June 21, 2024 • 32 mins
Join us for a compelling conversation with Jacob Solomon, the soon-to-retire president and CEO of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. In this episode, Jacob reflects on his upbringing in a close-knit Jewish community and the insights he gained from contrasting individualistic Eastern philosophies with the community-centric values of Judaism. You'll discover how these experiences shaped his life's work, driving profound impacts on Miami's Jewish community and beyond. Jacob's narrative is a testament to the power of finding one's true calling and making a lasting difference.
You'll also be inspired by the ongoing expansion of the Holocaust Memorial at Miami Beach, a pivotal site that is integrating cutting-edge interactive technology and survivor testimonies to educate future generations. In light of, not only history, but also current events, we see that hatred of any kind, like antisemitism, leads to horrible things. We discuss the critical role of Holocaust education in combating intolerance and the nuanced sensitivities surrounding terms like "Shoah" and "genocide." The episode concludes with a touching exchange, highlighting the deep bond between their communities and the power of interfaith friendships. This heartfelt dialogue underscores the shared commitment to supporting Israel and the Jewish community.
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Episode Transcript
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Announcer (00:02):
You're tuned in to Friends and Family, a God's Way
Radio exclusive where weintroduce you to some amazing
people.
In John, chapter 15, verse 15,jesus says I have called you
friends for all things that Iheard from my Father I have made
known to you.
That's our aim that God wouldbe made known to you.
Stay with us until the end ofour conversation for more
(00:22):
information on this program andother unique offerings from
God's Way Radio.
Joey (00:27):
Well, family, we have a very special guest with us today
.
He's with us via the phone, Sir.
Welcome, Mr Jacob Solomon.
Jacob (00:36):
Hi, pastor Joey, it's great to be with you.
Joey (00:38):
And we're so excited to get to know you a little bit,
and I know your heart is evenmore so to get to know the work
that the organization is doing,which we'll talk about, the
Holocaust Memorial in MiamiBeach and then even some of the
tougher things likeanti-Semitism, like what's going
(00:59):
on in the Jewish community inour town, in our community and
around the world.
So also, you know you want toget to know a little bit about
us and what we're doing overhere at God's Way Radio in
Calvary Chapel, miami.
So looking forward to it.
But, mr Solomon, if you wouldjust tell us a little bit about
yourself, your upbringing andhow you got to where you are
(01:23):
today.
Jacob (01:24):
Sure.
Well, first of all, you need tocall me Jacob, not Mr Solomon.
Joey (01:28):
Sounds good.
Jacob (01:29):
And I feel like I'm talking to neighbors.
I also live in the southernpart of town and it's wonderful
to connect with you and yourcommunity.
So I was born in Philadelphia,raised actually, though, in a
very small town in easternPennsylvania between Philly and
Harrisburg.
My dad was a country doctor andwent to University of
(01:53):
Pennsylvania.
My first graduate degreeactually was in Oriental Studies
East Asian Studies, as it'sknown now Chinese philosophy and
comparative religions NowChinese philosophy and
comparative religions.
Worked for a while in thatfield and then had the calling
and found out about the JewishFederation system, which is a
(02:13):
really remarkable voluntarysystem of organizations.
Throughout North America,pretty much wherever there's a
Jewish community, there's aJewish federation.
That organizes efforts, itraises money, it funds
educational and social welfareorganizations and, of course,
collectively we work for thebetterment of the Jewish
(02:34):
communities in Israel and aroundthe world.
So I kind of fell into it byaccident and it's been a calling
and I've been with theFederation now for wrapping up
my 43rd year and I'm just aboutto retire.
So it's great to connect andthanks for your interest.
Joey (02:52):
We got you just in time, just before you retire.
How soon?
I mean within the year or acouple years.
Jacob (03:00):
Well, don't hold on to your chair.
Next Friday is my last day asthe president and CEO.
Joey (03:06):
Oh, wow.
Jacob (03:08):
It's the very end.
Joey (03:09):
This is incredible.
God's timing for sure.
Wow, wow, incredible, no doubt.
Well, that's incredible, youknow.
You say that you fell into it,but it's a calling you got to
give us some more details.
I mean, so much of life is likethat.
We look back and we realize itwas no accident.
Can you give us any moreinformation, a little bit of the
(03:30):
story of how you came to theJewish Federation?
Greater Miami Jewish Federation.
Jacob (03:39):
So I don't believe in coincidence or serendipity, but
I was in the field of East AsianStudies, I was working at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art and Iliked it.
I liked it well enough.
But my focus in Asian Studieswas actually in Chinese Buddhism
(03:59):
and a religion called Taoismand a religion called Taoism and
those are very, very beautifulphilosophical traditions but
very different than the way Iwas raised in a very close-knit,
almost family Jewish communityin the little town where I'm
from and the Jewish community isvery sticky.
(04:22):
It's very closely connected,high emotions, high attachment,
high degrees of association.
And these East Asian traditionswhich I was drawn to are rather
solitary, they're notcommunity-based.
Generally speaking, they'revery much about individual
salvation and the Jewishcommunity and the way I was
(04:43):
raised it was all aboutcommunity.
It was all about you know howthe tribe does as a whole and I
felt that misalignment a littlebit.
And then I learned about theFederation system and I went
back to school, got a degree incommunity social work and my
first job out of school was inMiami.
(05:04):
I trained in the PhiladelphiaFederation and the New York
Federation, but my first job washere in 1981.
So it's been a blessed journey.
Not too many people have thechance to start at the very,
very bottom, the entry level,and then work our way up to
being the exec.
And I was able to do thatwithout moving my family around
(05:25):
the country.
It's been a real blessing.
Joey (05:28):
Amazing, amazing.
Thank you so much for that.
And again, you know we'll touchupon different aspects of it,
but I just want folks to know ifthey want to see you know at
their own pace and just diveinto the Federation.
The website I have here isjewishmiamiorg jewishmiamiorg,
(05:50):
and it's just tons ofinformation.
You know what's reallyinteresting?
We were getting a kick out ofit in the office.
On the first banner that pops upon the website you know the
picture banners is one of theguys from the church is in the
picture, from our church.
So I thought that was so neat.
Uh, yeah, yeah, one of thoseGod connections, the, um, the.
(06:13):
The heading over the banner is,uh, read federations 2023 to
2024 report to the communitiesright there in the picture.
So we we thought that was thatwas great.
So, um, yeah, you know, jacob,one of the reasons that we
really wanted to have you herefor an interview is because, man
, we love our Jewish brothersand sisters.
(06:34):
We pray for you guys.
We pray for Israel.
You know I can't speak forevery church, but here at our
church we're concerned withwhat's going on in Israel.
We want to support the Jewishcommunity.
So that you know, as far asgetting to know us and you know
some of the background.
That's why you know, we want toknow what's going on.
(06:54):
We want to know how to supportand, for lack of a better term
combat anti-Semitism, do what wecan to keep it at bay and to
get it out of here.
I mean, that's really my heartand I know a lot of you know.
I know a lot of the church atlarge.
I know the leadership of thechurch shares the sentiment, so
(07:16):
that's definitely a big part ofwanting to have you on the radio
.
Jacob (07:22):
I really appreciate that expression of friendship.
You know, it's such a painfultime for the Jewish people.
Pastor, what's going on inIsrael is just heartbreaking.
It's the only situation that Ican ever remember.
I'm a student of history and Idon't ever remember another
(07:46):
situation where a country getsattacked and then gets blamed
for trying to win the war.
It's terribly confusing to me,and I know that I'm not being
callous in any way orheartbroken for any innocent
(08:06):
people who get caught in thecrossfire.
But the leadership of Hamas hasexplicitly made it clear that
for them, every civilian deathin Gaza is a win.
For them.
They know that, which is whythey hide their rockets under
hospitals and schools andmosques.
That's why the terrororganizations use human shields,
(08:29):
because they know that forIsrael to fight a defensive,
existential war against theseterrorists they're going to have
to kill innocents, becauseHamas is hiding behind them.
It is it's it's terriblyconfusing and deeply painful
(08:57):
that so many people in the worldare not, are not seeing, you
know, lost track of good andevil and right and wrong, and
civilization and barbarism.
And it's some of it.
Some of it, I guess, you know,is just sympathy for innocent
people, which I certainlyunderstand, is just sympathy for
innocent people, which Icertainly understand, but I got
to believe that some of it iswillful.
Ignorance, is hatred, andthat's where it kind of morphs
into anti-Semitism.
Joey (09:12):
Yeah, yeah, you know I want to delve into this a little
bit deeper Again, as much asyou would like, or if you would
defer any question or comment.
You have that freedom totally.
But you know, I'm thinking ofwho this might get to, who might
hear this, and again, ourprimary audience is going to be
people that are supportive,people that are, you know, of
(09:36):
our same thought.
But if somebody were to hearthis and again I'm just thinking
what I've seen online and Idon't, you know, I don't veer
away from these kind ofquestions and topics.
So here we go.
You know somebody that would beone of these folks that they're
yelling out free Palestine.
You know they're totallyopposed, they have a totally
different worldview.
If you could speak to them atthis moment, if they get a copy
of this, what would you say tothem?
Jacob (09:58):
I'd say oh, my dear friend, please, please, think
about what you're saying.
Dear friend, please think aboutwhat you're saying.
Look at the facts on the ground, Look at the reality.
And it's not a matter ofopinion.
The United Nations created theState of Israel, accepted it as
(10:19):
a legitimate world nation in1947, and the state was created
in 1948.
In 1947, and the state wascreated in 1948.
When you say free Palestine,what does that mean?
When people chant from theriver to the sea, do you even
know what river it is and whatsea it is?
Because Palestine from theriver to the sea means from the
Jordan River to theMediterranean Sea.
That means no Israel.
(10:40):
So do you really want to callfor the eradication of the one
and only Jewish state in theworld, the one place where Jews
can go?
And history teaches us that weneed a safe haven?
If Israel had existed in 1938,six million Jews would not have
(11:07):
been slaughtered, we would havehad a place to go and not a
single country, including theUnited States, which I love
dearly, was open to us, and welost a full third of our people.
There were 18 million Jews inthe world in 1935, in 1945,
there were fewer than 12 million.
(11:28):
So the existence of the State ofIsrael is an existential
necessity for the Jewish people,and it's not something that's
trivial.
You know the reason that Israelhas to fight in that very
challenging, difficultneighborhood, surrounded by
people who have explicitly saidthey want to destroy the Jewish
(11:50):
state.
Iran says it all the time we'regoing to wipe Israel off the
map, we're going to push theJews into the sea.
Hamas's charter, theirorganizational charter, calls
for killing Jews, eradicatingthe state of Israel.
So these are not people who aresubtle about their intention,
and if World War II taught usanything, it's when people say
(12:12):
they want to destroy you, youbetter believe them.
And so Israel has a nearlyimpossible task, which is to
appeal to people in the West andalso to maintain security
against very, very, very hostileneighbors.
(12:33):
So right now you have Iransending armed aerial bombs and
drones from Iran, as they didthe other week.
You have Hezbollah rainingscores and hundreds of missiles
down on northern Israel, and youhave a terror group.
By the way, hezbollah inLebanon and Hamas have both been
(12:53):
defined as terror groups by theUnited States of America and by
Europe.
So it's not as if the Westernworld doesn't understand who
these people are, but we're notthe ones living in Israel and
Israel.
It's not like having neighborslike Mexico or Canada.
These are people who want todestroy the Jewish state and in
(13:18):
that neighborhood you need to betough, you need to be resilient
and you need to be strong.
You need to be resilient andyou need to be strong.
Joey (13:24):
I can't thank you enough for sharing all that.
I'm so glad I did bring it upbecause, again, you mentioned
knowing the facts.
I mean so much of what you saidit's not an opinion, it's not.
You know well, jewish folksfeel this way and Christians
feel this way, and these people,no, these are man.
You have United Nations, youhave recognition, you have
(13:44):
classifications, terrororganizations.
I mean, it's just, it's oneplus two equals three, in a
sense and it's needed to get outthere.
Jacob (13:57):
You know the other thing I would say, yes, yes, I want to
add one thing, pastor, and thatis this is not just about
Israel or about the Jews.
If you look at the messagingthat's been on during the campus
protests that we saw toward theend of the spring semester and
(14:19):
I reckon they're going to pop upagain come September I'm not
saying all of them, but so manyof them are it's not about
Israel, it's about Jews.
You know.
They're saying kill all theZionists.
And worse than that and this isthe thing that I guess I want to
underscore for your communityis that so much of this is
(14:40):
anti-American.
You know, it's when Iran.
It's like the little Satan isIsrael, the big Satan is the
United States.
These are enemies of the UnitedStates, these are enemies of
America, and they also areJew-haters and anti-Zionists.
But there's a line that I oftenuse in my public speaking, and
(15:02):
that is what begins with theJews doesn't end with the Jews,
and hatred begets hatred andbigotry begets bigotry.
And it may start with Jewhatred, but it doesn't end there
.
Joey (15:15):
Yeah, well, you look at again World War II and the
regime there in Germany, and itwas not just Jews, it was mostly
mainly, you know you look atthe numbers, but it was at some
point right bringing it backhome to our Christian audience.
At some point it was evenChristians that didn't join the
(15:36):
state church that opposed Hitlerat all.
You're an enemy of the statenow, you know.
And so many minorities, uh, inthe, in the holocaust, um, so,
uh, thank you, thank you foradding that and and I always,
I'm always uh, hypercritical ofof everything, and myself even,
and I'm realizing, oh, I, I, Isaid something.
(15:57):
I said, true, when you saidsomething.
I said, true, not agreeing witha statement of Iran, but true,
I have heard that, somethingthat they said, I said oh my
goodness, there was no doubt.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, for everyone elselistening, I caught myself.
Jacob (16:13):
I don't think anyone had any doubt.
Joey (16:15):
Good, good, so thank you, thank you.
And talking about that, I wantto make the connection because I
think this is just mepersonally.
I think there's a gem in ourcommunity it happens to be in
Miami Beach that if people don'tknow about it or if they
haven't visited it, they aretruly missing out.
You know your kids should go,your family should go.
(16:36):
This is important, Talkingabout being a student of history
the Holocaust Memorial at MiamiBeach.
Please tell us all about it,how it started, when it started,
what's going on there today andwhat we can look forward to.
Jacob (16:56):
Nice.
Thanks for the question.
Yeah, it is a gem, not just forthe Jewish community, but it's
among the most visited sites onMiami Beach as far as if you go
on TripAdvisor, it's always inthe top 10.
And tourists coming toMiami-Dade often seek it out.
It's an imposing, very, verypowerful memorial to the
murdered six million of theHolocaust.
(17:19):
It was founded about 30 yearsago and the founders, a group of
about eight or nine individuals, took it upon themselves to
negotiate a long-term lease withthe city and they raised the
(17:53):
money to build.
It's hard to describe, I don'tthink I'll try, but it's, like I
said, an imposing and very,very powerful memorial.
On 17th, children andgrandchildren of survivors, who
are available to take peoplearound to tour.
There's a series of panels thatdescribes in brief terms the
history of the Holocaust, butit's mostly a piece of art in
(18:20):
real terms and it comprises acouple full city blocks.
What's really interesting andexciting is that we are actually
under construction right nowfor a major expansion of the
memorial.
We're creating an educationalcenter.
It'll be done in about a yearand essentially it's going to
(18:45):
house two theaters in whichindividuals, students we hope by
the tens of thousands will comeand using digital technology
and artificial intelligence,language and what's called
dimensions and testimony alicensed agreement with the
(19:07):
Shoah Foundation individuals canactually interact with
holographic-type Holocaustsurvivors and they sit there and
you can ask them any questionthat you want.
You can ask them about theirlife before the war.
You can ask them what questionthat you want.
You can ask them about theirlife before the war.
You can ask them what happenedduring the war.
You can ask them what happenedabout their life subsequent to
(19:28):
the war, how they survived,stories of who their parents
were, their children, the peoplethey lost, and you can actually
have a discussion, and therewill be multiple.
I think there are 35 differentinstallations, so 35 different
survivors will be talking togroups.
(19:48):
What we know to be true, pastor, and I think it's an
interesting point, not just foranti-Semitism, but all kinds of
hatred and bigotry, and we'reseeing so much of it in the
world today.
But if you can get to peoplewhen they're young and you can
show them and demonstrate in apowerful way the effect of
(20:10):
unchecked hatred and bigotry andintolerance, it essentially has
the effect of inoculating themagainst hatred of all kinds,
whether it's based on race orsexual orientation or identity
on race or sexual orientation oridentity creed.
It doesn't matter Once someoneis sensitized to the effect of
(20:31):
hatred.
Like I said, it inoculates themfor life, and so our hope is to
take tens of thousands ofstudents through the education
center every year.
I would love for every Jewishstudent, or every non-Jewish
student and Jewish student inMiami-Dade, to experience this
at least once.
It's really going to be aremarkable addition, not just
(20:53):
for the Jewish community, butfor the overall community as
well.
Yeah.
Joey (21:01):
You know I really on to what you said there if you're
sensitized because so much ofour world is desensitized, uh,
sadly, you know, I mean violenceis on the, on the screens, uh,
whatever violence, sexualimmorality, hatred, I mean
things that are just saturatingour culture and desensitizing us
(21:22):
and man, to be sensitized againto what the, as you said, what
hatred could do, what hatredleads to.
You know, and again for ouraudience, you know that are
believers I mean we see this inScripture.
You know it starts in the heartbut it leads to murder.
I mean throughout scripture,the Hebrew Bible, the teachings
(21:46):
of Jesus, that is the ethic,that is the teaching that it
starts small but it leads todeath.
So, so grateful for that.
You know you mentionedsomething and as a student
myself, I would love to sharethis with anyone listening that
it would be new information forthem.
The Shoah you know thecatastrophe.
(22:08):
Could you share a little bitabout that?
You know that term, and justgive a little bit of information
for our audience.
Jacob (22:18):
About the Holocaust Pastor.
Joey (22:20):
Well, specifically when they hear that term Shoah, most
people know it as the Holocaust,but this might be a new term
for some folks.
Jacob (22:29):
Right.
So Shoah is just the Hebrewword for Holocaust and it's a
term.
There's a sensitivity in theJewish community about the words
Holocaust or genocide.
There's a kind of moralinversion.
(22:49):
When people accuse Israel ofgenocide in the Gaza War, you
know, we kind of look at eachother and say, really, I mean,
like we know about genocide,genocide is the identification
of a particular race orethnicity or kind of individual
(23:09):
and a desire to wipe all of themout.
And I think Israel with itsmilitary might, if they wanted
to commit genocide which ofcourse they don't and never
would they have the ability todo it in about 10 minutes.
So to accuse the Jewish nationof genocide has a really twisted
kind of cynical moral inversionwhich is highly offensive.
(23:31):
There are different words forit, but essentially the Shoah is
intended to describe veryspecifically the murder of the
six million men, women andchildren, that this included one
and a half million children.
Well, you know, if you stop andthink about what, what one half
(23:54):
million, anything looks likeand then imagine innocent babies
and children, you know, killedat the hands of the Nazis, it
just you know, it gives you asense and there's a particular
sensitivity in the Jewishcommunity to the Holocaust.
I mean, clearly we still haveHolocaust survivors alive.
(24:16):
I'm blessed to be married to awoman, both of whose parents
were in Auschwitz, wereHolocaust survivors.
My father-in-law, thank God, isstill alive, and so he's
watching, you know, he'swatching CNN and he's looking at
the Jew hatred that's beingmade manifest not just in the
Middle East but around oncollege campuses.
(24:38):
And he looks at me and he saysI don't understand how can this
be happening again?
You know, how is it possible?
You know?
So it's really.
It's not just learning historyfor history's sake, it's really
learning history to learn sothat we don't have to repeat it.
I think you know you said at thevery beginning about the
(25:03):
friendship and the allyship thatwe have from so many wonderful
people in our community andbeyond.
You know some of it is, youknow, when I talk to my
(25:24):
non-Jewish friends or associates.
Some of it is that they're justreally good people and they see
they have a clear-eyed view ofwhat's good and what's bad.
Um, but part of it is also theyrecognize that if we want to
live in a society which protectseveryone, then then there can't
be everyone except for thesepeople, or except for those
people.
You know the, the um, you knowit has.
It has to be.
It has to be everyone.
And I think people get it.
(25:48):
I'm sure your listeners haveheard it, but it's worth
repeating the the very, verypowerful quotation from Martin
Niemöller.
It's the one that starts firstthey came for the socialists and
I didn't speak out because Iwasn't a socialist.
Then they came for the tradeunionists and I didn't speak out
(26:10):
because I wasn't a tradeunionist.
Then they came for the Jews Ididn't speak out because I
wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me and therewas no one left to speak for me
.
Wow, you know.
And so that from a pastor ofthe day.
You know he understood.
You know that this is about themoral corruption of a society.
(26:34):
So when good people don't doanything, it allows evil to
exist.
There's always going to be evilin the world.
We know that from Scripture.
The question is how do goodpeople respond to it?
And when we teach Holocausteducation, we don't use the word
(26:54):
bystander anymore.
You can't just be a bystander,you need to be an upstander, you
need to take action and speakout.
Joey (27:02):
Well, jacob, I mean, that's the perfect segue.
What can we do?
What can our listeners do?
And I say this just to try topaint the picture.
I mean, I'm a verydetail-oriented guy sometimes,
you know.
So do we make a sign?
Do we stand on a specificcorner?
Do we sign up for a class?
I mean, I'm serious, what canour listeners do effectively,
(27:22):
immediately, to support, tocombat?
I mean, this is where I'mleaning on your expertise.
What can you share with us?
Jacob (27:44):
So actually, sometimes huge acts of heroism just
comprise lots of little acts ofdecency and sometimes it's just
like speaking out.
You know, sometimes, you knowright now, if you go on Reddit
(28:05):
or TikTok or any of the socialmedia platforms and you put in,
just type in Israel, and youwill see a flood of the most
disgusting, anti-semitic,virulent, hateful rhetoric
coming back and it'll besomething like for every one
person who's supporting Israel'sright to defend itself, there
(28:25):
are going to be 10 who sayapartheid and genocide and it's
just terrifying.
So one thing is for people whoare explicitly not Jewish to say
, hey, wait a minute, that's notthe way I'm seeing it.
You know, that sounds likehatred to me.
That doesn't sound like history, you know, like.
So I think, just being informed,and there's so many easy ways
(28:49):
to get educated on the facts.
So just to be informed and justto not say, oh well, that guy's
a you know, a whack job and I'mjust going to ignore him, and
not say, oh well, that guy's awhack job and I'm just going to
ignore him.
You know, for me, as the execof the Jewish Federation, to say
something like that's not goingto carry a lot of water,
because they expect that from me.
But for you, pastor Joey, orfor people who are part of your
(29:17):
flock, you know it is meaningful.
The second thing I would say isyou know, like on October 7th
or on October 8th, after thehorrific, brutal, disgusting,
animalistic, sadistic attack Idon't even know, there aren't
enough words to describe whatHamas did to the—and they were
targeting innocent people.
I could count on one hand thenumber of people, not of the
(29:40):
Jewish faith, who picked up thephone or sent me an email.
You know so I think Jews.
You know we need friends.
I don't want to sound desperateabout it, but we reach out to
all kinds of communities and theresponse was really
(30:02):
disheartening.
On the other hand, inMiami-Dade County we have the
municipalities.
You and I chatted the other dayabout law enforcement.
Law enforcement in Miami-Dade,the municipal ones, the county
ones, state.
They've been spectacular.
Every time there's an issue ofanti-Semitism or vandalism they
(30:25):
are right there for us.
Joey (30:27):
Which those are not few and far between.
Just this week, you weretelling me there was an act of
vandalism in the city of Miami.
Jacob (30:34):
Right right.
Joey (30:37):
And when you say act of vandalism, you're not many times
you're not saying oh, you knowthey broke a window.
No, they're writing hateful,evil things on people's windows.
Jacob (30:50):
And in this case it was a desecration of an
American-Israeli flag, which isjust terrible with red spray
paint.
I need to wrap up, pastor.
Joey (31:03):
Yes, yes.
Jacob (31:05):
I just want to close by thanking you and your church and
all the people who associatewith you for your friendship.
When you started out by sayingthat you support Israel, that
you pray for Israel, that youview yourselves as being
upstanders on behalf of theJewish people, I want you to
(31:25):
know that that expression offriendship is extremely
meaningful to me and deeply,deeply appreciated by the entire
Jewish community.
So I really want to thank youand your community from the
bottom of my heart for yourfriendship.
It's a real blessing and wedon't take it for granted.
Joey (31:39):
Well, that means a lot to us as well, and we wish you the
best in your next season ofretirement.
And who knows, maybe even speakwith you again soon about
whatever God has you doing next.
Jacob (31:51):
God bless you.
Thank you, pastor Joe.
God bless you, god bless.
Announcer (31:55):
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you get a chance to hear whatGod is doing in people's lives.
Jesus tells us in John 15,verse 15, I have called you
friends For all things that Iheard from my Father I have made
known to you.
So that's why we love to sharethese exclusive interviews with
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Our hope is that through theirstories God will be made known
(32:18):
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Just check godswayradiocom forour full program schedule.
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In John, chapter 15, verse 15,jesus says I have called you
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(00:22):
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Joey (00:27):
Well, family, we have a very special guest with us today
.
He's with us via the phone, Sir.
Welcome, Mr Jacob Solomon.
Jacob (00:36):
Hi, pastor Joey, it's great to be with you.
Joey (00:38):
And we're so excited to get to know you a little bit,
and I know your heart is evenmore so to get to know the work
that the organization is doing,which we'll talk about, the
Holocaust Memorial in MiamiBeach and then even some of the
tougher things likeanti-Semitism, like what's going
(00:59):
on in the Jewish community inour town, in our community and
around the world.
So also, you know you want toget to know a little bit about
us and what we're doing overhere at God's Way Radio in
Calvary Chapel, miami.
So looking forward to it.
But, mr Solomon, if you wouldjust tell us a little bit about
yourself, your upbringing andhow you got to where you are
(01:23):
today.
Jacob (01:24):
Sure.
Well, first of all, you need tocall me Jacob, not Mr Solomon.
Joey (01:28):
Sounds good.
Jacob (01:29):
And I feel like I'm talking to neighbors.
I also live in the southernpart of town and it's wonderful
to connect with you and yourcommunity.
So I was born in Philadelphia,raised actually, though, in a
very small town in easternPennsylvania between Philly and
Harrisburg.
My dad was a country doctor andwent to University of
(01:53):
Pennsylvania.
My first graduate degreeactually was in Oriental Studies
East Asian Studies, as it'sknown now Chinese philosophy and
comparative religions NowChinese philosophy and
comparative religions.
Worked for a while in thatfield and then had the calling
and found out about the JewishFederation system, which is a
(02:13):
really remarkable voluntarysystem of organizations.
Throughout North America,pretty much wherever there's a
Jewish community, there's aJewish federation.
That organizes efforts, itraises money, it funds
educational and social welfareorganizations and, of course,
collectively we work for thebetterment of the Jewish
(02:34):
communities in Israel and aroundthe world.
So I kind of fell into it byaccident and it's been a calling
and I've been with theFederation now for wrapping up
my 43rd year and I'm just aboutto retire.
So it's great to connect andthanks for your interest.
Joey (02:52):
We got you just in time, just before you retire.
How soon?
I mean within the year or acouple years.
Jacob (03:00):
Well, don't hold on to your chair.
Next Friday is my last day asthe president and CEO.
Joey (03:06):
Oh, wow.
Jacob (03:08):
It's the very end.
Joey (03:09):
This is incredible.
God's timing for sure.
Wow, wow, incredible, no doubt.
Well, that's incredible, youknow.
You say that you fell into it,but it's a calling you got to
give us some more details.
I mean, so much of life is likethat.
We look back and we realize itwas no accident.
Can you give us any moreinformation, a little bit of the
(03:30):
story of how you came to theJewish Federation?
Greater Miami Jewish Federation.
Jacob (03:39):
So I don't believe in coincidence or serendipity, but
I was in the field of East AsianStudies, I was working at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art and Iliked it.
I liked it well enough.
But my focus in Asian Studieswas actually in Chinese Buddhism
(03:59):
and a religion called Taoismand a religion called Taoism and
those are very, very beautifulphilosophical traditions but
very different than the way Iwas raised in a very close-knit,
almost family Jewish communityin the little town where I'm
from and the Jewish community isvery sticky.
(04:22):
It's very closely connected,high emotions, high attachment,
high degrees of association.
And these East Asian traditionswhich I was drawn to are rather
solitary, they're notcommunity-based.
Generally speaking, they'revery much about individual
salvation and the Jewishcommunity and the way I was
(04:43):
raised it was all aboutcommunity.
It was all about you know howthe tribe does as a whole and I
felt that misalignment a littlebit.
And then I learned about theFederation system and I went
back to school, got a degree incommunity social work and my
first job out of school was inMiami.
(05:04):
I trained in the PhiladelphiaFederation and the New York
Federation, but my first job washere in 1981.
So it's been a blessed journey.
Not too many people have thechance to start at the very,
very bottom, the entry level,and then work our way up to
being the exec.
And I was able to do thatwithout moving my family around
(05:25):
the country.
It's been a real blessing.
Joey (05:28):
Amazing, amazing.
Thank you so much for that.
And again, you know we'll touchupon different aspects of it,
but I just want folks to know ifthey want to see you know at
their own pace and just diveinto the Federation.
The website I have here isjewishmiamiorg jewishmiamiorg,
(05:50):
and it's just tons ofinformation.
You know what's reallyinteresting?
We were getting a kick out ofit in the office.
On the first banner that pops upon the website you know the
picture banners is one of theguys from the church is in the
picture, from our church.
So I thought that was so neat.
Uh, yeah, yeah, one of thoseGod connections, the, um, the.
(06:13):
The heading over the banner is,uh, read federations 2023 to
2024 report to the communitiesright there in the picture.
So we we thought that was thatwas great.
So, um, yeah, you know, jacob,one of the reasons that we
really wanted to have you herefor an interview is because, man
, we love our Jewish brothersand sisters.
(06:34):
We pray for you guys.
We pray for Israel.
You know I can't speak forevery church, but here at our
church we're concerned withwhat's going on in Israel.
We want to support the Jewishcommunity.
So that you know, as far asgetting to know us and you know
some of the background.
That's why you know, we want toknow what's going on.
(06:54):
We want to know how to supportand, for lack of a better term
combat anti-Semitism, do what wecan to keep it at bay and to
get it out of here.
I mean, that's really my heartand I know a lot of you know.
I know a lot of the church atlarge.
I know the leadership of thechurch shares the sentiment, so
(07:16):
that's definitely a big part ofwanting to have you on the radio
.
Jacob (07:22):
I really appreciate that expression of friendship.
You know, it's such a painfultime for the Jewish people.
Pastor, what's going on inIsrael is just heartbreaking.
It's the only situation that Ican ever remember.
I'm a student of history and Idon't ever remember another
(07:46):
situation where a country getsattacked and then gets blamed
for trying to win the war.
It's terribly confusing to me,and I know that I'm not being
callous in any way orheartbroken for any innocent
(08:06):
people who get caught in thecrossfire.
But the leadership of Hamas hasexplicitly made it clear that
for them, every civilian deathin Gaza is a win.
For them.
They know that, which is whythey hide their rockets under
hospitals and schools andmosques.
That's why the terrororganizations use human shields,
(08:29):
because they know that forIsrael to fight a defensive,
existential war against theseterrorists they're going to have
to kill innocents, becauseHamas is hiding behind them.
It is it's it's terriblyconfusing and deeply painful
(08:57):
that so many people in the worldare not, are not seeing, you
know, lost track of good andevil and right and wrong, and
civilization and barbarism.
And it's some of it.
Some of it, I guess, you know,is just sympathy for innocent
people, which I certainlyunderstand, is just sympathy for
innocent people, which Icertainly understand, but I got
to believe that some of it iswillful.
Ignorance, is hatred, andthat's where it kind of morphs
into anti-Semitism.
Joey (09:12):
Yeah, yeah, you know I want to delve into this a little
bit deeper Again, as much asyou would like, or if you would
defer any question or comment.
You have that freedom totally.
But you know, I'm thinking ofwho this might get to, who might
hear this, and again, ourprimary audience is going to be
people that are supportive,people that are, you know, of
(09:36):
our same thought.
But if somebody were to hearthis and again I'm just thinking
what I've seen online and Idon't, you know, I don't veer
away from these kind ofquestions and topics.
So here we go.
You know somebody that would beone of these folks that they're
yelling out free Palestine.
You know they're totallyopposed, they have a totally
different worldview.
If you could speak to them atthis moment, if they get a copy
of this, what would you say tothem?
Jacob (09:58):
I'd say oh, my dear friend, please, please, think
about what you're saying.
Dear friend, please think aboutwhat you're saying.
Look at the facts on the ground, Look at the reality.
And it's not a matter ofopinion.
The United Nations created theState of Israel, accepted it as
(10:19):
a legitimate world nation in1947, and the state was created
in 1948.
In 1947, and the state wascreated in 1948.
When you say free Palestine,what does that mean?
When people chant from theriver to the sea, do you even
know what river it is and whatsea it is?
Because Palestine from theriver to the sea means from the
Jordan River to theMediterranean Sea.
That means no Israel.
(10:40):
So do you really want to callfor the eradication of the one
and only Jewish state in theworld, the one place where Jews
can go?
And history teaches us that weneed a safe haven?
If Israel had existed in 1938,six million Jews would not have
(11:07):
been slaughtered, we would havehad a place to go and not a
single country, including theUnited States, which I love
dearly, was open to us, and welost a full third of our people.
There were 18 million Jews inthe world in 1935, in 1945,
there were fewer than 12 million.
(11:28):
So the existence of the State ofIsrael is an existential
necessity for the Jewish people,and it's not something that's
trivial.
You know the reason that Israelhas to fight in that very
challenging, difficultneighborhood, surrounded by
people who have explicitly saidthey want to destroy the Jewish
(11:50):
state.
Iran says it all the time we'regoing to wipe Israel off the
map, we're going to push theJews into the sea.
Hamas's charter, theirorganizational charter, calls
for killing Jews, eradicatingthe state of Israel.
So these are not people who aresubtle about their intention,
and if World War II taught usanything, it's when people say
(12:12):
they want to destroy you, youbetter believe them.
And so Israel has a nearlyimpossible task, which is to
appeal to people in the West andalso to maintain security
against very, very, very hostileneighbors.
(12:33):
So right now you have Iransending armed aerial bombs and
drones from Iran, as they didthe other week.
You have Hezbollah rainingscores and hundreds of missiles
down on northern Israel, and youhave a terror group.
By the way, hezbollah inLebanon and Hamas have both been
(12:53):
defined as terror groups by theUnited States of America and by
Europe.
So it's not as if the Westernworld doesn't understand who
these people are, but we're notthe ones living in Israel and
Israel.
It's not like having neighborslike Mexico or Canada.
These are people who want todestroy the Jewish state and in
(13:18):
that neighborhood you need to betough, you need to be resilient
and you need to be strong.
You need to be resilient andyou need to be strong.
Joey (13:24):
I can't thank you enough for sharing all that.
I'm so glad I did bring it upbecause, again, you mentioned
knowing the facts.
I mean so much of what you saidit's not an opinion, it's not.
You know well, jewish folksfeel this way and Christians
feel this way, and these people,no, these are man.
You have United Nations, youhave recognition, you have
(13:44):
classifications, terrororganizations.
I mean, it's just, it's oneplus two equals three, in a
sense and it's needed to get outthere.
Jacob (13:57):
You know the other thing I would say, yes, yes, I want to
add one thing, pastor, and thatis this is not just about
Israel or about the Jews.
If you look at the messagingthat's been on during the campus
protests that we saw toward theend of the spring semester and
(14:19):
I reckon they're going to pop upagain come September I'm not
saying all of them, but so manyof them are it's not about
Israel, it's about Jews.
You know.
They're saying kill all theZionists.
And worse than that and this isthe thing that I guess I want to
underscore for your communityis that so much of this is
(14:40):
anti-American.
You know, it's when Iran.
It's like the little Satan isIsrael, the big Satan is the
United States.
These are enemies of the UnitedStates, these are enemies of
America, and they also areJew-haters and anti-Zionists.
But there's a line that I oftenuse in my public speaking, and
(15:02):
that is what begins with theJews doesn't end with the Jews,
and hatred begets hatred andbigotry begets bigotry.
And it may start with Jewhatred, but it doesn't end there
.
Joey (15:15):
Yeah, well, you look at again World War II and the
regime there in Germany, and itwas not just Jews, it was mostly
mainly, you know you look atthe numbers, but it was at some
point right bringing it backhome to our Christian audience.
At some point it was evenChristians that didn't join the
(15:36):
state church that opposed Hitlerat all.
You're an enemy of the statenow, you know.
And so many minorities, uh, inthe, in the holocaust, um, so,
uh, thank you, thank you foradding that and and I always,
I'm always uh, hypercritical ofof everything, and myself even,
and I'm realizing, oh, I, I, Isaid something.
(15:57):
I said, true, when you saidsomething.
I said, true, not agreeing witha statement of Iran, but true,
I have heard that, somethingthat they said, I said oh my
goodness, there was no doubt.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, for everyone elselistening, I caught myself.
Jacob (16:13):
I don't think anyone had any doubt.
Joey (16:15):
Good, good, so thank you, thank you.
And talking about that, I wantto make the connection because I
think this is just mepersonally.
I think there's a gem in ourcommunity it happens to be in
Miami Beach that if people don'tknow about it or if they
haven't visited it, they aretruly missing out.
You know your kids should go,your family should go.
(16:36):
This is important, Talkingabout being a student of history
the Holocaust Memorial at MiamiBeach.
Please tell us all about it,how it started, when it started,
what's going on there today andwhat we can look forward to.
Jacob (16:56):
Nice.
Thanks for the question.
Yeah, it is a gem, not just forthe Jewish community, but it's
among the most visited sites onMiami Beach as far as if you go
on TripAdvisor, it's always inthe top 10.
And tourists coming toMiami-Dade often seek it out.
It's an imposing, very, verypowerful memorial to the
murdered six million of theHolocaust.
(17:19):
It was founded about 30 yearsago and the founders, a group of
about eight or nine individuals, took it upon themselves to
negotiate a long-term lease withthe city and they raised the
(17:53):
money to build.
It's hard to describe, I don'tthink I'll try, but it's, like I
said, an imposing and very,very powerful memorial.
On 17th, children andgrandchildren of survivors, who
are available to take peoplearound to tour.
There's a series of panels thatdescribes in brief terms the
history of the Holocaust, butit's mostly a piece of art in
(18:20):
real terms and it comprises acouple full city blocks.
What's really interesting andexciting is that we are actually
under construction right nowfor a major expansion of the
memorial.
We're creating an educationalcenter.
It'll be done in about a yearand essentially it's going to
(18:45):
house two theaters in whichindividuals, students we hope by
the tens of thousands will comeand using digital technology
and artificial intelligence,language and what's called
dimensions and testimony alicensed agreement with the
(19:07):
Shoah Foundation individuals canactually interact with
holographic-type Holocaustsurvivors and they sit there and
you can ask them any questionthat you want.
You can ask them about theirlife before the war.
You can ask them what questionthat you want.
You can ask them about theirlife before the war.
You can ask them what happenedduring the war.
You can ask them what happenedabout their life subsequent to
(19:28):
the war, how they survived,stories of who their parents
were, their children, the peoplethey lost, and you can actually
have a discussion, and therewill be multiple.
I think there are 35 differentinstallations, so 35 different
survivors will be talking togroups.
(19:48):
What we know to be true, pastor, and I think it's an
interesting point, not just foranti-Semitism, but all kinds of
hatred and bigotry, and we'reseeing so much of it in the
world today.
But if you can get to peoplewhen they're young and you can
show them and demonstrate in apowerful way the effect of
(20:10):
unchecked hatred and bigotry andintolerance, it essentially has
the effect of inoculating themagainst hatred of all kinds,
whether it's based on race orsexual orientation or identity
on race or sexual orientation oridentity creed.
It doesn't matter Once someoneis sensitized to the effect of
(20:31):
hatred.
Like I said, it inoculates themfor life, and so our hope is to
take tens of thousands ofstudents through the education
center every year.
I would love for every Jewishstudent, or every non-Jewish
student and Jewish student inMiami-Dade, to experience this
at least once.
It's really going to be aremarkable addition, not just
(20:53):
for the Jewish community, butfor the overall community as
well.
Yeah.
Joey (21:01):
You know I really on to what you said there if you're
sensitized because so much ofour world is desensitized, uh,
sadly, you know, I mean violenceis on the, on the screens, uh,
whatever violence, sexualimmorality, hatred, I mean
things that are just saturatingour culture and desensitizing us
(21:22):
and man, to be sensitized againto what the, as you said, what
hatred could do, what hatredleads to.
You know, and again for ouraudience, you know that are
believers I mean we see this inScripture.
You know it starts in the heartbut it leads to murder.
I mean throughout scripture,the Hebrew Bible, the teachings
(21:46):
of Jesus, that is the ethic,that is the teaching that it
starts small but it leads todeath.
So, so grateful for that.
You know you mentionedsomething and as a student
myself, I would love to sharethis with anyone listening that
it would be new information forthem.
The Shoah you know thecatastrophe.
(22:08):
Could you share a little bitabout that?
You know that term, and justgive a little bit of information
for our audience.
Jacob (22:18):
About the Holocaust Pastor.
Joey (22:20):
Well, specifically when they hear that term Shoah, most
people know it as the Holocaust,but this might be a new term
for some folks.
Jacob (22:29):
Right.
So Shoah is just the Hebrewword for Holocaust and it's a
term.
There's a sensitivity in theJewish community about the words
Holocaust or genocide.
There's a kind of moralinversion.
(22:49):
When people accuse Israel ofgenocide in the Gaza War, you
know, we kind of look at eachother and say, really, I mean,
like we know about genocide,genocide is the identification
of a particular race orethnicity or kind of individual
(23:09):
and a desire to wipe all of themout.
And I think Israel with itsmilitary might, if they wanted
to commit genocide which ofcourse they don't and never
would they have the ability todo it in about 10 minutes.
So to accuse the Jewish nationof genocide has a really twisted
kind of cynical moral inversionwhich is highly offensive.
(23:31):
There are different words forit, but essentially the Shoah is
intended to describe veryspecifically the murder of the
six million men, women andchildren, that this included one
and a half million children.
Well, you know, if you stop andthink about what, what one half
(23:54):
million, anything looks likeand then imagine innocent babies
and children, you know, killedat the hands of the Nazis, it
just you know, it gives you asense and there's a particular
sensitivity in the Jewishcommunity to the Holocaust.
I mean, clearly we still haveHolocaust survivors alive.
(24:16):
I'm blessed to be married to awoman, both of whose parents
were in Auschwitz, wereHolocaust survivors.
My father-in-law, thank God, isstill alive, and so he's
watching, you know, he'swatching CNN and he's looking at
the Jew hatred that's beingmade manifest not just in the
Middle East but around oncollege campuses.
(24:38):
And he looks at me and he saysI don't understand how can this
be happening again?
You know, how is it possible?
You know?
So it's really.
It's not just learning historyfor history's sake, it's really
learning history to learn sothat we don't have to repeat it.
I think you know you said at thevery beginning about the
(25:03):
friendship and the allyship thatwe have from so many wonderful
people in our community andbeyond.
You know some of it is, youknow, when I talk to my
(25:24):
non-Jewish friends or associates.
Some of it is that they're justreally good people and they see
they have a clear-eyed view ofwhat's good and what's bad.
Um, but part of it is also theyrecognize that if we want to
live in a society which protectseveryone, then then there can't
be everyone except for thesepeople, or except for those
people.
You know the, the um, you knowit has.
It has to be.
It has to be everyone.
And I think people get it.
(25:48):
I'm sure your listeners haveheard it, but it's worth
repeating the the very, verypowerful quotation from Martin
Niemöller.
It's the one that starts firstthey came for the socialists and
I didn't speak out because Iwasn't a socialist.
Then they came for the tradeunionists and I didn't speak out
(26:10):
because I wasn't a tradeunionist.
Then they came for the Jews Ididn't speak out because I
wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me and therewas no one left to speak for me
.
Wow, you know.
And so that from a pastor ofthe day.
You know he understood.
You know that this is about themoral corruption of a society.
(26:34):
So when good people don't doanything, it allows evil to
exist.
There's always going to be evilin the world.
We know that from Scripture.
The question is how do goodpeople respond to it?
And when we teach Holocausteducation, we don't use the word
(26:54):
bystander anymore.
You can't just be a bystander,you need to be an upstander, you
need to take action and speakout.
Joey (27:02):
Well, jacob, I mean, that's the perfect segue.
What can we do?
What can our listeners do?
And I say this just to try topaint the picture.
I mean, I'm a verydetail-oriented guy sometimes,
you know.
So do we make a sign?
Do we stand on a specificcorner?
Do we sign up for a class?
I mean, I'm serious, what canour listeners do effectively,
(27:22):
immediately, to support, tocombat?
I mean, this is where I'mleaning on your expertise.
What can you share with us?
Jacob (27:44):
So actually, sometimes huge acts of heroism just
comprise lots of little acts ofdecency and sometimes it's just
like speaking out.
You know, sometimes, you knowright now, if you go on Reddit
(28:05):
or TikTok or any of the socialmedia platforms and you put in,
just type in Israel, and youwill see a flood of the most
disgusting, anti-semitic,virulent, hateful rhetoric
coming back and it'll besomething like for every one
person who's supporting Israel'sright to defend itself, there
(28:25):
are going to be 10 who sayapartheid and genocide and it's
just terrifying.
So one thing is for people whoare explicitly not Jewish to say
, hey, wait a minute, that's notthe way I'm seeing it.
You know, that sounds likehatred to me.
That doesn't sound like history, you know, like.
So I think, just being informed,and there's so many easy ways
(28:49):
to get educated on the facts.
So just to be informed and justto not say, oh well, that guy's
a you know, a whack job and I'mjust going to ignore him, and
not say, oh well, that guy's awhack job and I'm just going to
ignore him.
You know, for me, as the execof the Jewish Federation, to say
something like that's not goingto carry a lot of water,
because they expect that from me.
But for you, pastor Joey, orfor people who are part of your
(29:17):
flock, you know it is meaningful.
The second thing I would say isyou know, like on October 7th
or on October 8th, after thehorrific, brutal, disgusting,
animalistic, sadistic attack Idon't even know, there aren't
enough words to describe whatHamas did to the—and they were
targeting innocent people.
I could count on one hand thenumber of people, not of the
(29:40):
Jewish faith, who picked up thephone or sent me an email.
You know so I think Jews.
You know we need friends.
I don't want to sound desperateabout it, but we reach out to
all kinds of communities and theresponse was really
(30:02):
disheartening.
On the other hand, inMiami-Dade County we have the
municipalities.
You and I chatted the other dayabout law enforcement.
Law enforcement in Miami-Dade,the municipal ones, the county
ones, state.
They've been spectacular.
Every time there's an issue ofanti-Semitism or vandalism they
(30:25):
are right there for us.
Joey (30:27):
Which those are not few and far between.
Just this week, you weretelling me there was an act of
vandalism in the city of Miami.
Jacob (30:34):
Right right.
Joey (30:37):
And when you say act of vandalism, you're not many times
you're not saying oh, you knowthey broke a window.
No, they're writing hateful,evil things on people's windows.
Jacob (30:50):
And in this case it was a desecration of an
American-Israeli flag, which isjust terrible with red spray
paint.
I need to wrap up, pastor.
Joey (31:03):
Yes, yes.
Jacob (31:05):
I just want to close by thanking you and your church and
all the people who associatewith you for your friendship.
When you started out by sayingthat you support Israel, that
you pray for Israel, that youview yourselves as being
upstanders on behalf of theJewish people, I want you to
(31:25):
know that that expression offriendship is extremely
meaningful to me and deeply,deeply appreciated by the entire
Jewish community.
So I really want to thank youand your community from the
bottom of my heart for yourfriendship.
It's a real blessing and wedon't take it for granted.
Joey (31:39):
Well, that means a lot to us as well, and we wish you the
best in your next season ofretirement.
And who knows, maybe even speakwith you again soon about
whatever God has you doing next.
Jacob (31:51):
God bless you.
Thank you, pastor Joe.
God bless you, god bless.
Announcer (31:55):
We hope you enjoyed Friends and Family, unique
conversations recorded andproduced in our studios, where
you get a chance to hear whatGod is doing in people's lives.
Jesus tells us in John 15,verse 15, I have called you
friends For all things that Iheard from my Father I have made
known to you.
So that's why we love to sharethese exclusive interviews with
you.
Our hope is that through theirstories God will be made known
(32:18):
to you, but you can only findthem here on God's Way Radio.
Just check godswayradiocom forour full program schedule.
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