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Coral Springs Mayor Plans Initiatives to Fight Anti-Jewish Hate After Attending Antisemitism Summit

Coral Springs Mayor Scott Brook with Parkland Comissioner Jordan Isrow at the 2025 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism. {Jordan Isrow}

Coral Springs Mayor Scott Brook says he plans to pursue new local efforts to address anti-Jewish hatred after attending the 2025 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans.

Brook said he attended the national summit to gather ideas and connections that could help Coral Springs proactively confront anti-Jewish hate, while emphasizing he does not think antisemitism is currently a widespread local issue.

“I was very happy to recently attend the 2025 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism,” Brook told Coral Springs Talk. “As a Jewish Mayor, who grew up in Washington Heights [in New York City] and went to yeshiva, I thought it was important to attend to garner ideas and connections to enhance anything I or the city can do to reduce antisemitism.”

The summit brought together mayors and elected officials from across the country, a show of solidarity Brook said left a strong impression.

“There were mayors from all over the Country, and most were not Jewish,” he said. “I felt so incredibly supported and connected to all of the mayors I met and heard from.”

Brook said he plans to bring ideas from the summit back to Coral Springs for discussion with city leadership.

“While I feel that such hate and ignorance may not be a local issue at the moment, I learned ideas to potentially stem a local threat that I plan to share with my colleagues and City Manager’s Office,” Brook said. He added that he also heard from outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams at the summit, who “shared two Executive Orders and several new directives that I look forward to discussing at the next City Retreat.”

The antisemitism summit began with a public procession through New Orleans led by Mayor LaToya Cantrell and accompanied by live jazz musicians, an event Brook described as “special, energizing, and unforgettable.”

But Brook said the event also exposed him to open anti-Jewish hatred for the first time in his life.

“There were at least 20 activists who protested our support for the Summit and the cause who issued slurs and it was the first time in my life I can recall personally receiving the hatred of my religion,” he said.

As anti-Jewish prejudice surges nationally and globally, Brook said he intends to pursue concrete steps locally. He plans to seek City Commission support for another Community Conversation to Address Hate and Prejudice – the last one was held nearly two years ago – and to “hold office hours to hear from those in my community who have ideas to combat antisemitism,” Brook said.

The mayor’s comments come during a period of surging hatred targeting Jews globally and across the U.S., including in Broward County. Jewish civil rights groups say most acts of anti-Jewish hate in the U.S. are related to Israel, a trend that began with the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on the Jewish state.

According to data from the Anti-Defamation League and federal authorities, rhetoric surrounding Israel has frequently spilled into attacks on Jewish people and institutions. Jews have been murdered in targeted killings and terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C.; Boulder, Colorado; the synagogue terror attack in Manchester, England on Yom Kippur; and the mass shooting by terrorists that killed Jews celebrating the first night of Chanukah on Australia’s Bondi Beach Dec. 14.

The urgency of Brook’s interest in fighting bigotry against Jews follows Parkland City Commissioner Jordan Isrow’s remarks about his confronting the same hateful crowd outside the summit in New Orleans.

Isrow, Brook, and other attendees were met with protesters shouting “Heil Hitler,” “Dirty Jew, go home,” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and other statements during a second-line style march outside the conference — a moment Isrow said underscored the persistence of age-old anti-Jewish prejudice, even at an event meant to fight it.

Isrow said that experiencing such prejudice — and discussing it with his own children — crystallized for him the importance of local engagement aimed at combating rising Jew-hatred.

Residents interested in Brook’s planned community conversation and office hours are expected to receive additional information once proposals are discussed by city leaders.

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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.