Melbourne— Nova Peris is used to being stopped and recognised across Australia. An Olympic gold medalist, a former member of Australia’s Parliament, and one of the country’s highest-profile Aboriginal Australians, she’s packed a lot into her 53 years. Yet, in recent months, Peris, who runs the Nova Peris Foundation dedicated to empowering Australia’s First Nations People, has found her time increasingly dedicated to supporting Israel.
While Peris has long been a prominent advocate for Aboriginal Australians, the recent conflict in Israel has added a new dimension to her activism. On October 14, 2023 — exactly one week after Hamas terrorists slaughtered 1,200 people in southern Israel and kidnapped 251 to the Gaza Strip — Australia held a referendum to change the country’s constitution. The referendum proposed establishing an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which would advise on policies affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Despite widespread public debate, the referendum was resoundingly defeated, with 60% of Australians voting against it. Peris, as one of the highest-profile faces of the advocacy campaign, was devastated. “I cried for weeks after the referendum, and until today I am still trying to process how 60% of the country could turn their back on Aboriginal people,” Peris told The Times of Israel.
As she processed the loss of the historic referendum, Peris turned her attention toward the Jewish state. “I saw some of the imager.
