Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Founder of Club Z: American Jewish students are in a state of emergency

An interview with Masha Merkulova, Chief Zionist Officer of Club Z.

JNS CEO and Jerusalem bureau chief Alex Traiman interviews Masha Merkulova, founder and executive director of Club Z, a national organization that educates unaffiliated American Jewish teens about Zionism and the State of Israel. They discuss how parents and leaders have failed Jewish youth by not giving them a proper foundation so they can face anti-Israel environments with facts and information. According to Merkulova, the mission of Club Z has become all the more important after Oct. 7 in the wake of rising antisemitism.

Alex Traiman is the CEO and Jerusalem bureau chief of the Jerusalem News Syndicate (JNS) and host of “Jerusalem Minute.” A seasoned Israeli journalist, documentary filmmaker and startup consultant, he is an expert on Israeli politics and U.S.-Israel relations. He has interviewed top political figures, including Israeli leaders, U.S. senators and national security officials with insights featured on major networks like BBC, Bloomberg, CBS, NBC, Fox and Newsmax. A former NCAA champion fencer and Yeshiva University Sports Hall of Fame member, he made aliyah in 2004, and lives in Jerusalem with his wife and five children.
“It can’t just be business as usual,” Evan R. Bernstein told JNS. “We’re not done yet.”
Abd al-Rahman intended to carry out the attack “in the immediate time frame.”
Charlotte Knobloch, who leads the city’s Jewish community, canceled her attendance at a book launch following the incident.
The Islamic Republic was two weeks away from obtaining the bomb, according to the U.S. president.