Netanyahu doubles down on Albanese attack saying he has ‘forever tarnished’ his reputationThe Guardian, Aug 21, 2025
Benjamin Netanyahu has doubled down on his criticism of Anthony Albanese as a “weak” leader amid a bitter row, claiming the Australian prime minister has “forever tarnished” his reputation.
Tensions between the Netanyahu and Albanese government have escalated this week following the cancellation of a visa for far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman to visit Australia, culminating in a week-long diplomatic jousting match.
In an interview with Sky News commentator Sharri Markson on Thursday night, the Israeli prime minister said Albanese’s record is “forever tarnished” after announcing his intention to recognise a Palestinian state.
“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,” Netanyahu said.
"It is wrong because to offer [Hamas] a state, when they had a state, a de facto state in Gaza, and they used it for murder, pillage and monstrous crimes is to reward terrorism, and I think that’s a sign of weakness, that, as I said, will tarnish the prime minister’s record.”
The health minister, Mark Butler, described Netanyahu’s comments to Sky News as “frankly ridiculous”, adding Australia would not change its position “because of a particular position taken by any other world leader.
The fresh comments came a day after Australia’s peak Jewish group, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), labelled Israeli prime minister Netanyahu’s attack on Albanese as “inflammatory and provocative”, and a “clumsy intervention” which had affected Australia’s Jewish community.
Albanese initially played down Netanyahu’s first statement on Wednesday, in which he described the Australian prime minister as a “weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews”.
“I don’t take these things personally. I engage with people diplomatically, he [Netanyahu] has had similar things to say about other leaders,” he said
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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/aug/21/australian-pm-albanese-forever-tarnished-netanyahu-says
