The heart of every city lives in its neighborhoods—in the small businesses where families share meals, in the schools and community centers where children learn and play, and in the streets where neighbors greet each other by name. Mayors are uniquely positioned not only to witness but also to combat the rise of antisemitism that threatens Jewish residents and the core principles their cities were built on—diversity, tolerance and equal protection under law.
While national policies shape broader responses to antisemitism, its devastation still strikes hardest at the local level—in our neighborhoods, schools and community spaces. Mayors don’t just hear about these challenges through statistics or reports; they see firsthand the devastating consequences in their communities, and they have the tools and authority to take immediate action. Since the Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, this reality has become increasingly clear with the rising number of threats targeting Jewish business owners in Beverly Hills and across Los Angeles.
In the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, six businesses were vandalized last month, most of them Jewish-owned. Alain Cohen, owner of the Got Kosher? bakery, arrived to find his storefront glass shattered, joining a growing list of establishments that have been targeted by vandals. Beyond the financial repercussions of this vandalism, this pattern of violence in a historically Jewish neighborhood instills fear throughout the entire community; it is eerily reminiscent of Kristallnacht on the night of Nov. 9-10, 1938, when Jewish businesses were vandalized by Nazis in Germany and Austria prior to World War II and the Holocaust.
When a Jewish business is vandalized, the impact extends far beyond a single storefront. Every minority-owned business feels the chill of fear. When hateful slogans appear on synagogue walls, every house of worship becomes a potential target. These acts of hate send a message to all minority groups: You could be next.
Even worse, on college campuses—once a place of open dialogue and intellectual exchange—Jewish students are now afraid to wear religious symbols and are faced with being harassed and targeted on campus.
Earlier this year, Jewish students at the University of California, Los Angeles were repeatedly blocked from attending classes. A U.S. House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee report released in October found that UCLA violated the Civil Rights Act by allowing a hostile environment for Jewish students to persist.
Moreover, on the K-12 level, at El Camino Real High School, a Jewish student faced antisemitic harassment and assault. A ninth-grader reported that a classmate called her a “dirty Jew,” threatened her and then physically attacked her. While the school principal stated the offending student was disciplined and school police were notified, students reported feeling unsafe due to antisemitic incidents.
As the mayor of Beverly Hills, one of us sees daily how hatred spreads school to school, block by block, from campus to city streets, hearing directly from business owners living in fear. As the CEO of Combat Antisemitism Movement, the other works with cities worldwide to track and counter the rising tide of antisemitism globally. Together, we’ve observed how quickly campus tensions can spill onto city streets and vice versa, threatening Jewish life in our cities and towns.
When antisemitism forces students to hide their identities or miss classes, and when Jewish establishments must enhance security measures, everyone suffers.
That’s why Beverly Hills is partnering with the Combat Antisemitism Movement to host the 2024 Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism this month. The summit will focus on immediate action and long-term solutions: enhanced police presence, rapid response teams and community alert systems. We’ll unveil a first-of-its-kind municipal index rating cities on their efforts to secure and nurture Jewish life.
As mayors have both the authority and the responsibility to act in cities and in college towns, where campus tensions often ignite wider unrest, we must convene this year with insightful discussion on strategies to protect Jewish students in attending classes, secure Jewish businesses and ensure the safety of Jewish homes from any threats or unrest.
Cities should be places where diverse groups not only coexist but thrive together. As Beverly Hills welcomes mayors from across North America, we want to send a clear message—hate has no home in our cities. We won’t let antisemitism drive our Jewish neighbors from public spaces, nor will we allow hatred to determine who belongs in our communities.
This is about defending the principle that our streets, shops and gathering places belong to everyone. When we protect Jewish communities, we safeguard the very idea that makes cities work: the belief that people of different backgrounds can build something beautiful together.