The Mayors Summit, which brought together municipal leaders from across North America, concluded with unveiling the Municipal Antisemitism Action Index, a first-of-its-kind tool that measures and ranks municipalities’ effectiveness in combating antisemitism and protecting their Jewish residents.
More than 200 mayors gathered in Beverly Hills, California, two weeks ago for the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM)’s largest-ever Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, and over a hundred local leaders gathered at the United Against Antisemitism – “Actions Matter – The Summit” in Vienna, Austria, to develop concrete action plans for addressing hate in their communities.
The Mayors Summit, which brought together municipal leaders from across North America, concluded with unveiling the Municipal Antisemitism Action Index, a first-of-its-kind tool that measures and ranks municipalities’ effectiveness in combating antisemitism and protecting their Jewish residents.
This innovative index provides municipalities with measurable criteria and actionable strategies to enhance their responses to hate incidents while offering potential residents a valuable resource when considering relocation.
“Antisemitism is at an all-time high, and with Jews around the world feeling unsafe in their communities, we felt that those who are most likely to effect change for the better are local leaders,” said CEO of CAM Sasha Roytman Dratwa.
“The unprecedented attendance at these emergency summits reflects the urgency of our mission. The many mayors and local leaders who answered our call and participated have committed to fighting antisemitism and adopted a policy of ‘zero tolerance.’ Nevertheless, the outcome is what matters, and we will continue to work with them on its implementation.”
The mayoral summit’s location in Southern California was particularly significant, given the region’s ongoing struggles with escalating antisemitism, notably on college campuses. At UCLA, just miles from Beverly Hills, repeated pro-Hamas protests have created an increasingly hostile environment for Jewish students, including claims of discriminatory hiring practices and incidents of students being blocked from entering classes.
These challenges underscore the urgent need for robust municipal responses to combat hate.
“Mayors are the most accessible and visible leaders in people’s lives. When acts of hate occur in your city, it threatens and undermines stability, and they must be addressed with decisive action,” said Todd Gloria, Mayor of San Diego. “Rising atisemitism is a local issue where local action can have a profound impact. Standing against Antisemitism is always the right thing to do.”
The forum gained added importance in the wake of a recent survey conducted by CAM released on October 7th of this year which revealed that about 3.5 million of America’s 6 million Jews experienced anti-Semitic incidents last year.
Dean Trantalis, Mayor of Fort Lauderdale, said: “The horror of October 7, and the challenges that followed, have left an indelible mark on our lives. If it starts with antisemitism, when and where will it end? We must remain steadfast, protect those in need – and educate.”
In Vienna at the United Against Antisemitism event, held in partnership with ELNET (European Leadership Network), over a hundred leaders and experts from the fields of politics, academia, and civil society discussed strategies against antisemitism in education, culture, sports, and the digital space.
“Antisemitism is a global challenge without national borders. Since October 7, we have seen a resurgence of antisemitism related to Israel in the streets of Europe,” said Karsten Evans, Director of ELNET activities in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
“The Vienna conference provides a central platform for deepening dialogue, developing new approaches, and formulating concrete actions and steps against Jew-hatred. Only through joint action can we protect Jewish communities and defend democratic values.”