In this update:

COMBATTING FALSE NARRATIVES

GOOGLE TRENDS: A MEASURABLE IMPACT

MĀORI DELEGATION TO ISRAEL

THE INDIGENOUS SAMI CONNECTION

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES AND SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY

COMBATTING
FALSE NARRATIVES IN
UNIVERSITIES & CHURCHES

Dr Sheree Trotter continues to work at combatting false narratives through writing and speaking. She was pleased to present a paper at the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism Conference at Haifa University, even if remotely. Her topic ‘Antizionist Ideological Capture of Indigenous Movements’ was well received and will be published in an academic journal. 

The conference was a huge success, with nearly 500 participants, including over 300 international speakers from across the world. The first keynote speech was delivered by historian and former US Special Envoy for Monitoring Antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt. She expressed the importance of broad, international coalitions in the fight against antisemitism. 

Sheree recently attended a seminar at the University of Auckland by two Palestinian Christian theologians Dr. Lamma Mansour and Dr. Yousef Khoury. This was part of a series of talks given in Anglican churches in New Zealand. 

Yousef is the Academic Dean of Bethlehem Bible College, a Board member of Kairos Palestine and was raised in Gaza. Mansour identifies as a Palestinian citizen of Israel. Hailing from Nazareth, she graduated from Haifa university, gained a Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford university and is currently a post-doctoral researcher at Hebrew university. 

Sheree wrote a response to Mansour’s deeply problematic presentation “Structure of Erasure – Past and Present: Settler Colonialism in Palestine”.

A reduced version was published in Algemeiner. Sheree also discussed the article in an interview by Pastor Torp for Oslo TV. 

Sheree has previously written about settler colonialism here, here and here. In her latest article she shows how Mansour’s heavily truncated account of the complex Israel-Palestinian conflict presented a false, distorted and harmful picture. 

Sheree intends to respond to Dr. Yousef Khoury’s presentation, in which he equated Christian Zionism with terrorism. Khoury is associated with Kairos II, an antizionist document which has caused much controversy within the Anglican Church in England. 

MARKED INCREASE
IN UNDERSTANDING
JEWISH INDIGENEITY

We are greatly encouraged to see the growing understanding of Jewish Indigeneity. According to Google Trends, there has been a steadily rising interest in search combinations such as Israel indigenous, Jewish indigeneity, Palestinian indigeneity, Zionism indigenous, and indigenous Israel. 

The trend is also closely associated with contemporary debates over Zionism and antisemitism. Since 2024, searches pairing “Jewish indigeneity” with terms such as “antisemitism,” “Zionism,” and “Israel” have risen markedly as governments, universities, advocacy organisations, and scholars increasingly engage the indigenous-status argument in response to accusations that Zionism is inherently colonial. The concept of Jewish indigeneity is now frequently presented both as a defence of Jewish national self-determination and as a rebuttal to narratives that portray Israel exclusively through a settler-colonial framework.

Although Google Trends measures relative search interest rather than absolute search volume, its data clearly demonstrate that the vocabulary of indigeneity has shifted from the margins to the centre of public discourse concerning Israel, Zionism, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and contemporary antisemitism, with the steepest and most sustained increase occurring from 2024 onward. We’re pleased that our work is contributing to this growing global discourse.

Please consider a monthly donation to help us make a difference.

MĀORI DELEGATION
TO ISRAEL

A very special event was held in Auckland recently. A Māori delegation which travelled to Israel in 2025 gave a presentation about their journey. It was heartwarming to hear the way in which being in the land and connecting with the tangata whenua (people of the land) changed their perspectives. The event was a celebration of the strengthening of shared bonds between two indigenous peoples. Read more here.

NORWAY, SWEDEN
AND THE INDIGENOUS
SAMI PEOPLE

Dr Trotter had the pleasure of meeting Indigenous Sami leader, Rev Arild Måsø, in a joint interview with Pastor Torp of Oslo TV. Rev Måsø, a Sami from Norway is a gifted singer of traditional Sami joik, and is the founder of Sami Indigenous Christian Center in Tana of North Norway (Sámi Álgoálbmot Risttalaš Guovddáš). Laura Medley, Executive Assistant and Liason will be travelling in Sweden over the coming month and looks forward to connecting further with the Sami community. We are pleased to be connecting with many different Indigenous groups around the world. 

NEWS FROM AUSTRALIA

Nova Peris Bondi Submission 

Former Senator and Olympic gold medallist Nova Peris has submitted a deeply personal and historically grounded submission to the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, arguing that the rise of antisemitism in Australia represents not only a threat to Jewish Australians but a profound challenge to the nation’s democratic values and social cohesion.

Drawing on her experiences as an Aboriginal woman, elite athlete, parliamentarian and anti-racism advocate, Peris argued that antisemitism should not be viewed as a problem affecting only one minority community. Rather, it is an Australian problem that tests whether the country is prepared to defend the dignity and safety of all its citizens.

At the heart of the submission is a powerful theme of memory and gratitude. Peris asks a question that recurs throughout the document: “How do we forget those who lifted us?”

Indigenous-Israel collaboration

It was also heartening to see the work of the Nova Peris Foundation, partnering with IsraAid to bring fresh water to the remote Indigenous Yolŋu community of Bawaka, in East Arnhem Land. Former PM Tony Abbott also volunteered on the four week project to replace a 40 year old bore with a new system that will deliver clean, safe and reliable drinking water. 

RESOURCES & SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY

We’re pleased to share that the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona (UA) is offering students a chance to participate in a variety of online courses that focus on Jewish and Israel studies.  These courses are offered at no cost. Find out more here.

In case you missed it:

Sheree’s speech at Beit Tikvah Synagogue in Toronto, on the resonances between Jews and Indigenous peoples.

Harry LaForme’s powerful message, I Stood on my ancestral land and said what Carney would not

Dan Donovan’s piece on How Canada’s Indigenous Story is being twisted to spread antisemitism. 

Recommended Reading:

Indigenous Peoples Call Israel the World's Greatest Decolonization Story

Ben Freeman: Jewish Indigeneity is an Anthropological Reality

If Jews Are Not Indigenous to the Land of Israel, Then What Does ‘Indigenous’ Even Mean?

Zionism as Decolonization — How I Went From Anti-Zionist to Zionist

THANKS
TO OUR SUPPORTERS

As we continue this important work of building the Indigenous network of support for Israel and standing against false narratives and antisemitism, please consider supporting Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem. We are entirely dependent on the generosity of our supporters.

Please consider a monthly donation to this important project.

DONATE

FOLLOW IEJ ON SOCIAL MEDIA