Peris proud to be AUS Maccabiah Games ambassador
Nova Peris is "excited to be part of the Maccabiah journey" as team Australia's ambassador for the 2025 Games.
Indigenous Australian sporting legend Nova Peris has expressed deep-felt honour and excitement at being named by Maccabi Australia on May 23 as the ambassador for team Australia that will at the 2025 Maccabiah Games in Israel.
In a powerful video message released by Maccabi Australia, the Olympic gold medallist, former federal senator, and passionate upstander against antisemitism, said “We’re all in this together, now more than ever”.
“So this July, let’s show up for Israel, the Jewish people, our community, and each other, and make the 2025 Maccabiah Games one to remember.”
Peris has been to Israel twice since October 7, 2023, and spent time at the sites of the massacres at the Nova Festival and Kibbutz Be’eri, meeting survivors and former hostages.
Drawing on powerful parallels between her Aboriginal heritage and the Jewish experience – and noting her pride in being a descendant of the Yarawu and Gija peoples of the east and west Kimberleys, and the Bunitj Gagudju peoples of West Arnhem Land – she said, “Like the Jewish people to the land of Israel, our sovereignty was never ceded”.
“Our stories were nearly extinguished, but we endured, as you have”.
“We’ve seen a disgraceful, alarming rise in antisemitism here in Australia, and around the world.
“It’s why it is more important than ever that we stand together, united in solidarity, against the evils of terrorism.
“Our shared stories of resilience, survival, cultural pride, and connection to land, binds us.
“And that is why I’m excited to be part of the Maccabiah journey, and I can’t wait to share in [the experience] with you all [in Israel].”
Peris represented Australia for 13 years in athletics and hockey, winning gold at the Olympics, World Championships, Champions Trophy, and Commonwealth Games.
She said she is eager to share her wealth of sporting knowledge and experience with the Australian Maccabiah team, by offering practical tips from her own athletic journey, and providing unwavering support to every team member, coach, manager, and official.
“Throughout my career, I witnessed first-hand how powerful sport can be in uniting people from all walks of life”.
“I’ve seen the strength, resilience and determination of athletes coming together to be part of something greater than themselves.”
For Peris, “sport has been a human equaliser” that provided her with a platform and voice, allowing her to “rise above injustice, to unite people, and to stand proud”, as both a proud Aboriginal woman and as an Australian.
She sees the 2025 Maccabiah Games as “a light in the darkness”, and believes sport can offer the same transformative power it did for her to Jewish athletes, particularly in these challenging times.
“The Jewish people are a people who love life . . . you live for life, [as you say] . . . l’chaim!
“And you continue to give your children hope, joy, and opportunity, no matter how dark the world may seem.
“Am Yisrael chai!”
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