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At least 37 municipalities across the United States issued official International Holocaust Remembrance Day (IHRD) proclamations this past January, in an initiative facilitated by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM).
The effort spanned the country — with participating cities from 16 states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day is an annual commemoration marked globally on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by the Red Army in 1945.
The mayoral IHRD initiative was a tangible result of the CAM-organized 2024 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in Beverly Hills, California, where the Municipal Antisemitism Action Index was formally unveiled.
Examples of IHRD municipal proclamations this year included: Lathrup Village (Michigan), Lorain (Ohio), Buffalo Grove (Illinois), Fort Lauderdale (Florida), and Pembroke Pines (Florida).
“This highlights the real impact of our summit and municipal engagement strategy, as well as the willingness of local leaders to take meaningful action when given the right tools and guidance,” said CAM Chief Government Affairs Officer Lisa Katz, who leads CAM’s mayoral activities, commented. “It also reinforces the effectiveness of CAM’s work in mobilizing mayors and municipalities to stand against antisemitism through policy and public recognition.”
The Municipal Antisemitism Action Index is a first-of-its-kind tool designed to assess the effectiveness of city governments in combating antisemitism and protecting Jewish residents, offering municipalities measurable criteria and concrete steps to enhance their responses to hate incidents.
CAM collaborates hand-in-hand with mayors on a daily basis to secure and nurture Jewish life in cities across the globe.
