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.
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 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.
(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 Harvard University. His most recent work is Perpetuating the Masorah: Halakhic, Ethical and Experiential Dimensions.
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 shares political and military lessons from the conflict, his concern for the rise of anti-Semitism, and the hope he sees in the resilience of the Israeli people.
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 standing together.
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 American college campuses about the Islamist threats to America.
