Pro-Palestinian activists have falsely accused Nova Peris of making an offensive comment about an Australian aid worker killed in Gaza, when she said nothing of the sort.
The former Olympic athlete turned Labor politician was criticized last week on Facebook for her recent trip to Israel.
A Palestinian supporter accused Ms Peris of “shaking hands with Zionists” on the same day that Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, five fellow aid workers and their Palestinian driver were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Ms. Peris immediately responded to her accuser, saying she “wouldn’t be worried about the hostages, just another low-life terrorist sympathizer.”
But those comments were later published on X by an Indigenous postdoctoral candidate at the Queensland University of Technology, Amy McQuire.
Dr McQuire posted a cropped image of the dispute on Facebook and captioned it: “This is what Nova Peris said about Zomi Frankcom, who was killed by the IDF.”
In fact, Ms. Peris’s “low-life terrorist sympathizer” comment was about her online critic, not Ms. Frankcom.
Dr. McGuire had misunderstood who the publication was about or had attempted to misrepresent it.
“Peris is a callous, hateful person and an apologist for genocide,” Dr. McQuire continued.
Ms. Frankcom and her team had unloaded “100 tons of humanitarian food aid” before being killed (pictured, the last photo Ms. Frankcom sent to her family moments before entering Gaza)
A woman accused former Olympian and Senator Peris of “shaking hands with Zionists” on her recent trip to Israel.
Ms. Peris is a strong supporter of Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza and recently traveled to Tel Aviv, where she met and spoke with families of victims of the October 7 Hamas attack.
Dr McQuire’s post was viewed 49,800 times, attracting 498 likes and 114 comments, many of which criticized Ms Peris based on the false accusation.
The post has since been amended to include a note from the X community, stating that it was incorrect or misleading.
The community note clarified that Ms. Peris was not actually referring to Ms. Frankcom.
‘The publication incorrectly identifies the word ‘her’ as ‘Zomi.’ When reading the posts above, it is clear that the word ‘she’ refers to the comment above. The screenshot provided omits this,” the community note reads.
Dr McQuire told WhatsNew2Day Australia she would not remove the misleading post, but did not explain why not.
“Why don’t you write an article about Nova Peris’ propaganda tour of Israel in the midst of the ongoing genocide?” he said.
He has since reposted comments made by others condemning Ms Peris.
Peris has recently become a strong supporter of Israel amid the ongoing war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
He recently traveled to Tel Aviv, where he met and spoke with families of victims of the October 7 Hamas attack.
Dr McQuire’s post (above) was viewed 49,800 times, attracting 498 likes and 114 comments, many of which were critical of Ms Peris.
This is the full comment that Dr. McQuire took out of context and reposted on X
Ms Peris has been harshly criticized by Palestine supporters for her stance on the conflict.
She said of the trip: ‘The last five days have been beyond heartbreaking in so many ways. I have shed many tears listening to and witnessing the horror stories.
‘To the Jewish people, I am very sorry. I share your pain. As a First Nation woman, I understand what it’s like to have your very existence tried to be erased.’
But the trip caused uproar within the Australian pro-Palestinian movement, which accused Ms Peris of “siding with the oppressors” and “hanging out with genocidal Zionists”.
Ms Peris said: ‘At no point have I accused Ms Lalzawmi Frankcom of being a terrorist sympathiser.
“I express my continued support and deepest condolences to Ms. Frankcom’s family and friends on the loss of their loved one.”
Ms Frankcom was killed when the humanitarian convoy traveling in south central Gaza was hit by an Israeli airstrike.
She, five other international aid workers and a Palestinian driver were killed while trying to deliver food to besieged communities.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner later said the IDF had reason to believe that Hamas gunmen were part of the convoy.
“The trucks were coming from where food supplies had been unloaded from the World Central Kitchen ship to the warehouses,” he told the ABC.
‘As the trucks were driving, armed terrorists boarded at least one of them and even fired some shots as they drove.
“They concluded that it must be Hamas.”
Melbourne-born Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom (left) was killed during an airstrike in Gaza while delivering food and supplies to Palestinians.