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.
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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’.
Investigation: Antisemitism Summit sponsors have links to Israel weapons lobby
MWM could not confirm whether CAM sought legal and ethical advice before it sent the free hospitality offer to councillors. However, it’s notable that respected corporate lawyer David Gonski is chairing the Summit organising committee and is listed as a speaker at the summit.
MWM has sent questions to Gonski in relation to the summit and how it fits with his role as Chancellor of UNSW. His response will be published when received.
CAM out of council campaign
When a council adopt unpopular policies, the brunt is borne by council workers. This is why the Australian Services Union launched a campaign against the CAM Summit this week. Phillipa Balk, assistant branch secretary, ASU Vic Tas Authorities and Services Branch, said,
“This conference has troubling connections to the Israeli military and to people with a history of racist remarks. We urge all local government officials not to participate in this conference and to work together more broadly across their communities to fight racism in all its forms.”
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Who is attending CAM?
There are more than 500 councils in Australia, while the Summit’s agenda includes speakers from 14 different councils. Public 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.
When Wollongong Councillor Ryan Morris sought the Council’s approval to accept the all-expenses-paid invitation, it stirred debate at a meeting. While his local government colleagues had declined the invitation, a majority approved his attending, so long as the gift was declared. Greens councillors opposed the motion.
Shoshana Dreyfus, a Jewish resident of Wollongong, told the Council that she was concerned that Morris had not done due diligence in looking at the conference. “The [CAM] movement takes a very controversial definition of antisemitism used to silence criticism of Israel, what it is doing in Gaza and the West Bank. As a Jewish person, Israel does not speak for me, and tackling antisemitism should be part of a broader effort to tackle racism.”
No Greens Councillors have accepted invitations. Greens NSW Local Government spokesperson Amanda Cohn MLC says, although local communities have an important role in addressing antisemitism:
“Based on who is funding and organising this conference, it appears that this event may be more about protecting the interests of a foreign government than safety and inclusion for Jewish Australian communities.”
“This isn’t just an academic or theoretical concern – the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which this conference promotes, has just had tangible consequences for Bendigo Regional Council in Victoria, with 11 sessions of the Bendigo Writers Festival cancelled due to a boycott by writers and hosts.”
By contrast, Woollahra and Waverley councils – which have already adopted the IHRA definition – are sending contingents of five councillors each. Their Liberal Mayors, Sarah Swan (now Dixon) and Will Nemesh, were part of a promotional video urging other councillors to attend to help promote social cohesion. Woollahra Council is covering its own costs.
Waverley Council’s Cr Nemesh and its CEO Emily Scott will speak at the summit, showcasing Australia’s first antisemitism local government plan. Waverley Council has not answered MWM’s questions about who is funding their trip.
Several councils on Sydney’s North shore, including Mosman, Ryde and North Sydney, as well as Casey and Dandenong in Melbourne, have informed residents that none of their councillors will be attending. Very few – if any – councillors from Western Sydney will attend.
Willoughby Councillor Robert Samuel – who also serves as CEO of the Jewish residential Shalom College at UNSW – is listed as a Summit speaker.
Judith Treanor and Suzie Gold, both active members of Jews Against the Occupation ‘48 and Willoughby residents, spoke at a public forum hosted by the council, in support of a boycott of the Summit at a recent public forum.
As they stood to speak, the Mayor warned them to make sure “everyone felt safe” and “they were respectful”. She later admonished Gold for looking at the councillors rather than the Mayor. Another Willoughby councillor told MWM that while he does not object to a councillor attending in a private capacity, he did not think that Council should support the event, even indirectly, as Council had not approved it and that neither free accommodation nor Council paying was acceptable.
Willoughby Council did not answer questions about who is funding Samuel’s attendance.
Ballarat Councillor Ted Lapkin, who grew up in Israel, served in the IDF, and co-founded the conservative Australian Jewish Association, is a speaker at the summit. Earlier this year, Lapkin successfully lobbied Ballarat Council to withdraw an environment grant from a group, on the basis that one of its members had posted allegedly antisemitic material.
Lapkin equated antisemitism with anti-Zionism, and his allegations were denied
Melbourne
Two City of Melbourne councillors, Deputy Lord Mayor Roshena Campbell and Councillor Rafael Camillo have Council’s financial support to attend the conference.
Campbell, who is a barrister and member of the Liberal Party, is married to James Campbell, the political editor of NewsCorp’s Herald Sun. Both councillors have been moving for limits on protests in Melbourne. This week, Camillo introduced an anti-protest amendment to a draft council plan calling on the City of Melbourne to lobby Victorian and Federal governments to restrict protests in Melbourne.
This should be well-received by the Summit as it fits with CAM’s municipal index.
Darcy Byrne
Sydney’s Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne is the only Labor Mayor who is listed to speak. His involvement has not been discussed by Council and nor were five Greens councillors even informed that he planned to speak.
MWM sent Byrne and IWC General Manager Peter Gainsford a series of questions. A spokesperson for the Council responded that Byrne’s decision to attend was in accordance with “relevant Council policies. No gift has been received. All costs will be publicly reported to Council in due course and included in the Annual report.”
The spokesperson also said that Byrne had been invited to present on the IWC’s anti-racism strategy, the first of its kind in Australia. “There is no place for racism or hate speech of any kind in our community. Given the large increase in antisemitic attacks, including the graffiti and attempted fire at Newtown Synagogue, it’s important for the Inner West to continue to promote social cohesion.”
Byrne’s decision has reignited the bitterness that followed Inner West Labor’s opposition to a BDS audit motion last year. When BDS supporters booed Labor councillors and some anti-BDS speakers, Byrne accused them in the media of antisemitism.
The pro-Palestinian group rejected the antisemitism charge, and Jewish Voices for Inner Sydney accused Byrne of weaponising anti-semitism. They reject the idea that Byrne’s participation in the CAM conference will assist in fighting racism.
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This week, more than 600 residents, of whom more than 300 live in the Inner West, have signed an Open Letter calling on Byrne to reconsider his decision to attend the conference.
Zann Maxwell
Byrne was the only Labor Councillor listed on the program until yesterday, when the Deputy Mayor of the City of Sydney, Labor’s Zann Maxwell name appeared.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore joined Sydney’s March for Humanity and has previously told MWM that she is not attending the Summit because she has another engagement. MWM has sent questions to the City of Sydney about how Maxwell came to be a speaker at the conference. We received from a spokesperson for Moore:
“The Lord Mayor “did not request any other Councillor attend on her behalf, nor is there a council resolution about any Councillors attending. As such, the City of Sydney has no formal representation at the event.”
“No Councillors have informed the Lord Mayor of their attendance at this event.”
“Any questions about the Deputy Lord Mayor’s attendance should be directed to (Zann Maxwell’s email).”
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Wendy Bacon is an investigative journalist who was the Professor of Journalism at UTS. She worked for Fairfax, Channel Nine and SBS and has published in The Guardian, New Matilda, City Hub and Overland. She has a long history in promoting independent and alternative journalism.
She is a long-term supporter of a peaceful BDS and the Greens.
Yaakov Aharon is a Jewish-Australian living in Wollongong. He enjoys long walks on Wollongong Beach, unimpeded by Port Kembla smoke fumes and AUKUS submarines.
The views expressed by Yaakov Aharon in this article are his alone and do not represent any other individual, entity, or organisation.