piece of sycopancy.
Maybe it will come in handy for those who teach Journalism.
Yes, Shari, I so liked the questions you sent to me that I am prepared to answer them in an exclusive interview; so take a seat my little megaphone, open wide and I’ll feed you the hasbara, yum yum.
The Murdoch media stands condemned for its support of genocide. What is probably most revolting about Markson and co is that there is no attempt to probe the murder of so many journalists, particularly Palestinian journos in Gaza. But then, as someone said, she and so many of her ilk at Sky etc are not really journalists.
Alongside the Murdoch-Netanyahu connection it is worth drawing attention to the Packer-Netanyahu connection, which is replete with allegations of bribery and corruption.
Ahrrrr so that verbiage above from the born-again Atheistic Antisemites is what’s called culture cancelling. from the wokey elites of journalism! Lucky Sharri. I wish I was at the receiving end of such written dribble. Then I would know I am doing a great JOB and not just being the robotic mouthpiece of that Palestinian hating and terrorizing Hamas group who rules within them. These mouth pieces have no idea what it’s like to live under the tyranny of Vladimir, Xi, Kim and Ali as have the brave people in Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan China, North Korea, Muslims and Israel have. Bugger what the wokes say, these brave people need to save themselves from these horrors. Very few, especially the wokes of society, will help them. What I tell those above is, if Israel or Ukraine falls War III will occur!
My grandfather was an Orthodox Jew who did not support the establishment of Israel.
He survived the pogrom in 1908/09 of Cologne by being thrown onto a ship as a cabin boy.
He jumped ship in Australia.
One genocide does not justify another!
We said “Never again” and all I can hear from this comment is “Fascism is alive and well hiding in plain sight as Zionism”, which is exactly what “old Harry” said in 1947.
Calls herself a journalist? And how many journalists killed by Netanyahu and the IDF in Gaza in targeted killings ????? Over 200 and another five a few days ago at a hospital, and with the use of second strikes on those coming to aid those from a first strike. Interesting how the IDF can pinpoint them – does Palantir assist with this?
The comparisons of Netanyahu and Churchill may not be far off the mark: WLSC is quoted as saying that the Palestinian Arabs were “barbaric hordes who ate little but camel dung” and that, on the question of the Jewish occupation of Palestine, “It is a question of which civilisation you prefer”.
Old Winston was a bit dubious about our convict stain, too. As a racist ideologue, he was hard marker.