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.

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 mean for the future of conflict.

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 discusses the rise of antisemitism, magnified since October 7, as not only a threat to Jews but to democracy itself, and calls out the United Nations for betraying its founding ideals by enabling rather than combating antisemitism.

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.