Local Voices: News, Culture & Community
- Combat Antisemitism Movement forum L'Chaim! equips mayors with tools, networks, and knowledge to combat antisemitism and support Jewish life.
- Lisa Katz urged mayors to see the Jewish people as a rich, diverse community with an extraordinary story, not only a group needing protection.
- Savannah celebrated its nearly three centuries of Jewish history, highlighted by Congregation Mickve Israel, founded by Sephardic immigrants in 1733.
- Participating mayors showcased regional Jewish mayoral history and enjoyed cultural stories, including Gottlieb's Bakery where the first commercial Girl Scout cookies were baked in 1936.
At Wednesday’s opening dinner, CAM Chief Government Affairs Officer Lisa Katz said, “We spend a lot of time asking mayors to protect their Jewish communities. To stand against antisemitism. To issue proclamations and adopt definitions and show up when things get hard. And that work matters enormously, especially now, when antisemitism is at record levels and Jewish communities are afraid.”
“But tonight,” she added, “we are doing something different. Tonight, and tomorrow, we want you to understand who the Jewish people actually are. Not just as a community that needs protection, but as a people with an extraordinary story, a rich and diverse identity, and a legacy woven into the very fabric of this country and your cities.”
Savannah was chosen for the event due to its rich Jewish history dating back nearly three centuries. The city is home to one of the oldest active synagogues in the United States, Congregation Mickve Israel, founded by Sephardic Jewish immigrants in 1733.
Addressing the forum on Thursday, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson noted, “Savannah was founded in February 1733, and Jews came in July. As long as Savannah has been here, we’ve had Jewish folks, and we’ve been able not only to co-exist but also be better because of each other.”
“Let’s be very, very clear — extremism and hate are bad, no matter who it is occurring to,” he added. “Certainly being an African American, I understand what hate is all about. It is important to us as people of good will to ensure that no one is ever exposed to hate, and that our young people are taught tolerance and respect. We have to be able to show that example.”
“By standing up for our Jewish brothers and sisters, we’re also standing up for ourselves,” Mayor Johnson, who attended CAM’s 2025 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans last December, emphasized. “We’re saying enough is enough.”
A highlight of the forum were presentations by five participating mayors — Ora Stevens (Marianna, Arkansas), Jaylen Smith (Earle, Arkansas), Derrick Wood (Dumfries, Virginia), Sonja Brown (Glenn Heights, Texas), and Seth Salver (Bal Harbour, Florida) — historical Jewish mayors from their regions, including Fredrick Kramer of Little Rock, Arkansas, Walter Hertz Naftali Lemann of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, Henry Strauss of Alexandria, Virginia, Augustus Lewy of Temple, Texas, and Adolph and B. Irvin Greenhut of Pensacola, Florida.
The life of Savannah’s first Jewish mayor, Herman Myers, was also recognized in remarks by Luciana Spracher, director of the Savannah Municipal Archives.
Dumfries (Virginia) Mayor Derrick Wood addresses the “L’Chaim!” mayoral forum, in Savannah, Georgia, April 29, 2026. Photo: Becky Smith Flaxer.
The mayors were treated to the famous chocolate chewies from Gottlieb’s Bakery and heard the story of the iconic Savannah Jewish kosher institution — where the the first commercially-baked Girl Scout cookies were produced in 1936 — by Ava Gottlieb, the bakery’s manager for more than five decades, and Jerald Gottlieb, great-grandson of founders Isador and Jenny Gottlieb.
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