  We describe new JWST/NIRSpec observations of galaxies at $z\gtrsim7$ taken
from the CEERS survey. Previous observations of this area have revealed
associations of Ly$\alpha$ emitters at redshifts ($z=7.5$, $7.7$, $8.7$) where
the intergalactic medium (IGM) is thought to be mostly neutral, leading to
suggestions that these systems are situated in large ionized bubbles. We
identify 21 $z\gtrsim7$ galaxies with robust redshifts in the CEERS dataset,
including 10 in the Ly$\alpha$ associations. Their spectra are indicative of
very highly ionized and metal poor gas, with line ratios (O32 $=17.84$ and
Ne3O2 $=0.89$, linear scale) and metallicity ($12+\log{(\rm{O/H})}=7.84$) that
are rarely seen at lower redshifts. We find that the most extreme spectral
properties are found in the six $z\gtrsim7$ Ly$\alpha$ emitters in the sample.
Each has a hard ionizing spectrum indicating that their visibility is likely
enhanced by efficient ionizing photon production. Ly$\alpha$ velocity offsets
are found to be very large ($\gtrsim300$ km s$^{-1}$), likely also contributing
to their detectability. We find that Ly$\alpha$ in $z\gtrsim7$ galaxies is
$6-12\times$ weaker than in lower redshift samples with matched rest-optical
spectral properties. If the bubbles around the Ly$\alpha$ emitters are
relatively small ($\lesssim0.5-1$ pMpc), we may expect such significant
attenuation of Ly$\alpha$ in these ionized regions. We discuss several other
effects that may contribute to weaker Ly$\alpha$ emission at $z\gtrsim7$. Deep
spectroscopy of fainter galaxies in the vicinity of the Ly$\alpha$ emitters
will better characterize the physical scale of the ionized bubbles in this
field.
