2021 Mayors Summit Against Anti-Semitism Brings Together Global Municipal Leaders To Combat World’s Oldest Hatred

On March 16, 2021 – 11:00 AM EDT/ 16:00 CET, the city of Frankfurt am Main alongside the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM) will host the first-ever Mayors Summit Against Anti-Semitism.

The Summit seeks to empower the world’s brightest municipal and local leaders to come together to eradicate prejudice and hatred from cities and communities around the globe. A total of 44 leaders representing 32 cities in 21 countries will convene for this first-of-its-kind summit to share best practices on how to curb the rising tide of hate in local communities across the world.

The summit will be live-streamed on March 16th and all speeches and panel discussions will be made available for online viewing the following day. The full schedule is available here.

Too often, policy solutions to anti-Semitism are enacted at the national or international level. In reality, anti-Semitism is a local problem that must be solved through education, law enforcement, and community cohesion initiatives.

There exists a growing gap between high-level policy initiatives and the successful application and implementation of policies to combat anti-Semitism on the ground. Municipal leaders have a leading role in making a lasting impact in the fight against anti-Semitism. The Summit will open a crucial dialogue between cities around the world to provide every mayor with the tools they need to combat hate.

For the first time ever, the mayors of Pittsburgh, Poway and Monsey will share a stage to reflect upon the deadly anti-Semitic attacks that have targeted the American Jewish community in recent years. These unique conversations aim to help local leaders understand the emerging threat of contemporary anti-Semitic hatred in the United States, Europe and elsewhere around the world.

Many of the world’s leading mayors from capital cities such as Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Athens, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Vilnius, Riga, Tirana and other major cities such as Toronto, Porto, Malaga, and Louisville, will open the Summit with televised remarks during the plenary session. Four additional panel discussions will focus on a series of practical solutions to blunt the rising tide of hate in cities and towns so that the most vulnerable communities can live in safety and security.

Educating local communities about the manifestations and dangers of contemporary anti-Semitism is the first crucial step to preventing the spread of anti-Semitic ideas. Leading human rights advocates and municipal leaders will discuss the importance of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism as an important educational tool to recognize anti-Semitism, during the first panel discussion.

Properly securing Jewish communities from growing threats of intimidation and violence is essential to safeguard and foster Jewish life. The second panel will feature politicians, security experts and Jewish communal leadership who will focus on how to provide safety through a legislative approach.

Knowing how to effectively respond to an anti-Semitic attacks is essential for the healing of a community. Many impacted communities have demonstrated enormous resilience in the face of anti-Semitic trauma. The third panel will highlight the best approaches to helping communities heal in the face of trauma.

Building interfaith partnerships is at the core of CAM’s mission to eradicate anti-Semitism from our midst. As anti-Semitism today spreads at the speed of a click, interfaith and cross-communal relations are pivotal to stopping the proliferation of hate. The fourth panel will stress the importance of interfaith partnerships to combat hatred in the digital age.

By convening the leaders of the some of the world’s largest cities, alongside smaller municipalities, policy experts, and international leaders, we will enact real change, create a lasting impact, and set the standard for how to combat anti-Semitism in local communities around the world. The full Summit can be viewed here.