Australian municipal leaders are set to convene in Bondi Beach for a national antisemitism summit led by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) as the organization also advances a comprehensive submission to the country’s Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, in what reflects a coordinated national effort to confront rising anti-Jewish hatred.
The summit, scheduled in the weeks leading up to the first anniversary of the December 2025 Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre, will bring together mayors and local government leaders from across Australia, alongside civil society representatives, educators, and interfaith figures.
The initiative comes as CAM Australia concludes a nationwide advocacy program whose findings are now being formally submitted to the Royal Commission.
At the heart of the Bondi gathering is both remembrance and resolve. For some, the event is deeply personal.
CAM Public Affairs Advocate for Australia Sheina Gutnick, daughter of Reuven Morrison, who was killed in the attack after confronting the terrorists, underscored the significance of the location and timing.
“Holding this summit in Bondi, in the weeks before the first anniversary of the attack that took the life of my father and 14 other victims, is a deliberate and powerful statement,” she 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.”
Gutnick framed the summit not only as a symbolic act, but as a test of whether Australia is prepared to address the root causes of antisemitism.
“My father was killed because of hatred that was allowed to grow unchecked,” she added. “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 deradicalization, early-intervention, and prevention measures that stop the next attack before it is ever planned.”
She also pointed to the role of local leadership in shaping the national response.
“To Mayor Will Nemesh and the Waverley community, thank you,” Gutnick said. “Hosting this summit, alongside the grief this community continues to carry, is exactly the kind of leadership Australia needs right now.”
The summit builds on momentum generated over recent months, including the Australian Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and chaired by Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate, in September last year, as municipalities across the country have begun to adopt measures aimed at countering antisemitism at the local level.
CAM Senior Advisor for Australia Alex Polson said the Bondi gathering would elevate those efforts into a coordinated national framework.
“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,” he noted. “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 the 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.”
Running in parallel to the summit preparations, CAM Australia has finalized a comprehensive submission to the Royal Commission, based on months of consultations held across major cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth. These roundtables brought together Jewish community leaders, policymakers, educators, and law enforcement officials to document the scale and evolving nature of antisemitism across the country.
The findings, according to those involved, paint a picture of a threat that is both intensifying and diversifying, with incidents reported across public spaces, educational institutions, and online platforms. CAM’s submission is expected to translate these testimonies into policy recommendations aimed at strengthening Australia’s legal, educational, and enforcement frameworks.
The Royal Commission, established earlier this year in the wake of the Bondi attack, represents the most significant national inquiry into antisemitism in Australia’s history. Its work is expected to culminate in a final report later this year, marking one year since the attack that prompted its creation.
Together, the Bondi summit and CAM’s submission reflect a dual-track approach that combines national policy development with local action. As Australia approaches the first anniversary of the attack, the focus is increasingly on ensuring that the lessons of Bondi translate into lasting, systemic change, from government chambers to community streets.