Karol Markowicz Show: Ashira Solomon: Black. Jewish. Bold.

Summary

Podcast Summary: Karol Markowitz Show – Ashira Solomon: Black. Jewish. Bold.

Release Date: June 4, 2025
Hosted by: iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of the Carol Markowitz Show, host Carol Markowitz sits down with Asherah Solomon, the dynamic host of the Black and Jewish podcast. The conversation delves deep into Asherah's mission to bridge the Black and Jewish communities, address rising antisemitism, and navigate personal and professional challenges.

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Bridging Black and Jewish Communities

Asherah Solomon explains the inspiration behind her podcast, emphasizing the importance of uniting two communities she identifies with:

“[00:04] Asherah Solomon: Black and Jewish, not because I'm a black Jew, but because I wanted to bridge both of these communities that I'm both a part of.”

She highlights the misconceptions each community holds about the other.

Misconceptions Faced:

• From the Jewish Community:
  Jews perceive the Black community as becoming deeply antisemitic. Asherah clarifies this isn’t rooted in hate but misinformation about Israel and Jewish people.

• From the Black Community:
  There's a prevalent myth that Jews are white colonizers in Israel, suppressing brown Palestinians. Asherah addresses this by fostering informed dialogue.

“[03:21] Asherah Solomon: I believe that what we see as anti Semitism in the black community is not from the hate of the Jewish person, but it's from being misinformed about Israel and about Jewish people.”

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Asherah’s Path into Media and Launching The Quad

Asherah recounts her journey into media, which began unexpectedly during a tumultuous period in Israel.

“[05:16] Asherah Solomon: She didn't even ask, do you want. And I just said, oh, my God, yes.”

Her mentor, Flor Hassan Nachom, proposed her as a co-host for a new show The Quad, akin to "The View" but focused on Jewish women in Israel. The show was slated to launch in November but faced an abrupt change due to the events of October 7th.

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First Episode During October 7 Attack

Shortly after October 7th attacks in Israel, Asherah was thrust into media coverage, alongside Flor Hassan and Emily Schrader. Their first episode tackled the immediate impact of the attack, highlighting the fear and resilience within the community.

“[07:28] Asherah Solomon: This is me, my first time in Israel, experiencing an attack. I've lived in Israel before, but never like an attack. And I'm shaken to my core.”

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Defining Hasbara and Its Importance

Carol inquires about Hasbara, a term often misunderstood by the general audience.

“[08:17] Asherah Solomon: Hasbara is defined as like the public relations, diplomacy department of explaining Israel to the international community.”

She emphasizes the neutral nature of the term, despite its negative connotations by some groups.

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Career Aspirations and Cultural Diplomacy

Asherah shares her initial ambitions to enter diplomacy, inspired by her time as a Bourne Fellow with the State Department. Although her path took a different turn, she still identifies as a cultural diplomat, striving to bridge communities through dialogue and representation.

“[09:44] Asherah Solomon: I still feel like that's why I call myself a cultural diplomat now, because I still feel like I'm bridging and showing each other, showing people, you know, each other's communities and stuff.”

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Being a Bridge and Representation

Discussing the challenges of being an intermediary between two communities, Asherah finds the role rewarding rather than burdensome due to her deep care for both the Black and Jewish communities.

“[12:13] Asherah Solomon: I find it rewarding because I care so much. I care so much about the Jewish people. I care so much about the black community.”

She strives to provide positive representation while addressing critical issues within each community.

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Personal Worries and Work-Life Balance

Asherah opens up about her personal fears, particularly the balance between career ambitions and building a family. She reflects on societal pressures and her rabbi's advice, which shifted her perspective towards prioritizing family without compromising her professional growth.

“[14:49] Asherah Solomon: What I worry about every night before I go to sleep is when am I going to get married and when am I going to create a family.”

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Advice to Her 16-Year-Old Self and Growing Up

Reflecting on her upbringing in California's Bay Area, Asherah emphasizes the importance of listening to her parents. She recognizes the value of their strictness in shaping her resilient and focused character.

“[17:33] Asherah Solomon: I would tell her to listen to your parents. Your parents are... they don’t want you to have a sucky social.”

She shares anecdotes about her childhood responsibilities and how her parents' guidance helped her avoid unnecessary hardships.

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Self-Improvement Tips and Conclusion

Asherah concludes with her best tip for personal growth: be brutally honest with yourself while maintaining grace and kindness. She advocates for authentic self-assessment without succumbing to harsh self-criticism.

“[22:59] Asherah Solomon: Being brutally honest with yourself and who you are so that you can grow and you can heal, but having tons of grace and kindness with yourself as you're growing in your healing.”

She believes that individual healing contributes to a collective upliftment of global energy and love.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Defining Hasbara:
  “[08:17] Asherah Solomon: Hasbara is defined as like the public relations, diplomacy department of explaining Israel to the international community.”

• On Misconceptions:
  “[03:21] Asherah Solomon: I believe that what we see as anti Semitism in the black community is not from the hate of the Jewish person, but it's from being misinformed about Israel and about Jewish people.”

• Representation:
  “[14:01] Asherah Solomon: Representation is crucial because...” (paraphrased for brevity)

• Self-Improvement Tip:
  “[22:59] Asherah Solomon: Being brutally honest with yourself and who you are so that you can grow and you can heal, but having tons of grace and kindness with yourself as you're growing in your healing.”

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Conclusion

Asherah Solomon's candid conversation with Carol Markowitz sheds light on the intricate dynamics between Black and Jewish communities. Her dedication to fostering understanding, coupled with her personal insights on growth and representation, makes this episode a compelling listen for anyone interested in cultural diplomacy and social harmony.

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Podcast Information Recap:

• Title: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show (Note: Episode appears to be from The Carol Markowitz Show)
• Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts
• Episode: Karol Markowicz Show: Ashira Solomon: Black. Jewish. Bold.
• Release Date: June 4, 2025

This summary is based on the provided transcript and aims to encapsulate the essence of the conversation while highlighting key discussions and insights.

Transcript

[Asherah Solomon]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Carol Markowitz]

Hi and welcome back to the Carol Markowitz show on iheartradio. My guest today is host of the Black and Jewish podcast and cultural diplomat Asherah Solomon. Hi, Ashera. So nice to have.

[Asherah Solomon]

Hi, Carol. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

[Carol Markowitz]

So you host the Black and Jewish podcast, which I would say that people would be surprised to hear that combination. Do you find that people are surprised?

[Asherah Solomon]

Yes. They're like, what does this mean? Is it called black and Jewish because you're a black Jew? Or they don't understand, like, what's the concept of the show?

[Carol Markowitz]

So what is it? Tell us about the show.

[Asherah Solomon]

So the show is called Black and Jewish, not because I'm a black Jew, but because I wanted to bridge both of these communities that I'm both a part of. And I wanted to bring them together in a time, especially after October 7, that I felt like the black community was being fed this narrative that they should be aligning with the Palestinians because their narrative is similar to the African American narrative. And as a black American, I felt very offended by this. And so as I was seeing anti Semitism rise, you know, Everywhere and in the black community. I was like, you know, there's so many myths about both the black community and what we think about Jewish people and the Jewish community and what people think they know about Jewish people. And I was like, you know, I sit at the center of this, so let me start a show to bridge both of them together. And then also the show also, when it's not talking about bridging, I'm really tackling what's going on in the Jewish community, what's going on with our own people. And then also what are black issues, political issues going on in America. So I get to have like a three part conversation.

[Carol Markowitz]

So what are some of the misconceptions that you think each community has about the other?

[Asherah Solomon]

So for the Jewish community, to the black community, they feel that the black community is becoming deeply anti Semitic from a place of hate and hating Jews. And I believe that's a misconception. I believe that what we see as anti Semitism in the black community is not from the hate of the Jewish person, but it's from being misinformed about Israel and about Jewish people. So it's not so much that they hate them, like deep in their heart, it's more so that they, like, they don't understand Jews and Israel at all. Like they don't have real, actual, accurate information. And then from the black community, there's tons of misconceptions about the Jewish community in Israel. And man, what the number one misconception is this white colonizer idea. And Jews are practicing colonialism in Israel. That's probably like the biggest one. And that this war and this conflict in Israel and the Middle east is about white Jews wanting to suppress brown Palestinians.

[Carol Markowitz]

So how did you get into this? What was your path?

[Asherah Solomon]

I was living in Israel and I met Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, Flor Hassan Nachom. And at the time I was a political moderator for women political leaders conferences in the international scene. And I started to see that there weren't any women being represented from Israel, but Jordan was there, Saudi Arabia was there, all these Middle Eastern states were there. Their women were there representing them. And I said, well, I know there has to be like women leaders in Israel, Jewish women or two.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, yeah.

[Asherah Solomon]

So the one that I knew about because I was only on LinkedIn at the time was Flor Hassan. So I reached out to her.

[Carol Markowitz]

Fantastic. She's really great.

[Asherah Solomon]

I have. She's my path into media and everything. So I really give her a lot of thanks to who I am and who I'm becoming because she's been such a great mentor to me. So I reached out to her, I said, would you like to take a delegation of women to these conferences that I'm going to? She said, yes, let's do it. So this was sometime around September, some week of September, she calls me. Mind you, I've only met her once at this point. She calls me out the blue and she goes, hey, I'm starting a show called the Quad. It's going to be like the View but in Israel. And it's going to be Jewish women. And you're going to be our fourth co host.

[Carol Markowitz]

Wow.

[Asherah Solomon]

Like what? She's like, the producers have researched you, they like you, they've seen some of the work that you've done and you're on the show. And she didn't even ask, do you want.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's actually very Israeli, to just be like, here's what you're doing. Yeah. Yes.

[Asherah Solomon]

And I just said, oh, my God, yes. I didn't ask any follow up questions or anything. And then. So it was supposed to launch in November. Unfortunately, October 7th happened. I get my second call from Fleur ever in life and she calls me two days after October 7th and she says, listen, we're launching the Quad. Now we have to do hasbara right now. We have to get in front of this PR war that's about to happen. And we went into the studio maybe two days, two or three days after October 7th, I want to say. So this is me, my first time in Israel, experiencing an attack. I've lived in Israel before, but never like an attack. And I'm shaken to my core.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Asherah Solomon]

And then I hop in the studio with Flor Hassan and Emily Schrader, who's a journalist in the previous Canadian ambassador to Israel, Vivian Brukovich. And I'm just like thrown into media right then and there. So that's how I got my start.

[Carol Markowitz]

Wow. So how did it go?

[Asherah Solomon]

So our first one, it went really well. We all talked about where we were on October 7, what we were feeling, how we were still feeling, because it was still the first week I was living in Jerusalem at the time. People were not leaving their homes. I was not leaving my home. People were going out to maybe grocery shop maybe, and then we were just in our homes. Like we even. I remember on Shabbat, me and my friends were even scared to walk to each other's houses. So I did Shabbat by myself. They did Shabbat by themselves. We were so scared. So that first episode was really us talking about where we are and how we felt.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. So how would you define. You use the word Hezbollah? I don't know if my audience maybe would know what that means. How do you define Hasbara?

[Asherah Solomon]

Hasbara is defined as like the public relations, diplomacy department of explaining Israel to the international community. That's how I find it to be.

[Carol Markowitz]

You know, enemies of Israel use that term sort of in a negative sense. But all it means is explainers, Right?

[Asherah Solomon]

Yes, yes, exactly.

[Carol Markowitz]

So what would have been a plan be for you if this wasn't where your life went? What would be a different path as Shira Solomon might have taken?

[Asherah Solomon]

Well, so at the time I was becoming a moderator on these political panels and I was really enjoying that. And I always thought that I was going to run for political office at some point. And specifically I was starting to lean towards how could I work in diplomacy. I am a previous fellow of the Bourne Fellowship, which is from the State Department, and they sent fellows out to various countries. I got sent to Israel. And then you come back and you work in national security or something like that. And I haven't fulfilled that requirement.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Asherah Solomon]

But I always thought I would be some type of ambassador or do some type of diplomatic work. I still feel like that's why I call myself a cultural diplomat now, because I still feel like I'm bridging and showing each other, showing people, you know, each other's communities and stuff.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Asherah Solomon]

But I think I would have just kept on moderating and then trying to build myself into maybe working for the embassy or something.

[Carol Markowitz]

We're going to take a quick break and be right back on the Carol Markowitz Show.

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[Carol Markowitz]

Is it hard being a bridge? Like, I feel like that could get very tiring.

[Asherah Solomon]

I find it rewarding because I care so much. I care so much about the Jewish people. I care so much about the black community. And I find it to be more rewarding than a burden because I not to toot my own horn, but I believe that I do it well. And when I say I do it well, I believe that I get to at least show representation, good representation of who the black community is and good representation of the Jewish community. And I feel like in social media world, you know, what goes viral is negative stuff. Right.

[Carol Markowitz]

And so, and there's a whole sense of like I shouldn't have to teach you, I shouldn't have to explain anything to you. And you're sort of the antithesis of that. You're saying I'm going to teach you, I'm going to explain things to you.

[Asherah Solomon]

Yes. Because I because really, at least for the in the black community, I really do feel that the anti Semitism is not from a deep hatred of Jews. I really feel it's from. That's this misinformation. So if I could at least sit in front of you and dialogue with you and talk to you I. I believe change can actually happen there. You know, I don't believe that, you know, this is a lost cause, you know?

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. Yeah. You have to believe in it, because otherwise, you know, that it's a lost cause for yourself if you don't believe in the work you're doing, you know?

[Asherah Solomon]

Exactly.

[Carol Markowitz]

But I've, you know, I've met you, and you're definitely very passion feel like about the cause of making that bridge. I just wondered if that was. Again, we're in this era of I shouldn't have to tell you anything. And so for you to kind of challenge that I imagine must be hard sometimes.

[Asherah Solomon]

The one thing that I wanted to make sure that I did well, which I believe when I go to sleep at night, I feel like I'm doing well, is that representation piece. Because I feel like if I were to go super negative about the Jews, I could go viral, or I would go super negative about black people and trash black people, then I could go viral. But I feel like I'm representing them in a very wholesome, dignified way while also attacking issues that we have in each community, you know, but it's still. I feel like I'm. It's dignified for both my communities.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right? Absolutely. What do you worry about?

[Asherah Solomon]

I love this question. So currently, what I worry about, you're like, I'm Jewish.

[Carol Markowitz]

Here's my list.

[Asherah Solomon]

What I worry about every night before I go to sleep is when am I going to get married and when am I going to create a family? I've come to the realization that I have my entire lifespan to become rich or make it in my career. I do not have my entire lifespan to create and build a family. And I'm just thinking about when I was, like, in my early 20s and, you know, having fellowships on the hill.

[Carol Markowitz]

You still look like you're in your early 20s. P.S.

[Asherah Solomon]

I'M in my early 20s. 30s.

[Carol Markowitz]

Man, you look really good.

[Asherah Solomon]

Thank you. I just remember, you know, the messages of, like, you know, do every fellowship, do every internship, work for every think tank, you know, because you need to build, build, build, build your career.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Asherah Solomon]

And now I'm like, wow, you can do that at 30, 35, 40, even 45. You can always build your career. Absolutely. Someone would have told me that when I was young. But you can't always build a family. You don't have infinite amount of time to build a family. And I really believe, personally, for myself, that, like, you, you use your early 20s and your 30s to build a family, and it's okay My rabbi said something to me that like four months ago and I didn't understand it. He said, ashera, you don't need to be rich today. You have time to be rich. And I thought, what is he talking about? Like I need to hustle. Like I want to hustle, I want to make it, I want to, I gotta gr. You know. And then now it's dawning on me. What he's trying to tell me is like you have lots of time to build your career, you have lots of time to make money, lose money, make money, but you don't have lots of time to create a family. So I'm very focused on dating as of recent. But that's what I worry about. Who am I going to marry and when I'm going to have a baby?

[Carol Markowitz]

That's. I, I love that you're actively thinking about that. And if there are any eligible men listening, please email me and I'll put you in touch.

[Asherah Solomon]

Please.

[Carol Markowitz]

Absolutely. A catch. And any man would be lucky. So thank you, Carol. You know, I think that when you focus on it, I think it ends up happening for you. Like if you don't think about it and just kind of. You could still happen. But it happens more readily when you kind of focus on the idea of getting married and having children and obviously pray and all of that. So I wish you the best of luck because you really deserve someone great.

[Asherah Solomon]

Thank you.

[Carol Markowitz]

The follow up to that I guess is what advice would you give your 16 year old self? Like would it be something along these lines or you have something else entirely that you'd want to tell a 16 year old? Ashira.

[Asherah Solomon]

16 year old Ashira. I would tell her to listen to your parents. Your parents are.

[Carol Markowitz]

I'm going to send this to my 15 year old daughter.

[Asherah Solomon]

Yeah, no, send it to her. Really? I thought my parents were so strict and so restricted. And when I look over the course of my life, I haven't been living long, but Bezrat Hashem, I'll live to 120. When I look over the course, I really am so thankful that my father was so strict on me because it really routed my destiny and it really routed who I am and not having to experience so many hardships. I've experienced lots of hardships, lots of heartbreaks and different things that could have been avoided had I listened to my parents. But there's tons of things.

[Carol Markowitz]

Who among us.

[Asherah Solomon]

Yes, there's tons of things that I did not experience because my parents were on me hard. You know, they really rode me and they really made sure that I didn't have terrible friends. They really monitored what kind of friends I had. And I thought, why can't I hang out with so and so, you know, they really had a lot of discernment. And at 16, I used to sing a song, me and my brother, we would say, two more years of you. I don't know what to do. I got two more years. Two more years of you. Because that's it, we're moving out now.

[Carol Markowitz]

I'm not sending this to my 15 year old because I feel like that she'll be singing that to me forever. Okay.

[Asherah Solomon]

No, but now I'm like, why was I singing that? Like why was I so in a rush to get out into the world and really under my parents authority I had, you know, tons of peace, tons of protection and someone who really cared, loved me and was looking out for the best of me and what I seen as annoying and restrictive and like they don't know anything. I would go back to my 16 year old self and say, your parents have wisdom, listen to it. And they're doing this out of love, not because they want you to have a sucky social. Right.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. They don't want you to not be popular or not be cool. It actually has nothing to do with any of that. Yeah. Where did you grow up?

[Asherah Solomon]

In California, in the Bay Area.

[Carol Markowitz]

What was that like?

[Asherah Solomon]

It was nice. So I'm from a city where my great grandparents, they were the first black people to ever live there for four generations. It was like we were the only black family in this town. Yeah. So I grew up as like the only black girl in my elementary school and things like that. But I will say, and then I moved. Then my parents like moved to the, what we call the Valley, a little bit outside the Bay Area. But I would say like I had a great childhood. I was just, I just thought it was so restrictive. Like one, I'm one of nine.

[Carol Markowitz]

Oh, wow.

[Asherah Solomon]

I'm the second oldest girl and so I had to babysit a lot and I wasn't allowed to go to the mall all the time and I wasn't allowed to go to house parties and you know, I just felt like, why can't I go out? Why I gotta babysit all the time, you know. But now I see the girls who were the girls who got to go out all the time and where they ended up versus where I ended up. So that's why I'm so appreciative, you know?

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. I also have to say I think that this the Things have changed a little bit on that. Like my 15 year old daughter, like, there's no push to go out. Like, I mean, they do go out like kids these days. They do go places. But I tweeted something recently about, about how I used to like scream at my mom all the time and be like, everybody has, you know, is allowed to be out and I have a curfew and it's like the worst. And my daughter meanwhile, is like, I think I'm going to try overnight oats. Right. I love that. That's definitely not as good, but that's what happens. I think that like the neck, it's the pendulum. Pendulum swing. You know, the next generation is definitely more wholesome than maybe my generation was.

[Asherah Solomon]

In any case, I wanted to go to house parties.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, same. I wanted to go to nightclubs in Manhattan. So that was my.

[Asherah Solomon]

Wow.

[Carol Markowitz]

I was, I was. And the coolest night to go out was Wednesday night. So it was really tough to do because I had school on Thursday. So yeah, I was, I was always mad at my parents. But, you know, maybe they were right about one or two things. Who knows?

[Asherah Solomon]

Well, look how you turned out so successful, you know, so it worked out.

[Carol Markowitz]

Thank you. We're gonna take a quick break and be right back on the Carol Markowitz Show.

[iHeart Representative]

Run a business and not thinking about podcasting. Think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ad supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers listen to, they'll hear your message. Plus, only iHeart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio. Think podcasting can help your business? Think iHeart streaming radio and podcasting. Call 844-844, iHeart to get started. That's 844-844, iheart.

[Carol Markowitz]

Well, I've loved this conversation. You are just a gem. I think the work you're doing is amazing and so meaningful. Leave us here with your best tip for my listeners on how they can improve their lives.

[Asherah Solomon]

Oh, I love this question because I'm so obsessed with self development. Yeah, like those are the, those are the type of books I like to read for sure. I would say being brutally honest with yourself and who you are so that you can grow and you can heal, but having tons of grace and kindness with yourself as you're growing in your healing. And so what that looks like is like being very authentic of where you currently are and maybe you want to get to the next place. But just saying, like Listen, you wake up at 12 o' clock in the afternoon. You know what I mean? I don't know if that's going to set you up for success.

[Carol Markowitz]

Totally. Yeah.

[Asherah Solomon]

Or when it comes to things like losing weight or something, women are so hard on themselves and it's hard. Like, it's great that you want to improve your body and you should be very honest about where you are. And it's fine to say, okay, I'm overweight. But also, having grace and kindness with yourself, because I don't think beating yourself with evil meanness and negative thoughts is going to make you grow in the way that people think it is. You know, when they say, oh, you got to be harsh, you got to go hard, it's being very graceful and kind. And I say this because I have a hard time with this.

[Carol Markowitz]

Like, yeah, we're our own worst critics.

[Asherah Solomon]

I mean, yeah, it's like noticing, hey, you went through something tough. You can give yourself a little break. It's okay that this is where you are where you are. But, yeah, you do have to. You do need to get better. But acknowledge that you've gone through something hard and now you want to grow from it. Or, you know, you've been misbehaving out of your character and now you want to grow from it. But just acknowledge where you are and give yourself grace. I think that's what I would take.

[Carol Markowitz]

I love that we're so tough on ourselves. I find that this all the time. I. I wonder if it's. I think. I do think it's. Women are tougher on themselves than men are on themselves. But, like, yes, I was sick recently and I napped and I was so angry at myself, like, napping, you know, and I was like, I'm sick. Like, it's okay. It's okay. It's okay to sleep for another hour, you know, in, in the morning when you, when you're not feeling well. It's all right.

[Asherah Solomon]

Yes.

[Carol Markowitz]

So I, I completely get that. I think that, you know, go easier on yourself. You know, anybody who's listening, be nice to yourself.

[Asherah Solomon]

Yes. And we need people to grow and heal because I do believe all of our souls are connected in this world in a way. And like, when Carol is her best. Her best self, and when Asher is her best self, we make the earth, the world, vibrate higher. So we need people to heal and grow so that we can increase the love and the energy in the world. Because really, you know, us debating politics and all of these issues and you know, what we do if on an individual level. We're not whole. I don't believe we'll have actual change, if that makes sense.

[Carol Markowitz]

I love that she is Asherah Solomon. Check out the Black and Jewish podcast. Thank you so much for coming on, Asherah.

[Asherah Solomon]

Thank you for having me, Carol. This is an iHeart podcast.