MIAMI (WSVN) - A well-known leader in South Florida’s Jewish community says he is ready to retire, and it comes in the midst of some challenging times.
Jacob Solomon, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, sat down with 7News on Thursday on reflect on his decades-long tenure.
“Being Jewish is a miracle. The fact that there are Jews anywhere in the world in 2023 is a miracle,” he said. “To me, it’s evidence of God’s existence. It is so improbable that a people would continue to flourish.”
But Solomon said the faith alone is not the sole driver of his tenure.
“We should try to emulate God in our behavior, and that means feeding the hungry and clothing the naked and sheltering the poor,” he said, “because those are all things that God did for us.”
Solomon joined the federation in 1981. In 2024, he will retire, wrapping up four decades as the group’s leader.
During his tenure, Solomon brought groups to Israel and organized a homecoming of expats to Cuba. He also spearheaded humanitarian relief to Ukraine and other parts of the world.
And, as he looks back, one place stands out: Surfside.
“That was among the most painful days of my life. It was searing, soul-searingly painful,” he said.
In the wake of the Champlain Towers South’s collapse, Solomon said, the federation raised nearly $4 million to help families get back on their feet.
“There were families that lost multiple members overnight, and the uncertainty of not knowing whether their relatives were alive or not, I like to think of Fred Rogers, who liked to say, ‘When you see a disaster and you ask where is God, God in the helpers,'” he said.
Solomon leaves the job as Florida and the nation have experienced an uptick in antisemitism: anti-Jewish flyers tossed in driveways, messages projected onto buildings.
“Antisemitism is the world’s oldest hatred, and it persists, and it’s a reality that we have to live with,” he said.
At the same time, Solomon said, the federation’s mission remains helping those who need it, Jewish or not.
“I’m not as proud of what we do as what we are, and what we are is the vehicle through which the members of our community can work together to accomplish amazing things,” he said.
Solomon said he plans to spend more time with his wife, his children and his grandchildren. He will remain on the job until June 2024, but a national search for his successor is already underway.
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