Nova Peris: Anzac Day ties our nation’s Jewish and Indigenous heritage together

As we prepare to honour those who lost their lives defending Australia’s freedom and values, it is worth reflecting on how fortunate we all are to live in a country with no enemies on our direct borders and with the natural security of an ocean, Nova Peris writes.

As we prepare to honour the soldiers who lost their lives defending Australia’s freedom and values this Anzac Day, it is worth reflecting on how fortunate we all are to live in a country with no enemies on our direct borders and with the natural security of an ocean all around us.

Australian soldiers have, for decades, departed our shores to stand alongside our allies in protecting the freedom and democracy that we all cherish.

Foremost in our minds on Anzac Day is the Gallipoli campaign, a campaign in which General Sir John Monash took part as commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade.

Not everyone will know that Monash was Jewish.

He celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, graduated from the University of Melbourne in Arts, Engineering and Law and went on to become Australia’s greatest general.

Former senator and Olympian Nova Peris on the Kokoda Track.

Certainly, Monash is one of the more famous examples of Jewish contributions to our great country, but generations of Jewish immigrants and their descendants have made similarly important contributions in medicine, law, the arts, sport, employment, social justice and philanthropy.

And do you realise that some 7000 Jewish people have served in the Australian Army, and that at least 330 have died to protect us? They’re ANZACs, too, because, like us, they believe in freedom and togetherness.

Lieutenant-General Sir John Monash presents decorations to members of the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade, after their success in the battle of Hamel at Somme, Querrieu in France during World War One (1918).

An example close to my heart as an Aboriginal woman is the work of the Jewish lawyer, Ron Castan QC. Ron devoted 10 years of his life to winning the Mabo case on behalf of the Aboriginal people and overturning the lie of Terra Nullius.

His recognition of the parallels between the stories of the Aboriginal and Jewish peoples inspired him to stand with us. Many other Jewish lawyers, like Jeff Sher QC, were friends to my people.

Our current Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus worked for the Northern Land Council in the early 1980s too.

Given this background of service to our country and commitment to its values and institutions, it is enormously sad to see our fellow Jewish citizens now being put at risk as our social cohesion has come under severe strain in the past six months.

I have observed a recent increase in polarisation, divisive rhetoric and hate speech in Australia, which concerns me deeply. Anzac Day gives us an opportunity to think about whether that is the direction in which we want to head as an Australian society.

Nova Peris at the Bomana Cemetary along the Kokoda Track.

I’m a proud Aboriginal woman. My mother is of the Stolen Generation, as were my grandparents. I’ve been privileged to represent Australia as an Olympian and in our federal parliament. All my life I’ve worked and advocated for the rights and dignity of my people.

I was the face of the campaign to free the Aboriginal flag from copyright. I campaigned for the Voice to Parliament, and through the Nova Peris Foundation I’m working to address rheumatic heart disease which disproportionately affects my people in the Northern Territory.

With this background I’m perplexed by the vitriol that has been directed at me lately for telling the truth about Jewish indigeneity to the land of Israel.

To tell me: “You are Indigenous and so you must view the situation through our chosen lens, and you must support who we deem to be Indigenous”, this is so deeply racist and imperialistic that I can only laugh. I’ve developed a tough skin over the years so it’s water off a duck’s back.

Nova Peris's grandfather's Bible, which she carried with her both times she walked Kokoda.

While this phenomenon is offensive on a personal level, I’m also deeply concerned by the broader damage to Australia’s social cohesion.

It is fundamentally divisive and destructive in nature — the exact opposite of what we need.

Instead, we should be promoting bridge-building, constructive dialogue, mutual respect, and coexistence — a win-win outcome for all citizens.

I take inspiration from Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Palestinian man from Gaza who has lost some 30 members of his family, but who says: “I refuse to give up on seeking peace, coexistence, reconciliation, allyship, bridge building and common ground with Israelis and Jews who want to pursue a shared future based on equality, mutual acknowledgment, trust and just security and safety. Both people need each other”.

Yet instead of the coexistence, bridge building and common ground advocated by Mr Alkhatib, I hear local voices encouraging polarisation.

I see videos of people calling for the complete destruction of Israel, praising Hamas atrocities and calling for it to happen again.

I read reports of Muslim preachers in Western Sydney calling for violence against Jews and I see a failure of community leaders to denounce hate speech and call for respect and tolerance.

Instead of moral clarity and leadership on this crucial issue, I see a Greens political party exploiting and exacerbating the situation in a cynical grab for votes, and a seemingly frightened Labor Party trying to retain them.

On the topic of war, there is some truth telling to be done. I’m no John Monash, but I’ve trekked the Kokoda Track a couple times in honour of my great-grandfather, Sergeant Jack Knox of the 2/16th Battalion.

Nova Peris in Israel after the October 7 massacres

In one of the most poignant moments of the entire trek, was at the Bomana Cemetery, I knelt beside the grave with a Star of David on its tomb stone belonging to that of Private Joseph Rovkin, a 16-year-old Polish Jew who was killed in 1942 defending Australia. The ultimate sacrifice in the fight for freedom for us all.

I know first-hand the significance of the support that the Jewish community has given Aboriginal people over the decades, which, sadly, has never been appropriately recognised.

Their respect and support for Aboriginal people goes far deeper than I can detail here, but in more recent times, it was no coincidence that electorates with significant Jewish populations overwhelmingly voted ‘yes’ for a Voice to Parliament.

Recently, I visited the Middle East.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the airport in Israel, were the signs written in Hebrew, Arabic and English — they were everywhere, on street signs, menus in restaurants, and at schools. Three different languages to cater for all its citizens, who, outside of war time, live in freedom as equal citizens and enjoy a wonderful democratic life.

Travelling through all these historical places was, for me, like watching the Bible come to life.

To deny the Jewish people the connectedness to Israel, is to deny the world around us, and I think that is the problem of the continuous hatred for the Jewish people.

October 7 has reminded Jewish people of the nightmares of the 1930s and 1940s. The world, it seems, has turned against them yet again. The rise of anti-Semitism, which I’d read about but never fully witnessed until recently, is disgusting; it’s unnecessary and, surely, unacceptable.

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Picture: Jack Guez / AFP.

We visited Be’ eri Kibbutz where 120 people were murdered in the most barbaric way. We met Jewish Australian, Geoffrey Majzner who miraculously survived the terrorist attack hiding in the bomb shelter of his home.

We visited the Nova site where, on October 7, 2023, young people were all enjoying a music festival, and 375 people were slaughtered by Hamas rebels.

It was devastating to be there. I spoke to a woman called Yarden who shared with me the story of her 23-year-old sister, Romi who was at the Nova festival that day.

Romi was taken hostage and remains a hostage six months later. Whether she’s still alive or not, no one knows.

I will never forget what Yarden told me that day. To speak to some of those who either lost their loved ones or whose loved ones remain as hostages, whereabouts unknown, is as heart-wrenching as anything I’ve ever experienced.

Yet we are living through an era of fake news, and this “Free Palestine” movement is proving to be the latest fad for many young people to latch on to as part of a mob mentality.

The visual evidence of the butchery that I witnessed can never be unseen. My heart ached and the tears flowed. It beggars’ belief, how could human beings do this?!

This footage must be viewed by every political leader and those leaders within religious institutions too. Importantly it is a must view to fully understand the reality of what took place on October 7.

But the main purpose of this viewing was to witness Hamas terrorists documenting their own war crimes of heinous inhumanity still present in society and celebrating it. It was sickening to the core.

I didn’t know if I could watch it, but I felt an obligation to watch every moment, to bear witness to the suffering and as a call to action to stop such carnage.

If everyone took the time to truly understand the Israeli people, they might realise every country deserves the right to defend itself when attacked.

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