Corinne Faqueret, an Australian Jewish women, has a deep commitment to peace and justice. Not only for her own community and people who her share her faith, but for humanity. She is co-chair of the Jewish Women 4 Peace Action Ready Group and co-founder of the #OzJewsSayNO initiative.
In her article, written for ABC Religion & Ethics, Ms Fagueret outlines her fears that the horrors of the Holocaust during the Nazi occupation of Europe, are not a part of history but could happen again. She urges those who can, who care, to speak out for the sake of common humanity after the events that occurred 7 October 2023, and the resulting escalation of war and inhumanity in its wake.
She says of her understanding of the “official version” of Israeli history, which omitted the Palestinian’s story, the Nakba, has changed since befriending Palestinian neighbours.
No one told me about the effect that the creation of the State of Israel had on the lives of Palestinians… I suspect that most Jewish Australians have had little to do with anyone of Palestinian heritage. As a consequence, many are simply oblivious to their distress.
She says, ” ‘The Nakba’ is not a term used in the mainstream Jewish community.”
There are always reasons to remain silent. There is always a rationale for turning a blind eye. But for those of us whose lives have been shaped by the horrors of the Holocaust and who have pledged that such a thing must never happen again, we cannot let history repeat. We should never give up trying to understand “the other”, and we must never succumb to the temptation to dehumanise our fellow human beings. The commitment to peace and justice is nurtured in the small, seemingly insignificant gestures. Even during wars, it is still possible to make friends.
Read: For Australian Jews, the trauma of loss must not permit us to grow callous to the grief of others | ABC.net.au | Religion & Ethics | by Corinne Fagueret | 13 June 2025