Sharri Markson during rocket sirens in Yarkon Park
(Video: Courtesy of Sky News Australia )
It was a sight most Australians had never seen—until this week. On her daily primetime show Sharri on Sky News Australia, host Shari Markson aired an interview with Omri Shifroni, who lost family members and friends in the October 7 Hamas attack on Kibbutz Be’eri.
The interview, filmed in Yarkon Park near the national memorial ceremony site, took an unexpected turn when a rocket siren went off, and Markson, like everyone else, lay down on the grass. Although the interview was pre-recorded due to the time difference between Israel and Australia, Markson chose to air it unedited.
"It was obviously terrifying. It was my first siren, and that's not something you experience in Australia—it's very foreign to us," Markson shared in an interview with Ynet. "That day was already tense with fears of terror attacks. I had anticipated it could happen since the moment I landed here, I had the Home Front Command app on my phone. But when it actually happens to you for the first time, it's such a shock. It's the furthest thing from the safe Australia I know."
Markson (40, married with two children) was born in Sydney to a Jewish family and has never hidden her roots. A renowned journalist in her native Australia for over two decades, she has won numerous journalism awards.
Her career began at 16 with The Sunday Telegraph, and she has since contributed to the New York Post, various British newspapers and worked for Australia’s Channel 7. She serves as investigations editor at The Australian. In 2018, Markson became the lead host of her own investigative and current affairs show on Sky News, which averages half a million viewers each night.
For the past year, she has been intensely covering the war in Israel from afar. However, unlike other international networks, Markson and most of her colleagues at Sky News have adopted a clear, pro-Israel stance. Despite her near-daily analysis of events in Israel, this past week, her third visit to the country provided her with new insights about the Israeli people.
"The biggest gap I noticed is that while people around the world and in Australia are loudly calling for a cease-fire, here in Israel, I didn’t meet anyone who didn’t support the war, regardless of their political views. It was surprising, but I get it—you don’t want to live in fear of Hamas and Hezbollah."
Her schedule in Israel was packed. During her stay, she traveled between Jerusalem, where she interviewed former prime ministers Ehud Olmert and Naftali Bennett (and had a 45-minute off-the-record discussion with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu), as well as the war-afflicted north and south of the country, broadcasting live and conducting emotional interviews with the families of October 7 victims and hostages.
"The experience was deeply moving. There isn’t one moment that stands out; it’s a collection of moments. Every interview with the family of a victim or hostage was difficult. Facing the horrors here, in person, wasn’t easy. But it’s a mission. There are networks and outlets that aren’t telling Israel’s side of the story, and as someone who stands with Israel and wants to explain your story to the world, it’s my duty to do so."
'As a Jew, I’ve felt the horror you’re experiencing as if it were my own'
Some may be quick to link Markson’s support for Israel in her reporting to her Jewish roots, but she is at the forefront of a news station where most of the anchors and commentators have overwhelmingly supported Israel during the ongoing war.
If you're ever looking for a rare oasis among the international coverage on Israel, a quick search on YouTube for Sky News Australia will yield commentary that sounds almost as if it’s coming from an Israeli news anchor.
In fact, two weeks ago, another Sky News host, Erin Molan, revealed during a broadcast that she had received death threats against herself and her daughter for expressing support for Israel.
Rita Panahi, another presenter of Iranian descent, has frequently shared her views on the conflict on her weekend show, even starting a segment titled "Lefties Losing It," where she mocks pro-Hamas and anti-Israel sentiments from student protests worldwide. Three months ago, the network aired an entire program dedicated to the rise of antisemitism in Australia following the outbreak of the war.
Markson operates similarly, using her platform to express her clear views to her loyal audience. In November, during the first cease-fire between the parties, when hundreds of Australian journalists signed a petition calling for a halt to the fighting, she sharply criticized them.
"There is no equivalence here between the criminals held by Israel who have committed serious crimes… and the innocent woman, children and babies," she said on-air, taking aim at the 270 journalists who signed the petition calling for a permanent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
They also urged local broadcasts to be "less sympathetic towards Israel." Markson panned what she described as her media peers’ “terrible double standard.”
"The left media… are so obsessed with issues of equality and racism, except when it comes to Jews," she asserted.
"I don't even know how it's possible to be less sympathetic. These media outlets are already so hostile towards Israel and Jews, they don't believe Israel has the right to defend itself after a terror attack… and they didn't express concern or post on social media about the innocent babies and children who'd been kidnapped or the women who'd been raped, the teenagers who'd been raped [on October 7]. And now they want the media outlets they work for to treat Israel like Hamas; to treat claims from Israel with as much skepticism as you would treat claims from a terrorist organization. It's unbelievable!
"The only comfort I can possibly take from this is that there's now a list of the journalists, for the world to see, who've effectively taken a stance against Israel and the Jewish community."
Markson insists that since the war began, there has never been a directive from Sky News management pushing presenters or reporters to be pro-Israel. She says it’s just how things have played out.
"Every host at our station has their own viewpoint, and they’re free to express it. Personally, as a Jew, from day one, like all Jews around the world, I’ve felt the horror you’re experiencing here in Israel as if it were my own. I’m glad my network allows me to express my views fully—I couldn’t work for a channel that takes an anti-Israel stance."
Markson acknowledges that Sky News Australia is a rare bird in the media landscape today. Like everyone and perhaps to a greater degree, she consumes news from around the world around the clock. "There are so many channels that aren’t just anti-Israel, they’re antisemitic, and it’s shameful. They sometimes broadcast clear anti-Israel content that endangers people, as it incites violence against Israel and Judaism."
And let’s be clear, even in her homeland, there are people who are very much against Israel, including, she says, current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. "This war has become very political in Australia too. I criticize the prime minister daily for being anti-Israel, and in return, he refuses to come on my show. But precisely because it’s such a major topic of discussion in Australia, it’s important to me to say the things I do."
Markson’s personal life has also been affected by the anti-Zionism she speaks about. "I’ve received many death threats because of what I say, but that hasn’t made me change my views or stop expressing them. Anti-Zionism has surged here in Australia, without a doubt. Of course, as soon as I received the threats, I reported them to the police. Ultimately, I’m a mother to two beautiful sons, and I protect them. But threats or anything else won’t stop me."
Just before boarding her flight back home, I asked her what she plans to focus on in her reporting about Israel in the coming year. "Unfortunately, there are still 101 hostages in Gaza, and I’ll be dedicating a lot more time to them in the coming year—hopefully, they’ll all be home before it ends."
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