European officials warned that antisemitism across the continent has surged to alarming levels since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel, as more than 100 mayors gathered in Paris for an annual summit dedicated to countering anti-Jewish hatred. Leaders said Jewish life in Europe has become increasingly threatened amid violent demonstrations, attacks on synagogues and vandalism of Holocaust memorials.
The summit, organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), convened in the 19th-century reception hall of Paris City Hall. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told participants that the city remains “committed to the fight against antisemitism,” and noted the deep historical connection between Paris and its longstanding Jewish community.
The gathering comes a decade after the 2015 terror attacks in France — including the killings at Charlie Hebdo, the Hyper Cacher supermarket and the Bataclan concert hall — events that were referenced repeatedly as warnings of how extremism can spread when left unchecked.
This year’s event drew 104 mayors and 130 public officials from across Europe, nearly all of whom are not Jewish. Organizers said local leaders are searching for practical tools to confront rising hatred and strengthen ties with Jewish communities. Sacha Roytman, CAM’s CEO, said mayors “have the ability and the power to act proactively and defend the communities in their cities,” adding that the conference aims to ensure “history does not repeat itself.”
Yonathan Arfi, president of CRIF, France’s umbrella organization for Jewish institutions, warned that Europe risks losing its Jewish population if trends continue. “Antisemitism begins with Jews but never ends with them,” he said, adding that a ceasefire in Gaza does not translate into a ceasefire in antisemitism across Europe.
Data presented at the summit showed the scale of the challenge. Shannon Seban, CAM’s director of European affairs and a council member in Rosny-sous-Bois, said the organization recorded more than 206,000 antisemitic incidents across Europe by mid-November 2025. She spoke about the hostility she has faced personally but also highlighted cases where local mayors helped reverse dangerous trends.
One of the summit’s recognized figures was Lorenzo Rodriguez Pérez, mayor of the Spanish village Castrillo Mota de Judíos (“Hill of the Jews”). He was honored for leading a 2015 referendum to restore the village’s historic name, replacing the previous one meaning “Death to the Jews,” despite neo-Nazi attacks and recent pro-Palestinian protests in the area.
From the United Kingdom, Councillor Alex Yip of Birmingham described challenges in a city where half the population is of immigrant background and the Muslim community is far larger than the Jewish one. He criticized the mishandling of a recent debate over permitting Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to attend a match against Aston Villa, saying officials failed to consult the Jewish community or understand sensitivities around antisemitism. The summit, he said, showed him Birmingham “is not alone in this struggle.”
Israeli Olympic judoka Peter Paltchik, one of the summit’s honored guests, recounted how opponents from countries hostile to Israel increasingly refuse to shake his hand — including a longtime acquaintance who told him, “I don’t shake hands with terrorists,” days before the Paris Olympics. The comment, he said, left him stunned.
Jewish and Israeli students in Europe are also facing heightened hostility. David Benatar Zamora, who oversees antisemitism response for the Jewish Youth Federation of Spain, said Jewish students in Madrid often feel pressured to prove they are “good Jews” depending on their political views. “You’re more likely to encounter a Spanish neo-Nazi on the street than a Jew,” he said.
In Belgium, the situation is similarly fraught. Prof. Joël Kotek, a political scientist and expert on genocide and antisemitism at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, said he has been excluded from events for challenging claims of genocide in Gaza, despite not supporting Israel’s government. He noted that Jewish lawmaker Viviane Teitelbaum, who sits on the university’s administrative council, has received death threats. With only about 30,000 Jews and more than 700,000 Muslims in Belgium, he said, many Belgian Jews feel growing pressure to consider emigration.
The European Union’s coordinator for combating antisemitism, Katarina von Schnurbein, addressed the summit to outline EU support mechanisms. She highlighted the bloc’s 2021–2030 strategy for combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, noting that more than €22 million was invested between 2021 and 2023. The EU has launched roughly 90 initiatives in the past year alone, including programs to counter incitement, monitor attacks, advance Holocaust education and train police forces to recognize antisemitic incidents. “Europe has seen dark times before,” she said, “but there have always been those who stood up. Today, we are working to build the structures that will prevent history from repeating.”
Many participants expressed concern that, despite rising antisemitism, public opinion surveys show most Europeans do not view combating it as a priority. Still, organizers found encouragement in the strong turnout. A parallel conference of French mayors — representing towns far from Paris’ political center — brought unexpected solidarity. Representatives of CRIF said many local leaders visited their booth seeking advice on how to support Jewish residents.
“French society supports the Jewish community and Israel far more than it may appear,” one organizer said.