Mayors and councillors around Australia are being offered free flights, accommodation, and meals to attend a Gold Coast “antisemitism summit” from 3–5 September 2025. The summit is 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 promoted as a community safety initiative.

CAM is campaigning for all levels of government in Australia to adopt the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism and is supporting the Israeli state.

CAM is linked to far-right religious figures, as well as to former Israeli military personnel and members of peak pro-Israeli government organisations, such as the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

The progressive Jewish Council of Australia has described the summit as a “pro-Israel political junket designed to push a one-sided political agenda, silencing legitimate criticism of Israel by conflating it with antisemitism.”

It has pointed out that CAM is also linked to the controversial Israel-United States “aid” corporation, the Gaza Humanitarian Fund, which is complicit in the starvation and killing of Palestinians seeking food aid.

In response to Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne’s decision to attend the summit, an open letter / petition has been launched. It calls on the Mayor to reverse his decision to attend.

It has attracted over 700 signatures within a few days of being online.

THE OPEN LETTER / PETITION CAN BE ACCESSED AND SIGNED HERE

Notes
Contact Pip Hinman 0412 139 968 or Nick Deane 0420 526 929 for more information.
Wendy Bacon and Yaakov Aharon, ‘Point of Order. Antisemitism Summit raises ethics eyebrows’, Michael West Media, Aug 23, 2025.
Wendy Bacon and Yaakov Aharon, ‘Investigation: Antisemitism Summit sponsors have links to Israel weapons lobby’, Michael West Media, Aug 14, 2025.