For Kevin Kalinko, an odyssey through Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory’s far northeast was an eye-opener.
Recently appointed as a non-executive director of the Nova Peris Foundation, Kalinko, a Jewish Australian, accompanied Peris on her comprehensive journey through the Top End in October last year on a trip to uplift Aboriginal communities.
But as he journeyed for five days with the former Northern Territory senator through some of Australia’s most remote communities, he began to see their Indigenous inhabitants through a lens – inspired by Peris – of parallels between the Jewish and Indigenous communities in Australia, particularly in light of recent global events.
South African-born Kalinko came to Australia with his parents when he was seven and watched them work hard to succeed. His wife’s grandparents were post-WWII arrivals. He now runs businesses across a range of sectors spanning education, childcare, energy procurement, property services and sport.
Taking up his role at the Peris Foundation, he joined an illustriously credentialled board of directors, including Rose Bay commercial lawyer Fred Linker, a non-executive director and the other Jewish board member.
In Arnhem Land, Kalinko found himself in the company of a renaissance woman. Peris, the foundation’s CEO, is an Indigenous former Olympic athlete – the first Indigenous Australian to score Olympics gold, when she competed with the Hockeyroos in the Atlanta Games in 1996, and a competitor at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. She was honoured with an Order of Australia Medal in 1997.
She was the first Aboriginal woman in the Senate, representing the Northern Territory for the ALP from 2013 to 2016. She founded the Nova Peris Girls’ Academy to support Indigenous girls’ education.
Peris’s passionate affirmation of Jewish Australians and the Jewish people’s indigenous rights to Israel is part of her outlook. It was a solidarity drawn from deep wellsprings. “I wasn’t born into the hardship of mission life – but my mother and grandparents were. They endured the trauma, the displacement, the lack of opportunity,” Peris tells The AJN in an interview this week.
“I was fortunate to be raised with access to education and support – two of the most powerful things a person can have. My mother didn’t have those things and that truth has never left me. I carry their struggles with me every day, and I’ve turned their pain into my strength – to stand on truth, to advocate and to build something real for my people.”
Life in a housing commission flat in Darwin, far from her family’s origins in east and west Kimberley and Arnhem Land, was hard. She frequently absconded from school. But sport became a passion and a bridge to a better life.
Peris’s affinity for the Jewish struggle reflecting that of her own people has scaled new heights in the 18 months since the barbaric Hamas attacks. She set herself apart from the narrative promoted by Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe and others that Israel is a product of “settler colonialism”.
In her memorable address to a Shabbat dinner last November at the Union for Progressive Judaism’s biennial conference in Canberra, she described the Jewish homeland as “the epitome of decolonisation”.
She told her audience, “Your story, your resilience, serves as an inspiration to Indigenous people worldwide, as you embody the right to self-determination and the freedom to live in the land of your forefathers.”
Speaking to The AJN this week, Peris reflects, “Both our peoples have survived displacement, trauma, attempted erasure – yet we carry ancient wisdom, identity and connection to land that cannot be broken.
“I’ve always admired how the Jewish people held onto their culture and history through centuries of persecution. That sense of resilience, of returning to and fighting for your ancestral homeland, spoke to me deeply.
“When I learned more about the Indigenous connection Jewish people have to Israel, I understood it through the lens of my own connection to Country. That recognition created a bridge of empathy and kinship.”
Adds Kalinko: “Her message has been clear – antisemitism is unAustralian and has no place in Australia.” And he pointedly notes that the Indigenous community of remote Australia “does not endorse the use of its flag at anti-Israel rallies”.
The October trek through Arnhem Land took in some of Australia’s most far-flung Indigenous communities – Nhulunbuy, Yirrkala and Bawaka Homelands in North East Arnhem Land on Yolngu Country. The visits to these communities helped the Peris Foundation fulfil some of its key goals, says Kalinko.
These are to ensure that the Arnhem Land communities have access to consistent, nutritious food sources for long-term health and wellbeing.
This is being done in various ways. The foundation has set up large and small greenhouses, collaborating with local leaders to implement sustainable solutions, ensuring remote areas have the resources to maintain food availability. Kalinko says this is critical in regions where access to fresh produce is limited.
Partnering with the Aboriginal Investment Group (AIG), the Peris Foundation will install AIG’s Remote Laundries systems in Arnhem Land. AIG has already successfully rolled out laundries in various Indigenous communities throughout the Northern Territory.
These laundries play a pivotal role in reducing the incidence of scabies, a skin infection that has been a persistent issue in some remote areas. Left untreated, scabies can lead to severe health complications, including rheumatic heart disease, a potentially life-threatening condition.
Peris notes that the Yolngu people – names like Yothu Yindi, Gurrumul Yunupingu, David Gulpilil, the Marrikas, the Yunupingus – have fought for land rights, and shared their culture, music, dance, art and ceremony with the world.
“They’ve made us proud to be Aboriginal in our own country. Yet despite their strength and culture, they are also among the sickest people in this country. Rheumatic heart disease and diabetes sadly have taken too many Yolngu lives.
“So many people have taken from the Yolngu – taken their stories, their art, their time, their musical instruments, their songs and their spiritual ways – with very little ever given back. For me, this initiative is about changing that.”
It was in Arnhem Land that Kalinko was struck by the parallels between Peris’s work and her support for the Jewish community in the wake of the October 2023 atrocities.
Kalinko notes the striking parallels between Peris and the actions of William Cooper in 1938 when he and his Australian Aborigines League staged an iconic protest against Kristallnacht. “Cooper’s stand, in defence of the Jewish people during one of history’s darkest moments, mirrored Nova’s unflinching support of the Jewish community after the atrocities of October 7, 2023.
“Just as William Cooper stood for justice and protested against the horrors of antisemitism, Nova Peris today stands against hate and in support of the Jewish people. Both Cooper and Peris understood the common struggles of Indigenous and Jewish communities.”
Kalinko argues that Peris, much like Cooper, recognises “that the struggles for justice, equality and dignity are shared across cultures, and her advocacy serves as a powerful reminder of the lasting connections between Australia’s Indigenous people and the Jewish community”.
Peris notes that the bond between Jews and First Australians was further strengthened in recent decades through the milestone work of two prominent Australians, the late Ron Castan QC and Mark Leibler.
Castan’s stewardship of the Mabo case which established Indigenous land rights, was for Peris “the legal recognition of our very existence. That’s not just justice – that’s a seismic shift in history.”
Leibler “walked beside us during the journey for a Voice to Parliament, when many chose to stay silent”, she says. “The defeat of the Voice was a national shame, but it’s not the end. If anything, it has lit a fire in our bellies. What fills the vacuum now must be Indigenous-led action – like the work of my foundation.”
In this era when Israel is seen by so many as a coloniser, what can the Australian Jewish community do to make Australians understand that Israel is the Jewish indigenous homeland, the way they recognise the indigeneity of First Australians?
“It starts with truth-telling,” says Peris. “Just as Australians are slowly beginning to understand the truth of our First Nations history, the Jewish community must keep sharing its story of indigeneity to the Land of Israel.
“Talk about the archaeology, the language, the customs – but most importantly, share the lived experiences of generations yearning for return. Frame it not through politics, but through culture, history and spirit. Let people see the depth of the connection – and not through the headlines, but through the human stories.
“We change minds by opening hearts. We need more cross-cultural exchanges, more shared platforms, more personal storytelling. When Australians see that Indigenous Australians and indigenous Jews are walking parallel paths of survival, cultural pride and spiritual connection to land – it reshapes the narrative.
“Education is key, but so is presence. Show up for us and let us show up for you. Solidarity matters. And when it’s authentic, it cuts through the noise.”
Fred Linker, Kalinko’s Jewish colleague on the foundation’s board, “is a passionate lawyer who has been a great ally to Aboriginal people”, says Peris.
“Together, Kevin and Fred represent the kind of allyship that isn’t performative – it’s personal, professional and powerful. They reflect the strong moral thread in the Jewish community that stands for justice, healing and truth.”
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