August 23, 2025
Mayors and councillors — elected to represent their communities — are being offered free flights, accommodation, and meals to attend a Gold Coast “antisemitism summit” this September backed by far-right pro-Israel political groups.
The Australian Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, run by the US-based Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), is being billed as a community safety initiative. In reality, it is a pro-Israel political junket designed to push a one-sided political agenda, silencing legitimate criticism of Israel by conflating it with antisemitism.
CAM is funded by Republican mega-donors and is well-known for smearing pro-Palestine academics. It has backed Trump’s attacks on UN officials, and is linked to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, complicit in the starvation and murder of Palestinians.
The Jewish Council of Australia has called on mayors and councillors to boycott the event, warning it aims to “push pro-Israel propaganda under the guise of combating antisemitism and will stifle free speech.”
Some councillors, including in Greater Dandenong and Casey, have already refused to attend – a move that has been welcomed by executive officer of the Jewish Council, Max Kaiser as “the right thing to do given the blind support for Israel’s genocidal war by conference organisers.”
Jewish residents of participating councils say the summit is not in their name. Inner West Sydney Jewish resident Tamara is urging her mayor Darcy Byrne to think carefully about their decision to attend.
“This conference, sponsored by representatives with close links to the Israeli government, is anything but independent.
“Our local council is meant to represent the whole community, not align themselves with far-right political agendas. Accepting a free trip to attend an extremist political event is not just inappropriate, it’s unethical,” said Hayim, another Jewish resident of the same local government authority.
“As a resident of Inner West Council, I oppose Mayor Darcy Byrne’s plan to attend the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s 2025 Australian Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism on my behalf”, said Hayim.
Australia’s Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, will headline the event. Her proposed measures could see universities and charities defunded under the contested IHRA definition of antisemitism, a tool critics say is used to punish pro-Palestinian advocacy.
Segal’s brother in law, Stan Roth will co-chair the conference. The central involvement of Roth, whose family’s donations to the far-right lobby group Advance have caused controversy in recent weeks, shows this conference to be a far-right event aimed at furthering support for Israel at a local government level.
“This is not what communities elected their local leaders for,” Kaiser said. “Councillors should be taking firm stands against all forms of racism, not networking with far-right groups and genocide apologists”
“We call on all mayors and councillors across Australia to refuse this unethical junket, reject the manipulation of antisemitism for political purposes, and uphold their duty to represent the full diversity of their communities.
While some participants in the conference may have taken CAM at face value and been unaware of its links to the Israeli and Trump administrations, we are asking anyone of conscience to pull out now.”