Can a story change history? Award-winning author and journalist Matti Friedman joins Touro University President Dr. Alan Kadish to discuss his new book Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe and the power of storytelling in shaping Jewish history, Zionism, and Israel. Friedman recounts the remarkable 1944 mission of 32 young Jews who escaped Nazi Europe for British Mandate Palestine and then volunteered to parachute back behind enemy lines, including poet Hannah Senesh, who became one of Israel’s most enduring heroes. Though the mission failed militarily, Friedman argues its true success was narrative: it helped forge a new Jewish story of courage and agency that inspired the building of a state.

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 service before examining the evidence behind Israel’s legitimacy as a state, the Jewish people’s indigenous connection to the land of Israel, and the misuse of legal terminology in modern political discourse. Blending history, law, personal narrative, and current events, this compelling conversation explores truth, justice, democracy, and the dangers of misinformation in today’s world.

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 narratives and political ideology that blurred distinctions between Jews, Israelis, and Zionists, Osman explains how deeply ingrained beliefs are formed—and how one unexpected human encounter in France challenged everything she thought was true.

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 to expand dramatically even after its leader’s passing. Telushkin also offers thoughtful perspective on today’s campus climate and antisemitism, and addresses the complicated question of messianism within Chabad.

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.