Mayor puts Waverley on world stage

Antisemitism is not a Jewish issue but affects every community around the world, Waverley mayor Will Nemesh told the AJN last week following his return from a European local government summit in November.

Returning from the 2025 Paris Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, Nemesh said the issues Australia faces regarding rising antisemitism are very similar to those confronting local government areas in France, Poland and Hungary.

“The graffiti that is occurring, the antisemitic attacks, the conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism is very, very similar that we found around the world,” he said.

The summit, hosted by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo from November 19 to 21, was attended by mayors, councillors and representatives of Jewish communities from across Europe, including France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany and Poland. Roughly 200 people attended.

Nemesh was invited to speak on a panel titled “From National Strategies to Local Action” after Waverley Council became the first council in Australia to adopt a strategy to combat antisemitism in March.

Nemesh told the conference about Waverley’s strategy to combat antisemitism, which was adopted in March and adapted as a model for other councils to follow. Nemesh also spoke about the template at the Combat Antisemitism Movement local government summit on the Gold Coast in September.

He told the European gathering of the strategy’s three key elements: adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism; ensuring local government focuses on local issues rather than foreign affairs; and promoting community cohesion and celebrating diversity.

“Local government is really about local issues. It’s about infrastructure and service delivery,” Nemesh told the European mayors.

“[They] should focus on social cohesion and not division, and should be celebrating the diversity of their local communities.”

Nemesh said combating antisemitism requires a coordinated approach between various levels of government and stakeholders. He referenced a mayoral roundtable on social cohesion that he hosted in February.

He several mayors and councillors present requested a copy of Waverley Council’s antisemitism strategy.

“I think it’s really important for us here in Australia, and particularly Waverley, to be proud that we’ve been put on the international stage talking about what we have done in Australia to combat antisemitism,” Nemesh said.

“There is definitely a way to go,” he said. “That unprecedented rise in antisemitism we see, particularly in the last two years, which is especially pernicious, has really made the Jewish community feel that they haven’t been welcome at times.”

No council funds were used for the mayor’s attendance at the conference.