Touro Talks – Details, episodes & analysis

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 the younger generation, and confronting the global rise in antisemitism. He speaks with moral clarity, empathy, and resilience and underscores the shared democratic values that bind Israel and the United States.

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 rare look into the medical, psychological, and emotional recovery process of hostage survivors, young and old. He discusses the sensitive protocols for receiving and caring for returnees, and the immense mental health and nutritional challenges faced by those emerging from prolonged trauma and deprivation. The conversation highlights Israel’s multidisciplinary approach and hope for continued healing.

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 ideas, and Dr. Michael Stein, Executive Director, Harvard Law School Project on Disability, a leading experts on disability law and policy.

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; New York Times Best-Selling Author of Look Me in the Eye; and Rabbi Dr. Rafi Feuerstein, President of the Feuerstein Institute.

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 in the United States.