In this powerful conversation, Dr. Laura Scherck Wittcoff sits down with Masha Merkulova, founder of CLUB Z, a national organization dedicated to educating and empowering Jewish teens to become articulate, knowledgeable leaders and advocates for themselves, Israel, and the Jewish people. Masha shares her remarkable personal journey from discovering her Jewish identity at age 16 in the Soviet Union to founding an organization that now serves over 200 students across the San Francisco Bay area, Boston, the tri-state area, and beyond.
Who Is CLUB Z?
CLUB Z is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a network of educated, articulate Jewish teen activists with a commitment to Zionism. CLUB Z's mission is to raise modern-day Zionists who are knowledgeable leaders, equipped to advocate for themselves, Israel, and the Jewish people while addressing issues of bigotry and antisemitism head-on.
The organization operates two primary programs. Basic Training is an entry-level monthly session covering foundational knowledge: Jewish peoplehood, Jewish indigeneity, Jewish rights, and Jewish power. There are zero prerequisites—students simply need to show up once a month and learn. These sessions are separated by age group, with eighth and ninth graders together, and tenth through twelfth graders together, allowing for appropriate peer bonding and connection across different schools in the area.
For students ready to go deeper, CLUB Z offers Sacred, a formalized two-year advanced program that combines rigorous academic study with practical leadership development. Participants meet every other week for three-hour sessions where they build on foundational knowledge while developing debate skills, presentation abilities, public speaking confidence, and personal writing proficiency. The curriculum covers Jewish history, Israel history, and professional development—skills that have largely disappeared from traditional schools but remain essential for navigating the world.
Masha's Origin Story
Masha Merkulova's journey to founding CLUB Z began in the Soviet Union, where Jewish identity wasn't something you could openly celebrate. Born to a Jewish mother and Russian father, Masha discovered she was Jewish at age 16 when a passport office bureaucrat casually informed her that despite her Russian nationality on every school roster, her mother's name—Riva, daughter of Levi—made her Jewish. The revelation was stunning but detached. She knew it as a nationality, nothing more, with no concept that Jewish people faced discrimination or persecution. When she encountered antisemitism, she simply gave it back. It ended there. Everyone moved on.
What Masha inherited instead was her Soviet upbringing's deep commitment to justice and her mother's quiet, unwavering knowledge of who she was. When the Soviet Union began to crumble, she explored Christianity out of curiosity rather than conviction, but that exploration revealed how disconnected she was from any spiritual identity. It wasn't until Masha moved to America and her son began attending a Jewish day school that she started genuinely learning what it meant to be Jewish.
Then came 2005. While living in California, Masha began watching YouTube videos of Israel's Gaza disengagement—something that would forever change her trajectory. She watched Jews in blue hats dragging out Jews in orange hats or regular clothes. Both were crying. And Masha recognized something that stopped her cold: "What I am watching is a pogrom." Her Soviet identity, trained to recognize injustice and respond, clicked into place. She dove into education—every event, every book, everything she could access about Israel and Jewish history. And once you learn the story of Israel and how miraculous it is, Masha explains, you can't look back.
For her, Zionism wasn't a slogan or a political buzzword. It was a movement of justice, a response to centuries of exclusion and persecution, a restoration of balance. Something happened to the Jewish people 2,000 years ago, and they never gave up. They never agreed to disappear. And now, with the restoration of Israel, the justice had been restored.
Why CLUB Z Exists
Years of volunteering in the San Francisco Bay Area, funding pro-Israel events on college campuses, gave Masha a front-row seat to a troubling pattern. She kept encountering bright Jewish students—kids who had attended Jewish high schools, gone to Israel, been part of youth groups and summer camps, received extensive Jewish education. And yet they didn't know basic facts. They couldn't explain the difference between the Independence War and the Six-Day War. They didn't understand what Zionism actually was. They had no foundational history.
At the same time, Masha was watching something worse: these same educated Jewish students were being turned into anti-Israel advocates. Their reasoning was heartbreaking in its simplicity: "I didn't know Palestinians were suffering. I didn't know there were all these people." They had been given no context, no counter-narrative, no inoculation against the compelling stories being told to them on campus.
Masha realized the solution wasn't to react after the damage was done. Prevention was cheaper and more effective. Why weren't we telling young Jews what the other side was saying? Why weren't we preparing them with information, context, and historical understanding? Why weren't we teaching them about the Palestinian narrative itself so they could understand what others believed and why?
She began looking around the Jewish community in San Francisco for an organization doing this work. Federation. JCC. Hebrew schools. Nobody was having these conversations. The status quo was simply accepting that Hebrew schools would hire whoever was willing to take the job for minimum pay—no standards, no accountability, no meaningful education.
Masha decided she couldn't accept that anymore.
From Three Boys to 200 Students
It started with her son bringing three of his friends together. Three boys. Masha began teaching them using a curriculum called "Israel and Jewish Identity" that she'd come into possession of—a framework that literally connected Jewish identity, Jewish peoplehood, and Zionism as three interconnected pillars. This became the foundation of everything CLUB Z would build.
Word of mouth spread. Kids wanted more. They asked to meet bi-weekly instead of monthly. Then more frequently. Masha worked with a local JCC that had a beautiful Teen Center with no programming, and they welcomed CLUB Z to use the space. What started as an informal gathering evolved into something more intentional and structured.
Today, CLUB Z operates across multiple cities with approximately 200 students currently enrolled (numbers fluctuate—last year they served over 400). The organization has grown because it fills a void that no other institution is addressing: the need for comprehensive, honest Jewish education that equips teens not just with information, but with confidence, community, and the tools to stand tall in their identity.
What Makes It Gutsy
CLUB Z is gutsy because it goes against the grain of everything in the current Jewish institutional landscape. Its very existence is a reminder that what we have right now doesn't work. By design, the organization is pushing back against systems that have failed to prepare Jewish youth, against narratives that have been allowed to go unchallenged, against the idea that teens should shrink from their identity instead of claiming it with pride.
But CLUB Z is also gutsy in how it trusts young people. The organization believes that teens can handle complexity, nuance, and difficult conversations. They can learn about Palestinian narratives while maintaining their own. They can understand historical grievances and moral arguments. They can debate respectfully without compromising their beliefs. They can recognize propaganda without becoming cynical. And they can do all of this while maintaining their humanity and sense of humor.
Perhaps most gutsy of all is CLUB Z's commitment to showing up for students when it matters most. When a student calls with a problem at school, CLUB Z doesn't just offer advice—they strategize with parents, connect families to legal resources if needed, and stay involved through resolution. When alumni face antisemitism on college campuses, CLUB Z is there. When a resolution against Israel comes up for a student government vote, CLUB Z has trained students to be in those spaces ahead of time, ready to speak up. The organization has built a safety net, and students know it exists.
Teaching in a World of Misinformation
One of CLUB Z's most critical functions is teaching students to recognize and counter propaganda. In a world saturated with misinformation, deepfakes, and algorithmically-driven content, young people need media literacy skills that go far beyond any single issue.
CLUB Z teaches students to ask: Who are the reliable sources? How do you fact-check? What makes something intellectually dishonest? For example, when a student encounters an AP exam question asking them to calculate how Israeli bombing has affected global warming in Gaza, they need more than outrage. They need to articulate exactly why that framing is intellectually dishonest, why it's propaganda, and what the actual facts are. They need to respond professionally and factually, not emotionally.
The organization partners with CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis) and maintains connections to sources in Israel and international media. In sessions, educators help students evaluate what's real and what's not. Students can post questions in private groups and get immediate feedback from educators and peers. And every single session opens with "what's happening in the news," allowing older students to help younger ones develop critical thinking skills in real time.
The Power of Intentional Community
One of the biggest surprises Masha has encountered is how little it takes to help a young person rise up—but how essential it is that the support be intentional. CLUB Z isn't just "come learn, go do." It's a community that says: we have your back. If you call us, we will be there to catch you.
This matters immensely during the vulnerable teenage years. When a student faces an incident at school, they often call CLUB Z educators before they call their parents. Educators then work with families to make a plan before escalating to the school or other authorities. For college-aged alumni, the support continues. Students know they can reach out to their regional educator when they need guidance, when they face antisemitism, or when they need to make a strategic move.
Masha is clear about why this matters: if you know you're going to stick your neck out, you don't want to be left hanging by a thread. Young people need to know that taking a risk doesn't mean being abandoned.
Building Trust Through Transparency
CLUB Z has also discovered the power of keeping parents informed and engaged. After each session, parents receive a detailed email summarizing everything discussed, including links to all videos shown and a series of 3-5 discussion questions designed to spark conversation at home.
This seemingly simple practice has profound effects. Parents aren't left wondering what their teens are learning. They can have informed conversations at the dinner table. They understand the context and nuance their teens are being taught. If a teen comes home with questions or concerns, parents are equipped to respond thoughtfully. And if parents need support, they know they can call an educator to discuss how to handle a situation together.
Dr. Laura notes during the episode that this creates a beautiful feedback loop: teens can go home knowing their parents understand what they're learning. They don't have to fear that their parent will overreact or dismiss their concerns. And that open communication, that sense of being supported at home and in the organization, fundamentally changes how young people navigate their identity and advocacy.
Looking Forward
When asked what's at the top of her wish list for CLUB Z, Masha doesn't say funding (though like all nonprofits, they need resources). She says people. She needs educators who are articulate, educated, and willing to invest their souls into these teens. It's not a typical teaching job. It requires presence, commitment, and a genuine belief in the work.
She also wants the broader Jewish community—the legacy organizations, the philanthropists, the adult leaders—to wield their power on behalf of the next generation. Instead of allowing others to define Jewish terms and Jewish identity, instead of remaining silent while narratives go unchallenged, Masha wants to see adults step up and protect the space for young Jews to claim their identity with pride.
But perhaps the most poignant wish Masha articulates is simpler: she wants American Jews to understand that no matter how assimilated or hidden you are, eventually somebody will ask you questions about who you are. You might as well know the answers. You might as well be grounded in your identity, connected to your people, and equipped with the knowledge and confidence to stand tall.
How to Connect
Website: clubz.org
Instagram: @zionismforteens
Email:masha@clubz.org
YouTube Channel: CLUB Z has extensive educational content available on their YouTube channel
Partner Organizations:
- CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis): camera.org
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Small & Gutsy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit podcast spotlighting nonprofits and social enterprises with budgets under $10 million. The show elevates the visibility of small but mighty changemakers doing bold, passionate, and impactful work.
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