>> i love c-span2. that's why they are today. >> answer questions all day. sometimes i get the funding cycle c-span. >> c-span's one of the very few places american stiff go. >> she's been a session distinguish at audible and important mandate and mission in this country. >> i love this show. this is been my favorite show to do all shows because i get to hear what the american people care about. >> the american people have access to government in ways they did not before the cable industry provided c-span access. >> that's why like to come on c-span. this one of the last places where people are having conversation, even people disagree. >> shows that you can have a television network that can try to be objective. >> thanks c-span for our you do. >> that's one of the reasons why this program so valuable because it brings people together, where hard questions are asked and what people have to answer to.

>> the u.s. conference of mayors hosted several discussions in tampa, florida, during their annual meeting. next to much of the discussants what how participating in the national diplomacy affects local municipalities and another on municipal water infrastructure. this is about an hour and a half. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> okay. well, i think we can get started. i call this meeting of the national affairs standing committee to order.

to remind you sort of how our standing committees work, the president named the minister we do not need a quorum call names members to take action. that would be impossible and unlikely because there's i have lister, we got a good maybe 30 or 40 mayors that a been named to this committee. all we need are those like you who have come and show no. we appreciate that. we are also honor to be joint health overdue like something port here? we've got the president and president ginther here and we have that ceo tom cochran as well. i do think were should run aroud the table i believe everybody was a nameplate is a member and make sure that everyone introduces themselves and maybe we'll start here with a carrero. guy. >>.

>> barbara buffalo, mayor columbia missouri. >>. >> mayor of fort worth texas. >> hoagland, minnesota. >> dennis, mayor westlake ohio. >> mayor of hanover park. >> chris always, mayor of's elizabeth new jersey. >> we love hearing from you i think in a few minutes . >> city of casey south carolina. >> quentin hart, city of waterloo island. >> mayor of beverly hills . >>. >> elizabeth count cityof burnsville minnesota. >> and past president . >>.

>> mayor of the city of windsor ontario canada . >> david ginther mayor of columbus. again i will point out lena and forgive me, tim our parliamentary. you're always with us every year. we see you once a year. are pretty important people to the functions at least here initially at the beginning. i will say i have regretfully been serving as vice chair of this committee for several years . usually that acting chair of the meeting. and i regretfully have submitted my resignation effective sunday as i ascend into a new role at the conference so i want to say what a pleasure it's been, i've enjoyed this committee, thank you for the president had named me to this role through the years and i'm glad to be here one last time at least in this capacity.

and by the way i do have to leave in a few minutes for a different commitment but after we've done with the resolution mayor guerrero we are missing everyone else here at the named physician mayor guerrero stepped up and is going to be our acting chair. i do want to send regrets on behalf of mayor bowser who is the chair, mayor bowser of dc and our other vice chair of colorado springs. okay, let's see, what do we dive into, our business we do have to handle our resolution of press and then of course we have special guests to gain from ukraine andcanada . our first item of business are the consideration of resolutions, four resolutions forconsideration today which were all submitted in a timely fashion . you'll find copies of resolution 21, 35, 36 and 37 in front of you . in a moment i will provide a summary of each resolution . under usc and rules mayors can add

their name as a cosponsor to any resolution through community us mayors.org or directly in your mobile until the time the resolutions are considered in the business session this sunday . using the same website, are you listening to every word of this, using the same website bears out until the business rushing to register a no vote on a specific resolution you have to the business rushing to register a no committee vote if you so desire reports after business session if the resolution passes you have the opportunity to register a no vote as a member of the body as well . okay, while a mayor who is a member in good standing of the conference of mayors can participate in discussions about the resolutions before the committee only mayors for officially members of the international affairs committee may vote for these resolutions onto the body and as far as i'm aware we don't have any mayors or not committee mayors were permanently, only mayors who

are part of thecommittee can pull up a discussion or offer amendments or introduce new resolutions. as i mentioned all resolutions we have were submitted in a timely fashion . there's some language here about the resolutions, anyone have any resolution beyond the four we have listed here? we will skip that. now i will read a summary of the four resolutions previously submitted, resolution 21 urges president come to accept building materials from all existing and future transects, this all the president to remove tariffs on key building materials to lower housing costs and boost construction . resolution 35 urges the federal government to propose harmful tariffs that undermine the economy and consumer interest in american cities read this urges the federal government to promote trade with all global trade partners and support fair trade policies sustain economic growth and stable family supporting jobs in usa's . resolution 36 this is in support of mayors in ukraine,

this confirms the conferences solidarity with ukrainian mayors and forces the creation of the center for city partnership and solidarity and urges federal support of ukraine's local leaders . finally resolution 37 urges the united states to lead the world back from the brink of nuclear war and all or reverse the nuclear arms race . this urges the us government to engage in good faith negotiations with the other eight nuclear armed state to reducearsenals and urges all us universities to join the organization of mayors or geese . we have one amendment to number 37 and so why do we handle that.mayor cartwright and i have an annual conversation about some of the more in the weeds language of this resolution, i think everyone is on board, always has been with the language about nuclear war but sometimes we disagree

about how some of the language might be perceived as relates to a broader commentary on military spending in our country so he and i have discussed clause 7. and have a new version that i will read out loud directly from the text we exchange at five this morning or something. so this would be a new clause 7 that would replace the existing number seven. whereas for decades across administrations of both parties federal funding allocated to the military and its support systems including homeland security veterans affairs and proposed 2026 upgrades to our first nuclear arsenal has come at the expense of other critical federal agencies and social services . i will spare you all and he wants of how we arrived at that and we borrowed from old language but basically trying to get

it to a place where we feel it is not as antagonistic during military spending, the primary authors 40, i do as well . would you be willing to make a motion mayor heart to make that change? >> so moved to redo the number seven as you just propose . >> okay, is there a second? we have a motion, tim can we do a voice vote , all in favor say i. motion carries. the resolution is so amended. >> okay. before i get there, are there any amendments to any of the other resolutions or the one we just discussed? okay. do we need a vote on that one separately? we can vote now on all four. allright, we can take as i'm told by tim one vote on all four resolutions that would again be resolution number 21, resolution 35, resolution 36 and the amended resolution number 87 . is there a motion to adopt? motion and the second, all in favor say aye. motion is adopted and the four

resolutions one amended going to the full-body sunday morning for consideration with our recommendation of approval. okay, >> mr. chair. thank you . i just wanted to inquire as to whether we could comment on the fact that some of these resolutions and number 36 with respect to ukraine. many of us in this room have not only been concerned about ukraine for years relative to the us conference of mayors but some of us in this room have been privileged to attend the old mayors colleagues who are i think twice we've seen the ambassador from ukraine to the united states mark aruba and we had the virtual meeting with the president zelinski a couple of years ago and i think it can't be underemphasized a level of support of american mayors for ukraine and there's

trouble to maintain their democracy. we think this is so vital and so important to the entire world that we are strongly committed to this voice that they are raising about the importance of maintaining their democratic integrity and the integrity of their country as a whole. so just an add-on comment to reinforce the folks that are your from the ukraine at american mayors are strongly committed, strongly committed to their war with russia. >> any other comments on the resolutions just adopted. all right, if not then i've got to step away, you can all-star cast of speakers coming up and we are very grateful for that. i'm going to turn it over now to walk you through that to

mayor martha guerrero, mayor of west sacramento, you have the floor . >> thank you mayor and grateful for your presence here and getting us through the first part of our agenda. so as we proceed, and a world marked by rising tensions and global challenges mayors are stepping up as front-line diplomats. and the session will highlight how mayors are stepping into global leadership from disaster preparedness in kyoto to resilience in ukraine. trade negotiations with canada and navigating complex geopolitical cases crises. we will hear our us and international mayors are forging cross-border partnerships and shaping foreign policy from the ground up. so our next first speaker is mayor barbara

buffalo of columbia missouri. she chairs the us conference of mayors environment committee and was part of the mayoral delegation to cut 28 into my rent a longtime planet later he previously served as columbia's first sustainability manager and lead the city's climate action plan. she is here to share insights on a recent climate community in kyoto focused ondisaster preparedness and municipal resilience. mayor buffalo, the floor is yours . >> i'm honored to be here today talking with such a great group of people talking about especially our conferences role in these international relationships we have, here to share a recent visit i have in japan outside of kyoto as far as representative of the united states for the ascending meeting . this in japan is a city that transformed itself after tragedy and continues to reeducateits self and others on the importance of disaster recovery and preparedness . so on january 17, 1995 5:40 6 am cuvce experienced one of

the most devastating earthquakes in japan's history, a 7.3 quick start nearly directly under the city. over 6400 lives were lost and more than 640,000 homes were damaged. entire neighborhoods burned in the aftermath. this wasn't just a seismic event, it was a turning point for probate in the city's leaders were called upon to respond, recover and rebuild in ways that would protect future generations. the response went beyond physical rebuilding, disastrous party movement in japan where 1 million volunteers localized . this led to formal legislation supporting nonprofit activity and community-based recovery efforts . what struck me most when i was visiting as how they leverage this moment to install a culture of preparedness not just in

policy but in everyday life. from community groups to national legislation that emphasis became through resilience, through collaboration. so in may i was able to visit with mayors from the other g7 countries. one of the most powerful experiences from my visit was here. this is earthquake memorial museum formerly called the disaster reduction and human relation institution you can see lines listed there, i have a different level level for where water was at that time, 1995 you can get blue line or the water came along this area . they have items recovered from the earthquake on display for community members and visitors to see and along with each one it tells the story of the person who collected the article for that item. these were really moving had i will point out had interactive displays where you could hear the voices of the families and really talk about things with their community leaders. but it's not just a museum for memorial, it's also an

education hall . this is the most exciting of people taking pictures but it's an interactive exhibit where they teach students about risk and resilience . they have a clear message throughout that the goal is not just to remember is to prepare. they say we never forget and cuvce ads we never repeat because we prepare instead. it was more than just having that museum and educational institution. it also has an ensign exposed so i was there when they were having their disaster and future expo is held in the spring and its community-based family-friendly and focused on passing on knowledge. what you can't tell in this picture is these family members are learning how to move anybody. their learning how to help prepare people connect and move them so what are the best tips for that, that is three minutes so they involve the whole family in

these things and it has to be departments and scientists and businesses are dissipating and sharing practical disaster preparedness knowledge and it was like a citywide civics lesson focused on survival and adaptation. and to the point we were talking about how you take things all i'm looking to do something similar to bring something that columbia rent one of the other things coming to me , this is american park which yes, it's spelled differently but it's america, american park and it's a tangible reminder of what was lost and what was rebuilt . this is a preserved section of the wharf after the earthquake. and it shows the force of nature and allows you to walk around it and see the lessons they learned and for them it was important to have these public spaces to carry this memory but it also had hold so here is this is the call they put in 25 years after the event and it's a mix of

mourning and motivation, something all the rest of us can learn from so for me was in power powerful to think about how i can bring it back because their transformation was born from disaster but his legacy is one of innovation resilience and inclusive education so we know as mayors we are often the first responders and we're also the longtime stewards of our city's futures so this reminds us that investing in community memory education and infrastructure can save lives and can also build stronger and more connected communities. so thank you. >> thank you for sharing your perspective, it's very insightful . next up is mayor andrewginther, president of our conference of mayors . we recently returned from warsaw poland where he met with the ukrainian mayors and sign a formal memorandum of understanding to strengthen city to city recovery and engagement but he also signed

a second mo you with the ukrainian association of district and regional councils creating a platform for long-term cooperation and exchange mayor ginther will share a key take away from the recent canada mexico trade summit posted in april by the us conference of mayors where mayors from across the north american came together to oppose harmful transects and identify new ways to strengthencross-border city relationships. mayor, we look forward to hearing your remarks . >> thank you mayor guerrero and i will make my comments brief because we have your friends who have traveled from far away that i would love to yield the balance of my time to share their thoughts . as mayor guerrero mentioned i was able to meet in warsaw with our ukrainian partners and when we spend time together in hearing their stories their most recent updates from this incredible unjust and reckless war that's been me waged on them by russia,the

displacement, the impact of families , schools, healthcare facilities, just some devastating impacts and really appreciate their willingness to share . but also their willingness to engage with us, to make sure we are making very clear our commitment to their efforts to protect freedom and democracy . that visit helped shape the idea for the mechanism of regular communication and sustained support for ukrainian cities during rebuilding so to formalize that support i proudly sign 2 transcends as was mentioned, one with ukrainian mayors and another with you association of ukrainian cities was executive director is here today. we are also honored by the presence of mayor bethany , a courageous leader . courageous leader from one of the cities most affected by

this war. we are committed to working alongside both our ukrainian mayors and leaders and i know mayor barnett will speak a little bit more to our engagement with the committee of mayors, trilateral summit as well as our visit to the federation of municipalities in ottawa earlier this month and our ongoing work there and obviously we will hear from mayor dawkins as well but if it's okay with you mayor guerrero i will invite mayor resident to sharecomments and thoughts and welcomed him officially to the us conference of mayors . >> thank you mr. pres. , ladies and gentlemen, dear friends. today we are here to speak about the future. the future we are building together one that shines with

the light of hope and prosperity. i speak of the future of ukraine . and of one of its integral committees, the city of kukansk that deserves the unbreakable spirit of its people. kukansk is not just a point on the map of ukraine, it is a city of rich history, strategic location and tremendous potential. before kukansk was an important transportation hub and industrial center and a stronghold of agricultural development. today much of the city lies in ruins. but it's hard communities to be. through the thick scale of distractions since the beginning of 2025 . our russian ports have carried our 22,000 hundred seven

against the settlement in the community. 878 guided bombs . the community continues to suffer from ballistic missile attacks and drones assault on a daily basis. these have casualties and injuries along with the destruction of critical transportation engineering and social production. as well as business and residential. we invite you to become part of the shared investments and investment in people. in resilience and in hope. our goal is conditions for dignified rights for those

most affected by war. including communities the displaced and vulnerable groups. despite the almost chaos we are talking about first steps. i am proud to share the memorandum of corporations with city of columbia's, a leader in implementing social projects and community development. we have deeply grateful to mayor andrew j ginther, president of the us conference of mayors for his support our upcoming initiative. thank you mayor. >> amongst our top priorities is the creation of medical centers that will include a

dedicated rehabilitation unit . this facility will serve as a lifeline for thousands of those who feel the psychological trauma from the war. it will provide essential medical psychological and social support that will help them reintegrate and rebuild their lives. we are also committed to investing in educationthrough partnerships with the international community . we formally believe that the path to quality education is essential to society especially children and the young people who have been dropped by war. investing in education is ultimately investment in ukraine's future and in the generation who believes our country towards underworld.

these projects are not just another set of projects, these investments in people. people who remain determined to live and work in their ability in the future. these initiatives over offer hope and opportunities showing them they are not in hardship. our cooperation and our partnerships are a reflection of our shared commitment to peace justice and you forever ukrainian. thank you for your continued support and guidance, we are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder. i only together we can overcome death with life . glory to usa and ukraine.

>> thank you, i want to introduce at this table the delegation with the president of ukrainian association and regional concert, head of the region. >> joining us today is tom cochran, our executive director who is here with us

regarding this particular matter, it is important to him . tom, would you like to share any words since you've been along with layer ginther have been supportive of ukraine since day one. >> were so pleased tohave you here today to represent the city of ukraine . we were very fortunate to have the relationship we have with fcm which is the federation of canadian municipalities. so we continue to struggle with the ukraine issue in our own government but i think you can feel the love and respect inside this organization on which the country is going through. we will continue to work with the mayors on your side and our side . to get you strength and you can count on it. now, we will also we had a

trilateral summit in washington with the mexican mayors and canadian mayors . we went to the fcm which is the federation of canadian municipalities. and we have also been invited by gloria schein bound who isthe president of mexico to come there in september . and mayor ginther and i met with the economic minister in february so that will complete our relationship this year with the three countries, mexico, canada and ukraine. so with that thank you for being here and let us continue, thank you. >> thank you tom and thank you mayor ginther . and

tatyana, thank you for your powerful testimony and resilience as shown by the resolution that we have just passed . america's mayors stand firmly with you and ukraine and are committed to supporting our country, your country's recovery and reconstruction from the ground up. thank you for joining us today. and now we turn to rochester hills mayor brian barnett, past president of the us conference of mayors . he recently attended the federation of canadian municipalities in ottawa and the us conference of canada us and mexico trade summit . mayor barnett recently hosted a delegation of canadian mayors will discuss the importance of cross-border connections municipal diplomacy and navigating trade challenges. representatives sitting near the canadian border he has been advocating for fair trade to protect businesses and consumers are in mayor barnett, over to you .

>> thank you mayor . whoever set up this speaking lineup did me no favors here. mayor, thank you for your comments and your powerful words. we are reminded we all have struggles but sometimes when we hear those of others particularly of our brother and sister mayors in ukraine , we realized we might not have it as bad as we think we do, thank you for your continued leadership and being here today . and thank you mayors for just a few minutes to share about something i am proud the us conference of mayors has taken a leadership role in . and i think it is a natural place for the conference to lead on because if you see what's happening across much of the globe you see cities leading in many ways. there is a lot of frustration at the federal level and where you see the private sector, where you see industry and where you see other people connecting the

subnational level where cities are working with other cities to get things done . and i think perhaps the greatest example of that has been the newly found friendship relationship and maybe newly discovered relationship with our friends in canada . of course we had as president ginther said all wonderfully successful trilateral summit in dc with a group of mexican canadian and us mayors and i think the remarkable take away for me in both that meeting and conversation with those mayors as well as the visit we took to ottawa a month or so ago was just how much we have in common. we were able to sit in for a little bit of the fcm, i see our friends on the side and it was remarkable how with the

exception of the flags behind us the issues were the same. it was public safety, it was communicating with residents, it was housing, it was the support or lack of from the federalgovernment and you find yourself saying we get it, we feel the same thing on our side and perhaps the issue that brought us most together has been the issue of tariffs and i've been fairly outspoken on this . really certainly wasn't something i came into office on or was passionate about six months ago but our role as mayors is to story tell and to tell the impact of legislation and discussion on the federal level of our residents and as i began to talk to my city and particularly my business owners in a city that is in the shadows of the amb. bridge across the way from windsor and canada as our number one trading partner in the state it's probably yours to . if you live anywhere north and east of colorado. it's probably canada so my businesses said this is horrible . this is detrimental. these aren't

left-wing university activists, these were largely conservatively leaning business owners who probably voted for the president who were sharing the challenges of tariffs. we did a survey among our business community and they said 30% of my businesses employs from 10 to 1000 were planning on laying off in 2025. anticipating 25% reductions in sales and the number that hit me the most was almost 60% had zeroed out all capital investment in 2025 and that to me in a city is where innovation happens, it's where new jobs are created and that made that personal to me. that made that not a national issue but a local mayoral issue for me and what can i do to begin to combat that. what started as just getting to know some of my neighbors

. mayor dawkins you'll hear from in a minute, i spent more time with mayor dawkins that i have my kids this year . that's probably more a comment on my parenting than it is anything else but we've developed a great friendship and one perhaps that should have been developed years ago but sometimes opportunities arise and then through the leadership of the conference we develop stronger partnerships with fcm and our canadian neighbors and i think we're making a difference. i think folks are hearing and you seen the biggest challenge is the uncertainty. i said this in the comments imagine if you're a ceo of a small company with 25 employees and you're making a product from canada or mexico or anywhere in the globe, theother part of our study was 20% of the companies in my city get all their products from the us so tariffs affect 80% of my businesses . imagine trying to predict what that product would cost to build in three months and then when it's going to cost to sell, there's just no way

with tariffs going from 10 to 15 to 130 back to zero, being revealed, reassessed, it's just an impossible game so i'm using my voice with the strength of the conference of mayors joining with our canadian brothers and sisters to just share the challenge and the story tell about what this is happening, what the ramifications are in the streets of a city that is a very purple city and a very purple state . and hopefully get as many ears to listen as possible i appreciate the support of the us conference of mayors, this is an area we can lead, we have credibility, resources and a deep history of leading on issues like this, proud to add my voice to that and interest mayor dawkins to share more on the canadian side of this . >> thanks very very much mayor barnett and i appreciate your leadership but also the friendship we've developed and i think i spent more time with my kids so not sure where your kids are.

it has been a pleasure getting to know you and will hopefully we appreciate all your advocacy? can sincerely read as border city mayors and mayors whose communities are deeply impacted and affected by tariffs especially as it relates to the automotive industry and i want to say thank you for all of you for stepping up. i sit on the big city mayors focus in canada as part of the federation of canadian municipalities .5 don o'riordan was the mayor of st. john new brunswick read her community in canada on the east coast was identified as the one that would be hardest hit as a result of tariffs put on by pres. trump as it relates to canada so we are here for one reason to continue to keep building a strong

relationship between our two organizations, to seek your continued support to end the ongoing trade dispute between canada and the united states and for decades go back before mexico was part of the equation, it goes back to the 1960s canada united states and now mexico we have created quite a remarkable trade relationship and how this relationship as a result of choice. we've done this because it's been better for businesses and all communities and all countries, it's been better for families, and it's good for government. it's good for communities rent we're stronger together the one he called the greats tracheal of all time conchas a weeks ago he reinvested what prime minister carney visit the president of the white house and says he loves uscm. said we. it's been working quite well for quite a long time. those supply chains as result of the agreement we signed the supply chains are tightly integrated. on a automotive side, i mayor of the city of windsor, ontario, which is the automobile capital of canada, and these auto supply chains are amongst the most highly integrated of any industry in our country between our country's.

in fact, poses a significant part of the integration of vertical integration of those supply chains. $2.5 billion billion dollars worth of goods cross the u.s.-canada border every day. 8 million jobs in the united states are connected to trade with canada. canada is your largest export market and we are your largest export market will we sell more goods you and you some work at straws than any of the countries on the planet. uscm a for the most part it's really benefited all three countries. that change at the end of january of this year and a gunness mayor barnett is that it's all about the uncertainty. people are not making investments in their pausing decisions at that is impacting the book of business for businesses on both sides of the border. it's the on-again off-again tariffs ever shifting deadlines that are put forward. it's result in all of that investment being paused, jobs lost in increasing calls on both sides sides of the border. we need to stand together and encourage our government to get

back to negotiating table to help resolve these disputes. we note the u.s. conference of mayors has been active on this from the very beginning. your resolution in march hosting the trade summit lungs are little support for senator kaine to resolution called for in for tariffs with canada was appreciated and i thank my friend mayor ginther from columbus for leading the charge anyone else who has played a part in getting those issues across the finish line. we acknowledge it, recognize it and i'll tell you it means a lot to all of us in canada just your friends from the united states standing with us. trade resolutions you consider today show your partnership but with more to do together. this past week at the g7 in canada president trump and prime minister carney said they would work to reach a conclusion to the outstanding issues over the next 30 days. i hope that's true fore all of our sakes. on both sides of the border we need to keep up the pressure on our political leadership and i know the staff at the uscm and sem work closely together to

monitor the opportunities to influence but am also asking each of you keep up the pressure with your senators, congressmen and congresswomen and the trade dispute. it's bad for business, bad for families. openly it's bad for communities. on our site we commit to do the same. thank you very much for inviting us here today and for your continued encouragement. thank you.in [applause] >> thank you, mayor dilkens. mayor barnett cuff for your invaluable insights here on unwavering commitment to this critical issue sharing with us your personal experience and what is going on in your jurisdictions and keeping this front and center, forward and our mayors leadership on this incredible. we will continue to work with you. next, we will have to close the session chief engagement officer with the american jewish community. you she will broaden update oe

evolving israeli-palestinian crisis and its implications for u.s. cities including how municipal leaders canmm foster dialogue in community resilience at home. thank you forus joining us. please go head. >> thank you so much. thanks for the opportunity of us could do be with you all today got and what i'm about to talk also underscores what you've also been discussing which is how important it is for mayors to be at the forefront of what's happening around the globe and to really lean into your role as international leaders. because we know thatas what happens globally and back shoe locally.ns i want to thank you for this opportunity. i'm the chief engagement officer of the american jewish committee. we are a global nonprofit nonpartisan organization. where in ethics the organization on behalf of the jewish people and were proud partner of the u.s. conference of mayors. i'll do my best to give a high level overview of the most

complex conflict in the most complex moment in that conflict in the most complex part of the world and in about three mi. bear with me. when we first discussed this presentation it was really focused on an update on the situation between israel and hamas in with happening in gaza. obviously since in israel has launched a strike against iran and iran has responded so there's now a a full-blown war between israel and iran, and it's important to understand how this is all truly interconnected. so a few points to bear in mind. the iranian regime is the world's foremost state sponsor of terror through its network of proxies. hamas and palestinian islamic jihad in gaza, has blood in lebanon, , the popular mobilization forces in iraq, thn in yemen and iran and its terror proxies have launched attacks in europe, latin america, and asia across middle east and have been responsible for the deaths of thousands of

americans. the iranian regime is also an egregious human rights that user including the of protests, the persecution of minorities and the discrimination against women, to put it mildly. we know that hezbollah is right in israel's northern border has held its people hostage essentially for decades with the support and p backing iran. and the iranian-backed hamas is responsible for thele october 7, 2023, massacre in which 1200 israelis were killed and more than 250 were kidnapped, taken hostage. we know there are still 53 possibly 52 hostages remaining and we think about 20 of those are still living. the situation in gaza is truly dire as result of the 107 attack in reality that israel could no longer accept a terrorist living right next door to that was

lobbing missiles and infiltrating its communities and isev fighting gets hamas which fully embeds itself both within and underneath its civilian population. it's a very, very complicated and challenging situation. it's not an easy way to fight any kind of battle, and we know the civilian casualties have been enormous and incredibly, incredibly difficult. so why now with iran? what created eminence in israel's response to iran? we know iran and all intelligence has shown iran has been rapidly increasing its nuclear program and ballistic missile development. the regime has systematically obstructed sections, concealed newcomen chosen operated covert enrichment facilities and was actually for the first time formally censored ivey international, the u.n. watchdog agency the iaea on june 12. it's also made it clear it's not particularly stories about diplomacy about making progress

in any diplomatic solution, and with the nuclear threshold coming fast, and for many of the mayors who have traveled with us to israel and who have heard for decades that there will come a point of no return with iran's nuclear program, that it absolutely cannot be allowed to reach weapons grade enrichment, that point was reached. and so with the threshold approaching and iran's clear and again of the destruction of israel which they it's a time and again and they're very to note as jewish history has taught us, if someone tells you they're committed to your distraction, you believe them. and, unfortunately, that's the situation that israel finds itself in now. so wed t know iran and its pros through hezbollah, hamas are not seeking regime change in israel. they're seeking the full destruction of israel. the targets that israel has identified have an military targets, intelligence, leadership targets, and they've

actually done quite a bit, if at a lot of success by their metrics in terms of taking out a lot of the capacities and attacking some of the not directly the nuclear sites but where many of the nuclear production facilities and components of the nuclear program are housed. i ran on the other hand, has been firing hundreds of ballistic missiles at my collision centers in israel. thankfully because israel has a strong air defense system most of those missiles have been intercepted but a good many have fallen. .. there have been a number of casualties as well as tens of thousands of homes and businesses and properties impacted and damaged. so it remains to be seen whether the us will intervene and if so how but israel has made it clear it's >> we know that none of us

can. i want to be really clear about one important point and that is that israel's battle is not with the iranian people. it's not with the palestinian people in gaza. it's not with the lebanese people on the border. it's by the regime backed and supported by iran that held their own populations really hostage in these incredibly oppressive and violent leadership. it's really-- they deserve more. they deserve to all live peacefully and prosperously which is not possible with these current fundamentalist leaders in charge. a quick word about the distribution of aid in gaza which i know is very important to everyone, it's important to all of us, it's really crucial to understand, it is an incredibly challenging situation to deliver and distribute aid. the logistics of it are very,

very hard in a very active war zone and in a very complicated and small space. we know that so much of the aid that has been going in and there have been tons and tons and tons and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of trucks of aid going in that can get into gaza, but the distribution has been really the problem. it's been very difficult to find a way to -- mechanisms to distribute the aid in effective way and a lot of issues with hamas stockpiling the aid, warehousing it for themselves or selling it to the public at exorbitant prices. recently the gaza humanitarian foundation was launched in 2025, which the goal of distributing aid safely to the population and really work around hamas so they're not trying to go through them to distribute it. there have been some horrific reports of mass casualties at distribution sites that many of

you have seen. these reports are all being investigated. it's very hard to verify exactly what is happening because there's no media in gaza, but there's a lot of interest in trying to ensure that the people of gaza are able to not just arrive. we all want to see them thrive. we want to see this conflict come to an end. we want to see the hostages returned. and we want to see the beginning of a rebuilding of this important part of the region. so, what does this mean for mayors? i'll just say this quickly. this is a time for vigilance. you've all seen what is happening in your communities with the rise of anti-semitism. there have been attacks certainly on muslim communities. if you have persian, iranian communities, i would urge you to reach out to them, check in and see what they're doing. we know that iran has proxies and people who have been

fundamentalized and radicalized who are all over the place. there could be lone wolves, parts of terror cells and they're around europe and exist in the united states as well. it's really a time to stay in touch with your law enforcement. keep track of this news and keep in touch with your jewish communities, israeli communities, palestinian communities. you are leaders and you have an opportunity to help create that vision for a future and remind people that we have to stay in conversation with each other. we're all part of communities together and it's in our interest to make sure we're not alienating each other and that we're all working towards peaceful resolutions both for our citizens here in the united states and certainly for all of those around the middle east who are in such a volatile time. it's a very changing, rapidly changing time if we want to be apartment misses, i hope that this time next year, the middle east will look somewhat different and that we will start to see those glimmers of

possibility of what a better, brighter middle east could look like and i wish for a prosperous for everyone in the region. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, melanie. that's an important update that we need to hear and your guidance for mayors as we have people in our community that we need to stay in touch with and just make sure that our communities are safe and engaged. we have a couple more minutes i wanted to open it up for a couple of questions, if anybody has any. yes. >> thank you very much. it's good to see you all. thank you, madam, chair. first of all, it's an honor to be here with ukraine i have to share with you since the war we have -- even though they tried to ban us in florida from flying flags. i hang up a flag at my dias for ukraine as well as for israel. this hit home to me personally

on friday. my dear friend is there. they were in a bomb shelter on friday in israel. this is real. israel has been under attack for over 3,000 years. i think it behooves us to call out misinformation, stand up. we need to unite. i want to thank the many, many clergy that have united with the jewish community, many in my community as well as, i'm sure, in yours. i have a -- they have 20 churches, catholic church, a jewish center, so, we are very diverse and a very welcoming community. it is the first time in the history of my city on wednesday that we had two armed uzi

officers at my city hall. we are one of the largest jewish populations in south florida. we have helped our mosque, please, if you know there's misinformation make sure you stand up against it. we ask you to unite with our jewish and muslim brotherhood that are under assault. i met a woman last month that i actually went to -- two months ago, i went to cuba with on a federation mission that the jews there had to leave and come either to miami or venezuela and now they're in miami, but she was an iranian jew. she was displaced from oppression. we are talking about owe pressive regimes. we're not talking about the modernization. we're blessed brian and a group

of us went to saudi arabia a couple of years ago and looked at their progress and their openness and their acceptance. take note in their somewhat silence in working towards the -- i never say, their courts. it's not any surprise that on october 7th was happening when our ambassadors and people from all the arab nations were uniting and discussing peace. i feel your pain. i feel the pain of israelis. we all need to not have this disinformation out there. thank you. thank you for your hard work. i follow adl, obviously, i'm jewish so i follow everything, but adl has great information, great, real snippets of factual information and response to over 10,000 acts of

anti-semitism. that is a 200% increase in anti-semitic acts that have now become violent in our communities. as that violence hits the streets, it's going to impact everyone, whether you're jewish, christian, muslim. think of the high that was hit, the religion. you know, israeli is home to many religions, too. i got off my bully pulpit, but i thank you and i thank you all that signed on with cams and continues to support those that are oppressed and under attack in this world. thank you. >> and thank you, mayor cooper. would you like to-- >> one more. as a retired fourth generation

auto worker and i appreciate the forms you've gone to. 20% of michigan jobs are affected by the automotive industry and hundreds of thousands more. i know how it's affected my family over decade and thank you for the automotive work and the tariffs it's truly appreciated because the jobs are real and people are losing them right now. i know i get-- i'm retired, but those that are working with me are sending me their resumes' because they are losing their jobs. so thank you very much for that. in terms of the interfaith work, we do in canton township, we have mosques and hindu temples and interfaith meets, and stress like you, it's important to constantly check on them. every month we're having meeting and not only are policemen watching over the horses of worship, but joint meetings every month to talk about what's happening behind the scenes because as you know, your faith houses know what's going on in the community. you can meet with the police, but they tell you what's

happening on the ground and the work do there and we stand with ukraine, so thank you very much. thanks for all of your work. >> thank you, mayor, for that information. >> oh, yes, go ahead tatiana. >>. >> i came together for some very important meeting. i'm not only the head of ukrainian regions, but i'm the head of one reason next to the front line. and i want to say thank you, it's very important for us. and this is very important for us, so you support us.

i want to invite all of you, all mayors from the u.s. and thank you from the ukrainian mayors. i have -- i want to give-- thank you we inviting all of you for ukraine for the future cooperation. thank you. >> thank you so much. [applause] >> so i sincerely thank all of our speakers today, especially the mayors and foreign guests who traveled here from ukraine and canada and to all of our

u.s. speakers who make the u.s. conference of mayors such a special place to connect. share best practices and a vital resource for local leaders. thank you so much, we are adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >>