Councils to gather in Bondi for antisemitism summit

Waverley Council plans to co-host a national summit on antisemitism and social cohesion in Bondi later this year, ahead of the first anniversary of the deadly terror attack at Bondi Beach.

Mayor Will Nemesh will propose the initiative through a Mayoral Minute at the council meeting next Tuesday. If approved, Waverley will partner with the New South Wales Government, the Commonwealth, the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), and the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism to organise the National Local Government Summit on Social Cohesion and Antisemitism.

The two-day event is scheduled for 26 and 27 November 2026. It will bring together mayors, councillors, senior local government staff, and community representatives from across Australia to discuss practical strategies for promoting social cohesion and tackling antisemitism at the local level.

The timing holds particular significance, as the summit will take place in a suburb still recovering from the 14 December 2025 attack. During a Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach, two Islamic State-inspired gunmen opened fire, killing 15 people and injuring dozens in what authorities described as the deadliest terrorist incident in Australian history.

“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,” Cr Nemesh said.

“All Australians have a role to play in how we move forward in our communities, our workplaces and our schools.”

Sheina Gutnick, Public Affairs Officer with CAM and daughter of victim Reuven Morrison, welcomed the proposal. Her father, a 62-year-old businessman originally from the former Soviet Union, was killed while confronting one of the attackers and throwing objects to protect others.

“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.”

The summit program is expected to include keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops, and the sharing of practical tools that councils can adapt for their own communities. Mayor Nemesh is expected to outline Waverley’s work in this area.

In March 2025, Waverley became the first council in Australia to adopt a dedicated Strategy to Combat Antisemitism. It followed this in August 2025 by releasing a Model Strategy, providing a flexible template for other local governments. Several councils have since drawn on the framework.

CAM Senior Advisor Alex Polson said the Bondi summit would build on progress made since a mayors’ gathering on the Gold Coast in September 2025.

“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.”

The council’s involvement, if endorsed, will consist solely of in-kind support through staff time, with no direct financial contribution required.

The initiative aligns with broader national responses, including the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, established in January 2026 and led by former High Court Justice Virginia Bell AC. The commission is examining the causes and extent of antisemitism in Australia, the circumstances of the Bondi attack, and measures to strengthen social cohesion. Its final report is due on 14 December 2026.

By bringing municipal leaders together in the location most directly affected by the tragedy, organisers hope to turn shared grief into coordinated action aimed at preventing future violence and strengthening community resilience.