Need strong leadershipWaverley, Inner West, Liverpool work together

Mayors unite against hate

Will Nemesh, Darcy Byrne and Ned Mannoun will convene a roundtable on February 6 and invite every mayor in Sydney,

From left: Ned Mannoun, Will Nemesh and Darcy Byrne.
From left: Ned Mannoun, Will Nemesh and Darcy Byrne.

The mayors of Waverley, Inner West and Liverpool are uniting to tackle antisemitism in the community.

Will Nemesh, Darcy Byrne and Ned Mannoun will convene a roundtable on February 6 and invite every mayor in Sydney, to show leadership and demonstrate the critical role of local government in safeguarding social cohesion.

It will provide a platform for mayors to collaborate on solutions to ensure constituents feel safe and secure. The roundtable will focus on measures to strengthen social cohesion, foster unity and address community concerns.

Addressing reporters on Tuesday, Nemesh, who is Jewish, said, “We’re here today as mayors from different parts of Sydney, different faiths and from different political parties, but we stand firm and resolute in condemning extremism, and in particular antisemitism.

“The breakdown of social cohesion that we’re seeing across Sydney is deeply disturbing and as mayors of local government areas, we feel it’s our duty to step up.

“We need strong leadership at all levels of government and local government is no exception.”

Mannoun, who is Muslim, said Sydney is the most harmonious community in the world.

“We are a great success of multiculturalism. From time to time, we have idiots who want to go up and destroy that, but it’s important we all stand up and we condemn the abhorrent actions that we’ve been seeing happening over the last few months,” he said.

“We have to be crystal clear. Our Jewish community should not be subjected to antisemitism. We all should be living here in peace and harmony, and to wake up and to see those things is absolutely and completely wrong.”

Byrne noted that the mayoral trio hail from different parts of Sydney, “but we all speak with one voice in saying that social cohesion is so important to protect and these antisemitic attacks have to stop”.

“Local government has an important role to play, and through grassroots initiatives, we can help to mend the fabric of our society and send a message to our local communities that as elected representatives, we won’t stand for antisemitic attacks, and we want to see this stop before it gets even further out of control,” he said.

“I’m very proud to be standing alongside a mayor from Waverley who is a Jewish leader and a mayor from Liverpool who is a Muslim leader as well.

“It’s just been shocking over the last few weeks to see the ongoing increase in these antisemitic attacks.”

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