‘There Is No Place for Antisemitism in Australia’: Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism Gets Underway in Gold Coast

More than 250 mayors, local councilors, and community activists from across Australia and beyond gathered in Gold Coast, Queensland, on Wednesday for the opening of the 2025 Australian Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and chaired by Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate.

The two-day forum is providing a first-of-its-kind opportunity in Australia for municipal leaders to engage in constructive dialogue and share practical strategies to strengthen social cohesion and address the rising challenge of antisemitism and other forms of hate.

“With events in the Middle East, Australia’s Jewish community has particularly seen a rise in antisemitism,” said Deputy Prime Minister of Australia Richard Marles in a video address to Wednesday’s gala dinner. “Let me be really clear, on behalf of the Australian government — there is no place for antisemitism in Australia.”

“The Australian Jewish community deserves to be celebrated as much as any Australian,” he added. “The Australian Jewish community also deserves to feel as safe as any Australian. And that’s why we must do everything within our power to stamp out antisemitism.”

CAM Advisory Board Member Robert Singer told the attendees, “The real measure of this summit will be what we build when we leave this room. Tonight, I want us to commit to four tangible outcomes — build permanent channels between municipal authorities, police, and Jewish communities; mandate reporting protocols so that antisemitism is documented, and acted on, every time; adopt IHRA’s Working Definition of Antisemitism formally at the city level, as a standard for education and enforcement; and create local task forces to ensure incidents are not only condemned but prosecuted, from small to large incidents.”

A guest of honor at Wednesday’s dinner was Mayor Sharona Nazarian, representing the City of Beverly Hills, California, which hosted CAM’s 2024 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism last December.

“Local government is the front line of democracy,” Nazarian noted. “We are closest to the people, closest to the streets, and closest to the challenges our communities face. That is why your presence here tonight matters. By being here, you are preparing yourself with knowledge, with strength, and with solidarity. You are showing your community that they are not alone.”

Other attending speakers on Wednesday night included: Tom Tate, Mayor of Gold Coast and Summit Chair, Nova Peris OAM, Australia’s First Indigenous Female Federal Parliamentarian and Olympic Gold Medalist; H.E. Amir Maimon, Ambassador of Israel to Australia; Adam Geha, Co-Founder of EG Funds Management and Chair of March of the Living Australia; and Alex Ryvchin, Co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ). Blessings were offered by Pastor Sue Baynes (City of Gold Coast) and Rabbi Nir Gurevich (Gold Coast Hebrew Congregation).

“If lies are not challenged, they take root,” Peris said. “If antisemitism is not named, it grows. If hatred is not confronted, it spreads.”

Ambassador Maimon emphasized, “Words of solidarity are not enough. They will not by themselves shift the reality on the ground. What is needed is coordinated, concrete policy.” Referring to the Special Envoy’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism unveiled in Australia earlier this summer, Ambassador Maimon said, “It offers a roadmap that deserves not just discussion, but full adoption and implementation so that rhetoric is matched by results.”

Australian Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal will speak at the summit on Thursday.

In addition to Marles, video remarks were also delivered by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Embed Gillard, Leader of the Opposition Hon. Sussan Ley MP, and Leader of the National Party Hon. David Littleproud MP.

The summit’s programing will continue on Thursday and Friday with a series of keynote speeches, panel discussions, educational presentations, and interactive workshops, among other activities.

Community partners for the summit include: Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies (QJBD), Queensland Holocaust Museum, and Never Again Is Now (NAIN).

CAM works hand-in-hand with municipal authorities on a daily basis to secure and nurture Jewish life in cities around the world. Past mayoral summits have been held in: Athens, Greece; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Dortmund, Germany; and Beverly Hills, California.