Nearly a dozen mayors from across metro Atlanta gathered at Sandy Springs City Hall Jan. 8 for a dialogue with the Combat Antisemitism Movement on ways to fight anti-Jewish bigotry.
The City of Sandy Springs hosted the roundtable discussion, moderated by Lisa Katz, who is chief government affairs officer at the Combat Antisemitism Movement.
“Georgia hasn’t been immune to the surge in antisemitism we’re seeing across the United States and around the world,” Katz said. “This roundtable gave mayors a rare chance to come together to speak candidly about what they’re seeing on the ground and walk away with practical tools to strengthen public safety and protect Jewish life in their cities.”
The closed-door forum was timely after a series of recent antisemitic incidents in Georgia, including several Nazi swastika graffiti cases across the Atlanta suburbs, which are home to a large Jewish population.
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Katz leads municipal initiatives with North American mayors and is a former town supervisor of New Castle, New York.
“In the fight against antisemitism, local leadership is not symbolic, it’s decisive,” Katz said. “CAM is proud to stand with these mayors and looks forward to continuing this cooperative work to deliver real, measurable results for their communities.”
Participants share experiences with antisemitism
During Thursday’s exchanges, the mayors shared experiences and explored best practices and actionable strategies to combat antisemitism.
Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, who joined a CAM-led solidarity mission to Israel for U.S. mayors in June 2024, said it’s crucial that other local leaders be involved.
“We’re on the ground,” Paul said. “We’re the layer of government that’s closest to the people. When things happen in our communities, we’re the first line of defense, or first response.”
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Other city mayors participating in the forum included: Austell (Ollie Clemons), Duluth (Greg Whitlock), Dunwoody (Lynn Deutsch), Johns Creek (John Bradberry), Jonesboro (Donya Sartor), Palmetto (Theresa Thomas-Smith), Roswell (Mary Robichaux), Tucker (Anne Lerner), and Union City (Vince Williams).
“We’re absolutely delighted that we had so many mayors come to our roundtable,” Paul said. “It was a great and very valuable conversation, with a wide variety of mayors from different parts of the metro Atlanta area.”
The Sandy Springs gathering was the first in a series of regional follow-ups to the 2025 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans in December. Eight Georgia municipalities — Dunwoody, Forest Park, Hampton, Mableton, McDonough, Sandy Springs, Savannah, and Union City — were represented.
Colorado, Alabama, and New Mexico last year held similar regional follow-ups after the 2024 North American summit.
Mayors urged to speak out
Union City Mayor Vince Williams, a member of CAM’s Mayors Advisory Board, said it’s important that leaders speak about antisemitism and hate.
“We have people in our communities who are depending on us not to just lead, but to bring calm and solace to our communities and stop hate,” Williams said.
Thursday’s forum featured a presentation by CAM President of U.S. Affairs Alyza Lewin, who outlined the history of antisemitism and highlighted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism for delineating its modern-day iterations.
“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews,” the definition reads. “Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
Karen Isenberg Jones, executive director of the Georgia Solidarity Network, and Brian Davis, director of community security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and the Secure Community Network also spoke at the meeting.
To learn more about the IHRA, click here.