Point of Order. Antisemitism Summit raises ethics eyebrows
Michael West Media, by Wendy Bacon and Yaakov Aharon | Aug 23, 2025
An all expenses paid pro-Israel summit marketed to local government councillors raises concerns about ethics and politics in their local communities. Wendy Bacon and Yaakov Aharon report.
The Australian Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism (CAM Summit) will lobby for the widespread adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism and support for Israel, including bans on promoting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel.
However, hundreds of letters have been sent to local councillors around Australia calling on them not to attend the Summit.
Australian local councillors first heard of the Summit earlier this year when they received letters and texts from the Israel-US-based CAM movement inviting them to an all-expenses-paid National Mayors’ summit on the Gold Coast in early September.
For those who did not respond, there was a follow-up letter signed by CAM’s CEO, Sasha Roytman, who is based in Tel Aviv and previously headed a 25-strong IDF team responsible for the IDF’s digital media strategy.
Ethical concerns raised
Even seasoned Councillors were astonished by the sizeable offer of hospitality. Many experienced it as a ‘hard sell’, which raised an ethical red flag.
In response to three emails, one of which incorrectly addressed him as Mayor, Councillor Gideon Cordover at Kingborough in Tasmania told MWM his personal reaction was that, “We’re talking big money. In my six years on local council in Tasmania, I’ve never come across such a tactic by a lobby group with such a wide-reaching cash splash”.
Not developers, not the miners, not the big salmon farms….they seem to have more funding available for lobbying than those groups.
Local government Codes of Conduct around Australia differ, but all caution Councillors against accepting gifts or benefits that could lead others to think they could be influenced when making future decisions.
Anyone who glanced at the Summit program would know it is all about influencing decisions. Its key goal is to embed the IHRA definition across local government and introduce the Municipal Antisemitism Action Index, which ranks municipalities based on their “effectiveness in combating antisemitism, providing a clear framework to measure progress, identify gaps, and promote best practices in local government action.”
Some councils, including Merri-bek in Melbourne and Sutherland in Sydney, maintain a transparency register that records not only benefits received but also offers that are declined. Other councils only require councillors to register offers that are accepted.
Staff at one council in Sydney sent an email to councillors simply advising them to decline the CAM offer.
There is an exception in some codes for a councillor to accept a ‘benefit’ if approved by council to attend an event as part of official council business. But even then, councillors still need to consider conflict of interest situations that could arise in the future.
In this case, potential conflicts of interest are confused because the invitation letters referred to both ‘partners’ and ‘sponsors’.
Who is attending CAM?
There are more than 500 councils in Australia, while the Summit’s agenda includes speakers from 14 different councils. Statements by CAM claim that 70 councils are involved in the Summit, but CAM has not responded to MWM’s emails seeking to verify the claim.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….https://michaelwest.com.au/point-of-order-antisemitism-summit-raises-ethics-eyebrows/
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