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A group of mayors from across the Atlanta area in Georgia gathered at Sandy Springs City Hall on Thursday for a collaborative dialogue organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) on cities-oriented strategies to tackle rising Jew-hatred.
The forum followed 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 — that underscored the need for local action.
Thursday’s event was hosted by the City of Sandy Springs and Mayor Rusty Paul, and the roundtable discussion was moderated by CAM Chief Government Affairs Officer Lisa Katz, who leads CAM’s municipal initiatives with North American mayors and is a former town supervisor of New Castle (New York).
In addition to the host, other cities participating in the closed-door forum included: Austell (Mayor Ollie Clemons), Duluth (Mayor Greg Whitlock), Dunwoody (Mayor Lynn Deutsch), Johns Creek (Mayor John Bradberry), Jonesboro (Mayor Donya Sartor), Palmetto (Mayor Theresa Thomas-Smith), Roswell (Mayor Mary Robichaux), Tucker (Mayor Anne Lerner), and Union City (Mayor Vince Williams).
The forum was the first in a series of regional follow-ups to the 2025 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans, Louisiana, in December, where eight Georgia municipalities — Dunwoody, Forest Park, Hampton, Mableton, McDonough, Sandy Springs, Savannah, and Union City — were represented.
During Thursday’s exchanges, the mayors shared experiences and explored best practices and actionable strategies to combat antisemitism.
“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.”
“In the fight against antisemitism, local leadership is not symbolic, it’s decisive,” Katz emphasized. “CAM is proud to stand with these mayors and looks forward to continuing this cooperative work to deliver real, measurable results for their communities.”
Mayor Paul said, “We’re absolutely delighted that we had so many mayors come to our roundtable. It was a great and very valuable conversation, with a wide variety of mayors from different parts of the metro Atlanta area.”
“It’s crucial that mayors be involved,” Mayor Paul — who joined a CAM-led solidarity mission to Israel for U.S. mayors in June 2024 — added “We’re on the ground. 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.”
Mayor Williams — a member of CAM’s Mayors Advisory Board — said, “Mayors have a platform that is unbelievable, and it’s important that we as leaders speak to this, because 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.”
Thursday’s forum featured a presentation by CAM President of U.S. Affairs Alyza Lewin outlining the history of antisemitism and highlighting the importance of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism for delineating its modern-day iterations.
Additional speakers included Executive Director of the Georgia Solidarity Network Karen Isenberg Jones and Director of Community Security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and the Secure Community Network (SCN) Brian Davis.
For more information on CAM’s Mayors Program, including the Municipal Antisemitism Action Index, please visit: combatantisemitism.org/municipal-action-center
