Officials from 17 US states gathered in Kansas City on Sunday and Monday for the State Leadership Summit on Antisemitism and Support for Israel, an event organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM). The two-day meeting featured lawmakers, executive officials, faith leaders, security experts, and community advocates discussing policy responses to antisemitism and measures to strengthen ties with Israel.
The summit took place following heightened tensions in the Middle East, including the recent Israel-Iran conflict, and amid what many participants described as a rise in antisemitic incidents worldwide.
Sessions included security briefings, panel discussions on campus antisemitism, deradicalization efforts, and law enforcement approaches to hate crimes. Organizers said the event aimed to provide state leaders with resources and policy ideas to address antisemitism and related forms of discrimination.
David Soffer, Director of State Engagement at CAM, said the summit was intended to “equip legislators with practical knowledge, credible data, and strategies” to address hate and improve community safety.
One notable announcement during the event came from Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who signed Executive Order 13. The order condemns antisemitism and directs the Iowa Board of Regents to ensure protections for Jewish students under federal civil rights laws.
“Since the October 7th attacks, we’ve seen an increase in antisemitism across the US, including on college campuses,” Governor Reynolds said. “We want to be clear that antisemitism has no place in Iowa.”
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen also addressed the summit, highlighting the role of state-level initiatives in countering antisemitism. “We will continue leading, we will continue educating, and we will continue to stand in solidarity,” he said, referencing efforts in Nebraska to address antisemitism on campuses.
United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee spoke virtually, encouraging state leaders to respond to antisemitism with what he called “moral clarity.”
Other speakers included Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, US Congressman Randy Fine of Florida, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Attendees also heard from civil rights experts, law enforcement professionals, and survivors of antisemitic violence, including Ron Segev, who described his experience at the Nova Music Festival attack on October 7th.
Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson spoke about the use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism as a policy framework. “It takes a unified definition to create a consensus around a policy framework,” he said.
Reverend Johnnie Moore, Executive Chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, also addressed the summit. He criticized the United Nations, describing challenges his organization faced in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. Moore said the foundation had delivered 50 million meals in the past month while avoiding diversion to Hamas.
“I’m surprised that something so right, something so simple as feeding people, has become so controversial,” said Moore. “We have poked a lot of bears. We thought we were poking the bear of a designated terrorist organization that wants to steal the aid from people, but what we have discovered every second of every day is the underbelly of the United Nations and all of these organizations around the world.”
“We were actually told that the United Nations sent a directive to all of their agencies telling them to not work with us, despite the fact that most of the aid coming into the Gaza Strip right now is from us. And top it all off, Hamas itself actually attacked some of our volunteer Gazan aid workers, killed 12 of them, injured others of them, piled their bodies in front of Nasser Hospital in Gaza, refusing to allow them any medical treatment at all, and the United Nations, which receives billions of dollars from the United States government and the Europeans, didn’t even have the audacity to issue a statement condemning Hamas’ murder of these local Gazan aid workers.”
Sessions during the summit also focused on the security of Jewish institutions, Holocaust education, and strategies for adopting standardized definitions of antisemitism.
According to CAM, the summit is part of a broader initiative to work with state lawmakers on policy approaches to address antisemitic discrimination in public K-12 schools and universities. The organization said it plans to continue developing model legislation and resources to support state-level efforts.