Touro Talks

Touro University President Dr. Alan Kadish sat down with U.S. District Court Judge Roy Altman to discuss his new book Israel on Trial and the legal, historical, and moral arguments surrounding Israel, Zionism, antisemitism, genocide claims, apartheid accusations, and international law. Judge Altman shares his remarkable family history of survival through the Holocaust, immigration, and public serv...

Activist Rawan Osman shares her remarkable journey with Touro Talks guest host Sam Levine. Growing up in Lebanon, Osman was immersed in anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric. Today, she is a "recovering antisemite" and a powerful voice advocating for a Lebanon free of Hezbollah, an alternative future for the Middle East and coexistence between Arabs and Jews. Shaped by an education, media narrative...

In this Touro Talks, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin reflects on the origins of his book about the Rebbe and what made the Lubavitcher Rebbe one of the most extraordinary Jewish leaders of the modern era. Drawing on personal family ties to Chabad and decades of observation, Telushkin explores the Rebbe’s mission to reach every Jew with unconditional love—and the rare phenomenon of a movement that continued...

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides joins guest host Professor Ido Aharoni on Touro Talks to discuss the future of U.S.–Israel relations, lessons in authentic leadership and diplomacy, and the path forward after the October 7 Hamas attacks. Drawing on his career in government and business, Nides shares insights on rebuilding bipartisan support for Israel, strengthening understanding among t...

In this powerful Touro Talks episode, Dr. Alan Kadish, President of Touro University, speaks with Dr. Chezi Levy, a senior Israeli medical expert and former Director of Barzilai University Medical Center in Ashkelon and Director General of Israeli Ministry of Health. Dr. Levy shares firsthand insights from treating Israeli hostages released after captivity during the Hamas-Israel war. He has a rar...

John Spencer, a renowned military analyst and urban warfare expert, joins Dr. Alan Kadish to discuss the realities of combat in Gaza. From the IDF’s unprecedented civilian harm mitigation measures to the challenges of Hamas’s vast tunnel network, Spencer explains how modern warfare is evolving in real time. He also addresses the media’s role in shaping global perception — and what these lessons me...

In this Touro Talks conversation, Irwin Cotler — international human rights advocate and former Canadian Minister of Justice — highlights what today’s struggles demand of us. Drawing lessons from the anti-apartheid fight for Nelson Mandela in South Africa and the movement for Soviet Jewry that became a model of global advocacy, Cotler shows how collective action can dismantle injustice. Cotler dis...

Recorded live on March 7, 2021. A conversation with Bernard-Henri Lévy, French philosopher, filmmaker, activist and author, on his 2020 book The Virus in the Age of Madness and a philosopher’s view on science and illness.

Recorded live on October 5, 2021. A conversation with Dr. Temple Grandin on autism, understanding it and harnessing autistic talents.

Recorded live on October 18, 2021. Guest host, Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff, president of Gratz College, in conversation with Touro professor and dean, Rabbi Dr. Moshe Sokol, on Dr. Sokol’s book The Snake at the Mouth of the Cave . 

Recorded live on December 14, 2021. The name Touro adorns two synagogues, a hospital, and several streets, including one in Jerusalem and, of course, our school. Touro President Dr. Alan Kadish and Dr. Jonathan Sarna, University Professor and Director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University, discuss Judah Touro. 

Recorded live on January 12, 2022 . In honor of Touro’s 50th anniversary, a conversation with the illustrious Touro grad the New York Times called a Hasidic Superwoman, Judge Ruchie (Rachel) Freier.

Recorded live on February 23, 2022 . A conversation with history professor and author Dr. Andrew Porwancher, on his book The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton. 

Recorded live on March 9, 2022 . A conversation between guest host Sam Levine, Professor of Law and Director of the Jewish Law Institute at Touro Law Center and lawyers Yehudah L. Buchweitz and Robert G. Sugarman on their work in the high-profile litigation brought against municipalities in New Jersey and New York regarding the establishment of eruvim and the construction of houses of worship.

Recorded live on April 6, 2022 . “You were strangers in the land of Egypt.” In a special pre-Passover episode, Dr. Henry Abramson, guest host, Touro dean and professor, reflects on refugees in Jewish History. With an emphasis on the crisis in Ukraine, he looks at the experience of displacement from the descriptions in the book of Exodus, through the centuries, until today. 

Recorded live on May 18, 2022. In conversation with leaders in the autism inclusion space, autistic individuals Tim Goldstein, Global Cloud Trainer, Google andElisabeth Wiklander, Cellist, London Philharmonic Orchestraand diversity advocates Hardeep Rai, Group CEO & Founder, Kaleidoscope Group/Kaleidoscope Investments a company that exclusively invests in disabled people with great business id...

Recorded live and in person on November 15, 2022 . A presentation from the Winters Center for Autism on autism in the workplace.

Recorded live on November 15, 2022 . A conversation exploring the autism employment program at Mobileye , an international leader in autonomous driving technologies, with Lihi Lapid, president of SHEKEL – Inclusion for People with Disabilities and those involved with SHEKEL member placement at Mobileye, Mollie Goldstein, Eli Schreiber, and Roni Vistuch.

Recorded live on December 15, 2022 . A conversation on autism on religious spaces and activities with guest host Sam Levine, Professor of Law and Director of the Jewish Law Institute at Touro Law Center , and Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, Chief Program Officer & Director, Whole Community Inclusion, Jewish Learning Venture; John Elder Robison, Neurodiversity Scholar, College of William & Mary; Ne...

Recorded live on February 12, 2023. With an introduction from former President of the Supreme Court of Israel, Justice Aharon Barak and a tribute from law professor, Miriam Marcowitz-Bitton, a conversation on the Supreme Court of Israel with Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, former Vice President of the Supreme Court of Israel and Attorney General of Israel.

Recorded live on May 18, 2023. A conversation with leaders in corporate America: Deb Benovitz, Senior Vice President, Global Insights and Innovation, WeightWatchers; Allen Fagin, who served as Chairman of Proskauer; and David Sable who was the Global CEO and Chairman of Young & Rubicam and is currently the Co-Founder/Partner of DoAble on navigating Jewish identity in the corporate environment...

(Recorded live on September 20, 2023.) Recorded live on September 20, 2023. A conversation between Rabbi Professor Carmi Horowitz and Rabbi Dr. Michael A. Shmidman on the life and legacy of Rabbi Professor Yitzhak (Isadore) Twersky z”l, a unique individual and unusual scholar. Prof. Twersky was the Talner Rebbe a, professor at Harvard University, and Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Ha...

Dr. Monty Penkower joins Touro Talks to discuss the process of writing an objective daily accounting of the war Israel is fighting since it was attacked on Oct 7, 2023, the war he calls “The War for the Narrative”. How do you ensure accuracy in a chaotic media environment? How do you provide context and an understanding of the radical Islamist ideology driving Hamas and other groups? Penkower shar...

Rav Doron Perez, World Mizrachi CEO, joins Touro Talks for a conversation about the importance of Zionism and bringing Torah values to Zionism. He explains how every Jew can impact the development of the land of Israel, and who has a monopoly on truth. Sharing the tragic loss of his son on October 7 as he fought for the land of Israel, Rav Perez stresses the importance of building bridges and stan...

Political analyst and Egyptian refugee, Dalia Ziada, joins Touro Talks for an incisive analysis of the shifting dynamics in the Middle East, including Israel's emergence as a regional power and Turkey's growing influence, peer pressure on American college campuses, the socialist Islamist alliance, and her journey from burning the Israeli flag on her university campus in Egypt to speaking on Americ...