Declaration from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait people of Australia

A statement to the Israel Government from Aboriginal and Torres Strait people of Australia

We, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people, as custodians of the land of Australia, declare to the Israel nation, its people, and its government, that we DO NOT stand with the government of Australia in recognising Palestine as a nation state.

We ask your forgiveness for the public demonstrations in our land which have expressed antisemitic voices, actions and attitudes. We are distressed some Jewish leaders and ministers have been blocked from coming on our country. As traditional custodians in the land we want to welcome you into our country.

We declare the Creator who is sovereign is the God of Israel.

We declare the Creator, who made the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and earth. From one man He created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. He is still at work doing this today.

We declare the truth of history that the land of Gaza belongs to the tribe of Judah, who are the Jewish people. The land of Cannan was given to Abraham and his descendants and when it was allocated amongst the 12 tribes the land known as Gaza was given to the tribe of Judah. It is your inheritance. We uphold this truth and stand with the tribe of Judah and the nation of Israel.

As indigenous people we understand tribal connection to country and that a land will thrive and respond to its indigenous people when they walk right with their Creator and care for their country. We see this happening in Israel today. This was the situation with the land in Gaza when the Jewish people lived there up until 2005.

Since the Jewish people were forcibly removed the land has not thrived, nor have the people who continue to live there.

We declare that the Creator, the God of Israel, is giving the land of Gaza back to the tribe of Judah and we stand with them in their duty to receive from the Creator what has been given to their ancestors.

The Creator, the God of Israel promised to restore the land to his people.

‘For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of My people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it again. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Jeremiah 30:3 The Creator, the God of Israel has also promised that Judah’s dwelling places will be restored before Jerusalem is delivered from their enemies.

“The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. (Zechariah 12:7)

As tribes from the land from the ends of the earth we call forth our brothers and sisters from the tribe of Judah to take hold of the inheritance that is rightfully yours.

We say to the Jewish people, “It is your responsibility to see the land, divinely covenanted to the Tribe of Judah, restored as a dwelling place for those returning home to their ancestral lands.” The Creator is calling you back to your land as a blessing to all whom would dwell in it. This blessing is not just for the people of the tribe of Judah but for all who the Creator, the God of Israel would have dwell in the land; whether Jewish, Arab or Gentiles.

We declare that when the tribe of Judah returns back from their captivity to dwell in their land that it shall be said again, in the land of Judah and its cities which encompasses Gaza, ‘The Lord Bless you, O home of Justice and Mountain of Holiness.’ (Jeremiah 31:23).

Our brother Judah, we stand with you in the truth that the Creator, the God of Israel, has promised to you, and to your descendants, that He will give the land of Canaan, which includes the land of Gaza to you as an everlasting possession.

Chazak Chazak V’nitzchazek

Be Strong, Be Strong, Let Us Be Strengthened

Australian Council for the Pacific One New Man

Sherry Lowah: Arrernte, Luritja, Pitjantjatjara (Aboriginal) & Meriam Mer (Torres Strait)

Debra Harding-Morris: Yowong-Iiiam-Baluk clan, Taungurung people, Central Victoria

David Morris: Tribe of Judah

Anderson George: Wagilak tribe, Goyder River (Djilpin)

Natungyu Garawirrtja: Gupapuyngu Birrkili tribe East Arnhem Land

Geoff Armitage: Australia