After Ilyse Gerber moved to San Francisco nearly two years ago, her forays into the Jewish young adult community left her feeling cold.
The New Jersey native attended countless happy hours and one-night events aimed at 20- and 30-year-olds. But she found the conversations too brief, the crowds too unfamiliar.
So Gerber took a chance on Club Fed, a program of the Young Adult Division of the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation.
“There was more depth to it,” Gerber, a first-year Club Fed committee member, said of the months-long series of facilitated discussions, social engagements and volunteer opportunities. “Before I would meet people and not necessarily develop friendships. Club Fed offered that opportunity, plus the chance to learn.”
The opening session of Club Fed is 6:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 10 at the federation office in San Francisco. Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe of Congregation Emanu-El will discuss civic engagement, volunteerism and community service.
Other topics to be covered at this year’s Club Fed, titled “The Intersection of Judaism and Daily Life,” include arts and culture, politics, history and heritage, and volunteering.
“The focus is more about dialogue and learning new things,” said Club Fed co-chair Ben Glazer. “It’s about exposure to new ideas and other people’s perspectives, and interacting with your own identity and the way we fit into the big picture of Judaism and the world.”
Following each meeting, participants are invited to an optional after-party at a local bar or restaurant.
Now in its 10th year, Club Fed is for Jewish young adults who are new to the Bay Area or interested in becoming more involved in the Jewish community. Organizers are expecting around 80 participants to attend five sessions from this month to May.
Unlike other events on the social calendar for local Jewish 20- and 30-somethings, Club Fed promises an opportunity to stay connected with participants for an extended period of time, instead of mingling with a different crowd at a once-a-month happy hour.
“Bar nights are fun and social, but not particularly rooted in Judaism,” Glazer said, “except for everyone there being Jewish.”
He added that Club Fed offers a good balance of learning and socializing through interaction and relationship building with the same people. Making friends and getting to know one another in the setting of guided conversation about “real issues” are two proponents, Glazer said.
At the helm of those discussions are prominent leaders with ties to the Bay Area Jewish community, such as Republican political strategist Dan Schnur. His focus will be on politics, specifically how young adults can become more comfortable talking about Israel from a personal and emotional perspective.
“We tend to spend a lot of time with people who already agree with us,” said Schnur, the current director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California and lecturer at U.C. Berkeley. “So sometimes we’re not as prepared to talk to those who haven’t given the issue a lot of thought.
“My goal is to help participants communicate about Israel in a way that’s more fun and entertaining than most training sessions. Just because it’s a serious subject doesn’t mean the conversation can’t be a little lighter and more enjoyable.”
To that end, Schnur, who was the director of communications for Sen. John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign, will incorporate dialogue and role playing, and encourage Club Fed participants to talk about their life experiences as they relate to Israel.
“People in this program are leaders,” Schnur said. “They command respect in their businesses and neighborhoods. Getting them to a point where they’re comfortable and confident to talk about these issues is the single best way of broadening support for Israel in the Bay Area.”
Other speakers slated to attend are Sarah Lefton, a San Francisco writer, blogger and Jewish entrepreneur who produces G-dcast, a weekly Torah cartoon for teens and young adults; a representative from JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa); and a Holocaust survivor.
“We’re looking for relevance,” Glazer said, “and coherence across the sessions to build on the strengths of the speakers who have agreed to come and teach us what they know.”
Club Fed begins Wednesday, March 10 and runs through May. Cost is $50 for all five sessions and includes catered, kosher-style dinners and materials. For registration and more information, visit www.clubfed.org.