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Municipal leaders from more than 130 cities across 30 European nations gathered in Paris, France, this week for the 2025 European Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, an initiative of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM).
Hosted by the City of Paris and Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the forum convened mayors, government ministers, diplomats, civic officials, and subject-matter experts for two days of collaborative dialogue centered on sharing best practices, developing practical and innovative cities-oriented strategies and policies, and strengthening cooperation against rising antisemitism.
The summit was held amid a dramatic escalation in antisemitic incidents throughout the European continent. CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center (ARC) has recorded more than 2,605 incidents of antisemitism in Europe so far in 2025, already surpassing the 1,834 incidents tracked in all of 2024 by 42%, underscoring the urgent need for united action.
“With all the cities represented here today, we must build a Europe where no Jewish family has to worry for their children, where a peaceful memory can be passed on, and where peace is no longer a distant hope but a reality,” said Mayor Hildalgo.
“To achieve this, Paris will remain faithful to the universal promise that has guided it for centuries — to protect the most vulnerable, to enlighten public debate, to defend human dignity, and to never, ever give in to hatred, to antisemitism, or to any form of racism or xenophobia,” Mayor Hidalgo added.
The summit was organized in partnership with the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF); European Jewish Congress (EJC); and European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage (AEPJ).
CAM CEO Sacha Roytman said, “Antisemitism contaminates communities, but when a city stands firm and strong, we can stop it. This is the role of cities today. National and regional institutions move slowly sometimes, not always, but mayors have the capacity and the ability to meet their communities, to react to incidents, and to protect those in need in their cities.”
“This summit is a call for leadership, courage, and partnership,” Roytman continued. “This summit is about ensuring that history does not repeat itself. I have hope when I see this room. I have hope when I see these leaders ready to stand up and come here today. And I believe we can succeed.”
“With antisemitic attacks and ideas proliferating in mainstream society, social cohesion and democratic values are rapidly being undermined,” CAM Director of European Affairs Shannon Seban said. “As this hatred increases in scope and scale, mayors and other municipal leaders are uniquely positioned to address it on the streets of your cities, where it most directly impacts your Jewish residents. You are here because of your shared commitment to confronting and preventing antisemitism in all its modern-day forms.”
CRIF President Yonathan Arfi said, “By being here, we are making a promise, the promise to fight antisemitism wherever it appears and in whatever form it takes. Whether it hides behind Islamist rhetoric, conspiracy theories, or anti-Zionist discourse, we will stand united to silence it.”
“Defending the Jewish people is not only about protecting one community,” he continued. “It is about defending democracy and the Republic. We must remember that antisemitism begins with the Jews but never stops with the Jews. This must remain on everyone’s mind, because this fight has to be the fight of all.”
Dr. Moshe Kantor, President of the European Jewish Congress, said, “For a long time, national governments were considered responsible for combating antisemitism. But today the threat is also felt on the streets, in municipalities, and in local communities. Mayors and local leaders must be empowered to take the initiative.”
“We see marches around the world denying Israel’s right to exist, glorifying terrorists, and presenting acts of terrorism as resistance,” he added. “This is not criticism of Israel or freedom of speech. It is antisemitism. Anti-Zionism is antisemitism.”
Through a series of keynote addresses, panel discussions, and interactive workshops, summit participants explored a wide range of topics, including:
- Aligning national strategies with local policies.
- Protecting universities and centers of knowledge from new forms of antisemitism.
- Strengthening legal, technological, and law enforcement tools against online threats.
- Harnessing culture, sports, creativity, and public spaces as drivers of freedom and inclusion.
- Preserving and promoting Jewish heritage, a living memory of democratic Europe.
French Minister Delegate for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad noted, “We are facing political forces — in France, from the far left — that have instrumentalized the violence being caused, the suffering of the Israeli people, to mislead the French population, to give a kind of foreign legitimacy to antisemitism, and to bring this conflict into our society for political gain. And this is something we have to constantly fight with the same democratic, republican, universal values that bind us together.”
“We have to be very clear about this: the European Union cannot become something else,” he emphasized. “We built our union, we built our continent, on the ruins of World War II, on the ruins of the Holocaust. And seeing the same kinds of forces come back, even if they have shifted, is exactly what we’re talking about.”
European Commission Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life Katharina von Schnurbein was presented with CAM’s Global Leadership Award, in recognition of her dedicated work over the past decade to strengthen European policies and initiatives to secure and nurture Jewish life across the continent, including the EU Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life.
“Antisemitism is toxic to our society, and so we need to address it,” von Schnurbein said. “No form of antisemitism should go unchecked.”
Von Schnurbein highlighted the importance of municipal action against antisemitism. “Unless it permeates to the cities and to the neighborhoods, nothing changes for Jewish communities,” she said. “So the action locally is key.”
Additional speakers included French Minister Delegate for Gender Equality and the Fight Against Discrimination Aurore Bergé, French Ambassador at-Large for Human Rights Isabelle Rome, CAM Global Advisory Board Chair Natan Sharansky, CAM Advisory Board Member Robert Singer, Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua Zarka, President of the Paris Shoah Memorial Baron Eric de Rothschild, Mayor Paris Center Ariel Weil, President of the Hessian State Court of Auditors and Hessian State Commissioner for Jewish Life and the Fight Against Antisemitism Uwe Becker, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Stefania Giannini, and Deputy Mayor of Paris in Charge of Europe, International Affairs and Francophonie Arnaud Ngatcha, among others.
“Fighting antisemitism is a duty, a daily task and responsibility,” Minister Delegate Bergé said. “Thank you for being here. Thank you for your dedication. Thank you for your courage against intimidation, disinformation, and the dark winds that seek to divide and weaken our societies.”
Ambassador Rome declared, “The fight against antisemitism is unconditional. It cannot be justified in any way. How sad, how worrying indeed, that 80 years after the liberation of the camps, we are confronted with the same stereotypes, the same lies, the same violence.”
“Faced with these attacks against the Jewish community, the response of France and its allies must be relentless, resolute, and rigorous,” she added.
Mayors Christian Estrosi of Nice (France) and Lorenzo Rodríguez of Castrillo Mota de Judíos (Spain) received special recognition from CAM for their “outstanding leadership and moral courage in fighting antisemitism.”
A powerful moment of silence for all French victims of antisemitic violence was led by Keren Knoll, granddaughter of the late Mireille Knoll, an elderly Holocaust survivor brutally murdered in her Paris apartment in 2018.
Summit participants signed a Joint Declaration committing to action in the realms of educating the public, collaborating law enforcement, recognizing and denouncing antisemitism (highlighting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism), and promoting interfaith relations.
Read the Joint Declaration in full HERE.
CAM launched its global mayors program five years ago after identifying a gap at the city level in the collective effort against antisemitism. More than 1,400 mayors are now part of the municipal network, working with CAM regularly to protect Jewish communities through initiatives in education, law enforcement, security, and social cohesion.
Past CAM mayoral summits have been hosted by Dortmund and Frankfurt am Main in Germany, and Athens, Greece; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Beverly Hills, California, in the United States; and Gold Coast, Queensland, in Australia.
