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Tamarac, Coral Springs Leaders Set to Attend Mayors Against Antisemitism Summit in NOLA 5

Mayors Michelle Gomez of Tamarac and Scott Brook of Coral Springs.

Tamarac Mayor Michelle Gomez and Coral Springs Mayor Scott Brook will be among the more than 300 mayors and municipal leaders attending the 2025 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans.

The summit is a bipartisan gathering and call-to-action where mayors and city officials share strategies and new technologies, forge partnerships, and chart a path forward for their cities to better confront antisemitism, which has surged to record levels in the U.S. since the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war.

Held Dec. 2-4 and organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement, this year’s summit is seen as a crucial event for local leaders seeking to protect their Jewish communities, which are grappling with serious public safety concerns. The summit will be chaired by New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell.

According to the Anti-Defamation League’s most recent Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. in 2024, a new record. That total translates to an average of more than 25 targeted anti-Jewish incidents per day.

For the first time last year, a majority of all anti-Jewish incidents, 58 percent, contained elements related to Israel or Zionism, including acts glorifying the October 7 massacre in Israel. Many of those incidents happened at or near anti-Israel protests, where antisemitic chants, signs, and speeches were documented, ADL data shows.

Among the highest profile antisemitic attacks in 2025: In May, a killer yelling “Free Palestine” fatally shot a young Jewish couple in Washington D.C. as they left an American Jewish Committee event at the Capital Jewish Museum. The following month, an antisemitic firebomber in Boulder, Colorado, used flammable liquids to burn 15 people walking to advocate for Israeli hostages held in Gaza, killing an 82-year-old Jewish woman.

Summit organizers – who have had to keep the location of the conference under wraps because of security concerns – say the role of municipal leaders in fighting antisemitism has never been more urgent.

“As a mayor who also happens to be a Jew, I find this rise in antisemitism disconcerting and disturbing,” said Gomez, who paid tribute to the victims of October 7 at Wednesday’s Tamarac city commission meeting. “Growing up in New York, we all came from different places and had different beliefs, but in the end, we all came here to be American. We were part of the Great American Melting Pot. We were one.”

“I don’t understand what happened. Why are there groups of people who choose to treat Jewish people differently? Discrimination and hate of any kind have no place in our society. As a mayor of a wonderful, multicultural, multigenerational city, I am proud of our community’s acceptance of one another. It is an honor to be at this conference to join other mayors of all faiths and beliefs to bring a message of unity and work together to combat hatred on any level.”

Brook, a vocal advocate in the fight against hate, has frequently spoken about the role his Jewish faith plays in his life.

“It’s important for me to attend in order to honor my commitment to continue to combat hate and prejudice in our world,” Brook said. “As a Jewish mayor who grew up attending a Yeshiva from 1st to 8th grade, I developed a unique connection to God and Israel, but could never bear sitting through an entire class about the Holocaust. Through the years I have learned about the hate, prejudice, and silence that preceded the Holocaust and I am committed to do my small part to never let any race or religion suffer from the persecution so many suffered decades ago.”

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Author Profile

Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.