A Peek Behind the Iron Curtain: An Evening with Author Danny Grossman

An Evening with Daniel Grossman

A Peek Behind the Iron Curtain | 6:30–8:00PM

Join us for a captivating and memorable evening with acclaimed author Daniel Grossman, in conversation with Rabbi Doug Kahn about Daniel's book: Seeing Red: Spies, Lies and My So-Called Life as a Diplomat.

Century Circle Donor Reception & Pre-Event Conversation | 5:15–6:15 PM

Century Circle Donors are invited to come early for an exclusive conversation with Daniel Grossman and Judy Wolff-Bolton, CEO of the Osher Marin JCC, as they discuss Daniel’s work in leadership as CEO of multiple organizations, including The San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund.

Century Circle Donor tickets include a complimentary copy of Daniel's book.

(Century Circle Donors will receive an email with a code to claim their complimentary copy of the book at the event.)

We look forward to welcoming you for an engaging evening of conversation, insight, and inspiration.

About the Book

Have you ever had one of those days when you've had to explain to a leading Senator that the woman approaching his table is actually a Soviet spy hoping to bed and blackmail him? Well, Danny Grossman has.

As a twenty-six-year-old diplomat serving in Leningrad during the Cold War, Grossman's phones were tapped, his home was bugged, his neighbor went out the window, his houseguest was attacked, his consulate was rocked by something called Chernobyl, his movements were tracked by an ambitious young KGB officer named Vladimir Putin-and that was only the beginning!

Grossman also shares how he navigated the political and personal challenges of assisting Jewish “refuseniks” (Soviet citizens denied visas to emigrate) while under surveillance and in a high‑risk diplomatic environment.

With autocracy rising around the world, Grossman has written a stunning meditation on the politics of oppression, the nature of dreamers, and the resilience of ordinary people under siege.

Welcome to a very private peek behind the Iron Curtain.

This discussion will be moderated by Rabbi Doug Kahn.

About the Author

Daniel Grossman previously served in the U.S. Foreign Service as a diplomat in India, the USSR, Austria and at the Department of State. His focus was on Soviet human rights, and he was strongly connected to the Soviet Jewry movement. He later founded Wild Planet Entertainment where he was CEO for 18 years. He went on to become the CEO of The San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund. He currently serves on the Board of HIAS, the global Jewish refugee organization. He is married to Linda Gerard, with whom he shares two sons, Noah and Jonah.

About the Moderator

Rabbi Douglas Kahn is the Executive Director Emeritus of the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Relations Council (now the JCRC Bay Area) where he worked on countless issues of importance to the community, including leading the JCRC’s Soviet Jewry advocacy while Danny Grossman was a diplomat in Leningrad. He wrote a chapter about those experiences in a book entitled A Second Exodus: The American Movement to Free Soviet Jews.