My Most Important Monologue, Part 3 of 3 (The Jeremiah Effect) and Bishop Michael J. Fisher
Being Jewish with Jonah Platt
Jonah Platt
4.9 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 3 February 2026
⏱️ 71 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this compelling episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah speaks with Bishop Michael J. Fisher, a prominent Los Angeles faith leader and longtime advocate for Black–Jewish solidarity. The discussion explores Bishop Fisher’s personal journey, deeply influenced by his father, Reverend W. Jerome Fisher, a World War II medic who helped liberate Jews from the Dachau concentration camp. Jonah and Bishop Fisher dig deeply into the real actions Fisher is doing to build bonds and bridges between the black and Jewish communities, and their shared perspective on what advocacy truly means.
Bishop Fisher reflects on building interfaith relationships with leaders such as Rabbi Stewart Vogel and Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback, and on the shared spiritual foundations of Judaism and Christianity, including the meaning of Zion. The discussion also addresses rising antisemitism, the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks, and the responsibility of moral leadership in moments of crisis.
The episode highlights initiatives like the Freedom Seder and the From Compton to Jerusalem trip, celebrating Israel’s diversity and the Ethiopian Jewish community, while offering a hopeful vision of unity grounded in building relationships, and discovering truth.
TOPICS INCLUDE:
- Bishop Michael J. Fisher on growing up in Compton under the influence of his father, Reverend W. Jerome Fisher
- His church, The Greater Zion Church Family
- A firsthand family connection to the Holocaust through World War II liberation efforts
- The spiritual and historical meaning of Zion in Black Christianity and Judaism
- Building Black–Jewish alliances with Rabbi Stewart Vogel and Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
- The examples of people like Van Jones, Amanda Berman, and Robert Stearns in interfaith bridge-building
- How the Freedom Seder creates shared Jewish and Black communal space
- Understanding antisemitism vs. anti-Zionism after the October 7 Hamas attacks
- Why Israel’s diversity challenges apartheid narratives
- Lessons from the From Compton to Jerusalem leadership trip to Israel
- Experiencing the Sigd holiday with the Ethiopian Jewish community (Beyte Israel)
- Advocacy vs. performative allyship in Black and Jewish communities
- Why Black–Jewish unity remains essential for social justice in America
Mentioned In the Episode:
Part 1:The ONLY 3 Facts You Need to Know About Israel, Palestine, and the Jews
Part 2: The ONLY 3 Facts You Need to Know About Israel, Palestine, and the Jews
Part 3: The ONLY 3 Facts You Need to Know About Israel, Palestine, and the Jews
Jonah’s (shoes) JP x Air Maccabees (18% off with the code JP18)
Seeing History Through A Foggy Lens
Temporal Distance and Discrimination
Origins of Black History Month
Jerome Fisher World War II Gold Star Veteran from Maryland
Reverand Jerome Fisher Passes Away, Organized 1st Black Church in Compton
Michael J. Fisher How One Compton Pastor’s Work is Changing Lives by Bridging Health & Faith
The Jewish Foundation of Christianity
When did Christianity and Judaism Separate?
When Did Jesus Stop Being Jewish?
Zion: God’s Precious Possession
A Long History: American Jews and the NAACP
The Tulsa Race Massacre and Oklahoma’s Jews
10 Great Moments of #BlackJewishUnity
Challenging the myth of 'white, colonial' Israel
Powerful Voices: A New Look at the Rabbi Who Marched with Martin Luther King
The 15 Year Battle for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Bondi Beach terrorists ‘acted alone’ in attack on Hanukkah event — Australian police
Suspect arrested in predawn fire that left parts of Mississippi’s largest synagogue in charred ruins
What to know about the murder of Sarah Pilgrim and Aaron Lischinsky in Washington D.C
Wise hosts Greater Zion Church for joint Shavuot and Pentecost celebration
Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder?
Peter and the Disciples Falling Asleep - Matthew 26:40
The Old Testament Pentecost: Why Did Jesus Pour Out His Spirit on This Particular Day?
BLM’s Support of Hamas Is Perfectly in Line With Its Goals
Rediscovering the Lost Tribes and God’s Faithfulness: The Jewish Diaspora and Aliyah
Israel’s Ethnic Diversity: Why the Population of the Jewish Nation is Far From Monolithic
Black and Jewish people were allies once. Can they be again?
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
Redlining of Jewish Neighborhoods to Make It Difficult to Get a Mortgage
Jewish Americans: Identity, History, and Experience Fact Sheet
Seder2015 streams a digital Passover
What is the law of first mention?
Black leaders journey from their hip-hop home to the Holy Land — and find common ground
What Even IS Sigd? A Short Explainer
Nick Cannon opens up about past antisemitic comments and his ‘growth moment’
California schools inch closer to rescuing mental health funds slashed by Trump
Global Missions — Greater Zion
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Shalom, Kavarim, Banot, and welcome to another very special episode of the world's number one Jewish podcast. |
| 0:08.1 | I have to ask for a small favor. |
| 0:10.4 | As an independent show, we don't have a massive marketing machine behind us. |
| 0:14.6 | Our growth is purely organic, fueled by dedicated viewers and listeners like you. |
| 0:19.5 | So if you would be so kind, please take 30 seconds, |
| 0:24.0 | head over to Apple Podcasts and Spotify, find this show, and leave me a five-star rating and a short |
| 0:30.0 | written review. I love seeing all of your thoughtful and generous feedback. Some of it has even |
| 0:35.0 | made it onto the show and may again. And as of this recording, |
| 0:38.7 | we are just eight ratings away from hitting 500 on Apple. Crossing that threshold would be a huge |
| 0:44.3 | milestone for us. It's a small mitzvah on your part, but it really is the fuel that allows us to |
| 0:50.0 | keep these amazing conversations going. So thank you in advance. Unless you don't leave a rating, |
| 0:56.1 | in which case you're a butthead. Welcome to part three of the most important monologue I've ever |
| 1:01.7 | written, building our mental iron dome against Jew hate. If you missed parts one and two, press pause, |
| 1:07.4 | catch up on those, then click on back over here. Or be weird and don't. I don't care. Do you, boo. |
| 1:12.5 | There's a cartoon I saw online once that I often think back to to ground me |
| 1:16.4 | as I undertake the work of Jewish advocacy in a world that can be less than kind to Jews. |
| 1:22.2 | It's an image of one guy standing in front of a sea of thousands of people staring him down, |
| 1:27.0 | and the guy says, |
| 1:28.3 | yes, I'm saying that all of you are wrong. This is what moral clarity feels like in |
| 1:33.8 | 26. At times, you will be placed at odds with the majority. You will be told you are brainwashed |
| 1:41.0 | when in fact you have resisted the brainwashing. To be right in this work is to |
| 1:45.9 | stand against a tide of people who are convinced you are wrong. Which brings me to the third |
... |
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