A leader from JewishColumbus is criticizing Gahanna City Council for opting to not honor Jewish American Heritage Month with an official resolution.
At Gahanna City Council’s May 4 meeting, Mayor Laurie Jadwin presented a proclamation honoring May as Jewish American Heritage Month.
The council has often passed resolutions in tandem with mayoral proclamations. However this time, no joint resolution was proposed.
Several council members thought there should have been a council resolution and joined Jadwin for a photo celebrating the mayoral proclamation.
Three council members — President Trenton Weaver, Vice President Jamille Jones and Merisa Bowers — did not join the group photo in front of the city council dais. Instead, they remained in their seats.
The resident that approached the city to support Jewish American Heritage Month, John Handler, spoke immediately after the photo was taken. Handler said the decision by Weaver, Jones, and Bowers to decline to be in the photo felt insulting.
In a statement to WOSU, Jones said that city council members are not typically invited to participate in proclamation photos unless there is an accompanying resolution.
At the meeting, both Weaver and Bowers said the council’s decision was a matter of separating religion and government. Weaver said council consulted with Gahanna’s city attorney, who advised that passing a resolution like this would set a precedent.
“This resolution isn’t the one that concerns my heart,” Weaver said at the meeting. “What concerns me is what might come next.”
Weaver and Jones also mentioned a joint resolution and proclamation the Gahanna City Council passed in December 2025, which affirmed the dignity, safety and belonging of all residents.
JewishColumbus Board Chair Jonathan Feibel criticized the council’s decision in a May 15 newsletter. Feibel wrote that Jewish American Heritage Month is meant to celebrate the history, culture, contributions and resilience of Jewish Americans.
“[Jewish American Heritage Month] is also an opportunity to deepen understanding of Jewish identity itself,” he wrote. “Judaism is not only a faith, but also a peoplehood, a culture, a heritage, and a shared story carried across generations.”
In a statement to WOSU, Bowers wrote that she has nothing but respect for Feibel and the Jewish community. She added her position on a resolution comes from maintaining the principle that local government should not formally endorse particular religions through legislative action.
“Council has consistently declined requests for religion-based recognitions across traditions, and I believed it was important to apply that principle consistently here as well,” she wrote. “Public officials should be careful not to blur institutional lines in ways that create confusion about Council’s position or deepen division around sensitive issues.”
Weaver and Jones expressed similar sentiments in their statements to WOSU.