Israel is the only country in the world that has an embassy for indigenous people. Situated in the heart of Jerusalem, the Indigenous Peoples’ Embassy pays tribute to clans and tribes around the world— and is a testament to shared heritage.
As antisemitism surges around the world, we need to be reminded that Israel and the Jewish people have many friends. Some of them are from indigenous communities, such as the Aboriginal people in Australia.
Sydney residents George and Anita Fisher shared the following story with JNS. During a vacation to the city of Darwin in the north of Australia, the Fishers were browsing around a market on a Saturday and were drawn to a table with a display of Aboriginal art.
The Fishers purchased one of the paintings from the artist’s wife, who remarked on the beautiful necklace Anita wore, featuring a Star of David and dove of peace intertwined. Anita responded, saying, “I am Jewish and this is a Magen David.”
Anita was not prepared for the artist’s wife’s reply. “We were gobsmacked,” Anita told JNS. “She immediately said, ‘Am Yisrael Chai!‘ (The People of Israel Live). She then told us that her ‘mob’ goes to church every Sunday and they are taught in church that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jews.”
Anita added, “They don’t look at any media about Palestine and refuse to look at anything that is anti-Israel. We were so taken aback. We were not expecting this. Then she told us that they collect money for the IDF.”
Aboriginal support
Almost a million people in Australia identified as Aboriginal, representing about 3.8% of the total population.
Aboriginal support for Jews predates the establishment of the State of Israel. During the Holocaust, William Cooper, a Yorta Yorta Aboriginal elder and activist, expressed strong support for the Jewish people. Cooper led a protest against Nazi violence, condemning the persecution of Jews and delivering a petition to the German consulate in Melbourne following the horrific events of Kristallnacht.
This act of solidarity with the Jewish people was remarkable, particularly considering that he was fighting primarily for Aboriginal rights at the time. Cooper recognized that both communities suffered horrendous discrimination and shared similar historical narratives.
Cooper’s legacy is that he is remembered and celebrated by both the Aboriginal and Jewish communities as an example of standing up against injustice and promoting social justice.
While some in the Aboriginal community support the Palestinians, following the atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023, several prominent leaders—including Christian businessman Warren Mundine—have come out strongly in support of Israel.
Besides being an Australian Aboriginal leader, Mudine is respected both as an advocate for indigenous people and a former politician, having served as national president of the Australian Labor Party.
He has been extremely vocal in his support for the Jewish state and also visited Israel post-Oct. 7. He has taken to social media and the airwaves to speak up for Israel and Jewish indigenous rights.
In a post on X, in response to anti-Israel journalist Mary Kostakidis, Mundine tweeted, “No genocide nor apartheid in Israel. Gaza has ruled itself since the withdrawal of Israel in 2005. Hamas has fired thousands of missiles against Israel. The 7th Oct. Hamas broke the truce by invading Israel, killing, gang raping, torturing, mutilating, kidnapping civilians.”
Angry at the conflation of indigenous rights and pro-Palestinian politics, Mundine said on a Sky News Australia broadcast in January 2024, “Israel has been there for thousands of years in the Bible and Quran; it is insane to conflate the two. The idea that Jews are interlopers is absolute nonsense.”
He added, “Why are Australians protesting fellow Australians outside their synagogues or on the steps of the Opera House? I want to highlight the fact that Jews are the indigenous people of the Middle East and of Israel, and to say they aren’t is nonsense. Indigenous people in Australia are being used by the pro-Palestine movement.”
Perhaps the best-known indigenous voice for Israel is former parliamentarian and Olympian, Nova Peris. Peris visited Israel very soon after Oct. 7 and shared her thoughts about the trip.
“The last days have been beyond heartbreaking in so many ways,” she wrote. “I’ve shed many tears listening and bearing witness to the stories of horror. To the Jewish people, I am truly sorry. I share your pain. I understand, as a First Nation woman, what it is like to have your very existence try to be erased. Today I’m here on your ancestral lands to walk, to touch, and to see your country.”
Speaking at the Courage to Care Victoria’s event at the Gandel Gallery on March 31, she discussed her commitment to speaking out publicly against antisemitism following the Oct. 7 Hamas assault.
Peris said she decided to “speak out” when she saw her Jewish friends hurting—friends such as Josh Frydenberg, Julian Leeser and Mark Leibler—who had strongly supported the Indigenous Voice referendum. She said her Jewish friends were asking, “Where are our friends?”
Nova Peris draws on Cooper’s legacy. During a solidarity event in December 2024 between the Jewish and Aboriginal communities, Peris said, “When he [Cooper] marched to the German consulate in 1938, he didn’t march for his own people. He marched for the Jewish people— strangers to him but bound to him by a shared understanding of suffering and the unyielding belief in justice.”
She continued, “He knew, as we must, that the fight against hate anywhere is a fight against hate everywhere. As I reflect on his legacy, I see the deep parallels between the Aboriginal and Jewish peoples. Both of us have endured systemic oppression and attempts to erase our histories, and yet both of us have survived—stronger, prouder, and more determined to ensure that these injustices are never forgotten. William Cooper’s protest … was an extraordinary act of courage. It was an act of empathy, of moral clarity, and of profound humanity. It reminds us that we cannot stand silent in the face of injustice.”
While many Australian Jews feel betrayed by their government’s lack of action against antisemitism, they can rest assured that they have close allies and support from the country’s Aboriginal community.