Waverley Council is set to co-host a major national summit on antisemitism in the lead-up to the anniversary of the terror attack at Bondi Beach.
Mayor, Will Nemesh will move a Mayoral Minute at next Tuesday’s Council meeting calling for Waverley to join with the NSW Government and Commonwealth to help stage the National Local Government Summit on Social Cohesion and Antisemitism.
The conference, convened by Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), is set to be held on 26 to 27 November and will bring together Mayors, Councillors, senior officers and community representatives to explore best-practice approaches to social cohesion.
“The devastating terror attack at Bondi Beach on 14 December laid bare the urgent need for all levels of government to work together with the community to combat antisemitism,” Mayor Nemesh said.
“All Australians have a role to play in how we move forward in our communities, our workplaces and our schools.”
The summit’s program would include keynote addresses, panel discussions, workshops and the sharing of practical frameworks that councils can adopt in their own communities.
CAM Public Affairs Officer, Sheina Gutnick – whose father, Reuven Morrison, was killed in the Bondi Beach terror – said the summit carried profound personal and national significance.
“Holding this summit in Bondi, in the weeks before the first anniversary of the attack that took my father’s life, is a deliberate and powerful statement,” Ms Gutnick said.
“This is the community that bore the cost of antisemitism in its most brutal form – and this is where the national response has to deepen.
“My father was killed because of hatred that was allowed to grow unchecked. If this summit is to mean anything, it has to confront that hatred at its source – bringing councils together with interfaith leaders, educators and youth workers to invest in the deradicalisation, early-intervention and prevention measures that stop the next attack before it is ever planned.
“To Mayor Nemesh and the Waverley community – thank you. Hosting this summit, alongside the grief this community continues to carry, is exactly the kind of leadership Australia needs right now.”
In March last year, Waverley Council adopted a national-first Strategy to Combat Antisemitism. Then Council then launched the Model Strategy – a template other councils can draw from to craft their own approaches relevant to their local contexts – in August.
Mayor Nemesh has been invited to speak on these policies and strategies at the summit.
“In the wake of the attack at Bondi, the importance of Council’s work in this space has only deepened,” he said.
“Co-hosting the summit presents a powerful and timely opportunity to bring together councils, community leaders and government partners to reflect, honour the memory of victims and recommit to building cohesive communities free from antisemitism.
“Council can share its experience as a model for local government action, while strengthening intergovernmental relationships and reinforcing our role at the forefront of efforts to protect and support the community.”
CAM Senior Advisor, Alex Polson said the Bondi summit would scale a national movement already underway.
“Since the Gold Coast summit last September, councils from every state and territory have stepped up – adopting strategies, passing resolutions and building partnerships with their local communities,” Mr Polson said.
“The Bondi summit turns that grassroots momentum into a coordinated national framework and, for the first time, brings every tier of government into the room, with councils doing the hard work on the ground.
“Waverley has written the playbook – Bondi is where we hand it to the rest of the country.”
Alongside Council and the state and federal governments, the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism would also act as co-host.
If the Mayoral Minute is successful, Council will support the summit by providing in-kind support in the form of officer time only, with no direct financial contribution required.
