Major News Outlet Scrutinised: Cartoon Depicts Bondi Inquiry Backers Manipulated by Netanyahu

The cartoon by artist Cathy Wilcox, was published in print and online on Jan. 7 in the publication owned by Nine Newspapers.

Police stand guard as people gather during the reading of the victims’ names of the Bondi mass shooting at Bondi Pavilion at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Dec. 24, 2025. George Chan/Getty Images

The Age and Sydney Morning Herald has so far declined to comment on a political cartoon that depicts supporters of a royal commission into the Bondi terror attacks being manipulated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The cartoon by artist Cathy Wilcox, was published in print and online on Jan. 7 in the publication owned by Nine Newspapers.

But it has left some confused as to how it made it through the editorial process.

The publication of the cartoon comes less than a month after 15 people were slaughtered in a mass shooting targeting a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

It was branded dangerous by Anti-Defamation Commission Chair Dvir Ambramovich, while fellow political cartoonist Paul Zanetti deemed it anti-Semitic.

What is in the Cartoon?

The cartoon depicts News Corporation chief Rupert Murdoch and right-leaning political figures—who championed a royal commission—carrying several other figures.

Among those being carried are members of the legal profession, businesspeople, sporting stars, former MPs and Labor figures who all backed a royal commission and were standing on a strip of grass—supposed to allude to the “grassroots” support for Australia’s highest form of inquiry.

But Murdoch and the right-leaning political figures are depicted as marching to the drum beat of Netanyahu.

A dog is also included staring at a bone with the words, “Don’t mention the war,” an implication of a link between the Bondi terror attack and the Israel-Hamas War.

Anti-Defamation Chair Says Cartoon Plays on Conspiracy Fears

Academic Abramovich says he cannot understand how the cartoon didn’t trigger alarm bells.

Abramovich says the cartoon was not presenting a legitimate debate issue, but insinuated that the experts calling for the inquiry were being controlled by Netanyahu.

In an open letter penned to The Age editor Patrick Elligett, Abramovich wrote that the cartoon alluded to ongoing conspiracy theories.

“The cartoon invokes a well-worn and historically lethal idea, the idea that Jews or the Jewish state operate as a hidden hand, directing events behind the scenes,” he wrote on Facebook.

“This trope has a name. It is known, studied, and documented. It is the trope of foreign Jewish control.”

Abramovich said he had no issue with criticism of Israeli government or policy.

“This is about how criticism is framed, and what it insinuates,” he said.

“When a cartoon depicts Australians as marionettes and places an Israeli leader at the drum that sets their tempo, it is no longer arguing policy. It is a delegitimising motive.”

The Epoch Times contacted The Age’s editorial department, editor Elligett, and cartoonist Wilcox for comment.

Condemnation From Fellow Cartoonist

Political cartoonist Paul Zanetti also weighed in saying the cartoon should never have made it off the cutting room floor.

“There is no justification for denying the families of the horrific, Islamic terror attack at Bondi Beach a royal commission,” he wrote on Facebook.

“There is no justification for this tasteless cartoon, which has no basis in facts, and lacks any insight or truth.

“It cheers for the genocidal hatred of an historically-persecuted people who have done so much for our country, quietly and with dignity.”

Zanetti said he supported freedom of speech, but said that had boundaries.

“I reserve the right to call out putrid, insensitive expressions of hate,” he said.

Zanetti also commented on the responsibility of political cartoonists saying they should be well drawn, sometimes funny, or truthful.

“Wilcox, in my opinion, fails all three basic tests,” he said.