Temple Beth Israel features satellite speakers this season

“How to Change The World” with Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute of Columbia University, will be featured at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, in the ongoing Live by Satellite from New York’s 92nd Street Y series presented at Temple Beth Israel. Sachs is also a special adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Harvard University professor Howard Gardner will conduct the interview.

The series is sponsored by the Rabbi Sanford Saperstein Fund of Temple Beth Israel, with the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice joining as a sponsor for the first time this year.

“Because of the late Rabbi Saperstein’s interest in education and teaching, the committee chose to honor his memory with this informative program,” said program Chairwoman June Stern of the three-year program.

The format varies with each presentation.

On Oct. 26, award-winning author and Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael B. Oren and journalist and author Yossi Klein Halevi will discuss the world’s obsession with Israel and the explosive politics of the Middle East. Moderator will be Thane Rosenbaum.

“The program on Oct. 29 will be most interesting,” Stern said. “It will be a debate between Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz and radio talk-show host Dennis Prager. Their topic will be, ‘The Left, the Right in Judaism in America.’”

Also scheduled are: Wednesday, Nov. 4 — author of “Tuesdays with Morrie,” Mitch Albom; Nov. 21 — Alan Dershowitz and Jeremy Ben-Ami, a discussion on American foreign policy and Israel, with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer as moderator; and Dec. 7 — “The Coming Commercial Revolution in the Muslim World,” with Vail Nasr, a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council of Foreign Relations, and Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan. The final program of the year will be held Dec. 14 and will feature the former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and New York Times reporter Joseph Berger.

“It will be a free-flowing, provocative discussion on current events,” Stern said.

The program is open to the public. Admission for temple members is free and $5 for non-members. Reservations can be made at 383-3428.

IF YOU GO

“How to Change the World,” featuring Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute of Columbia University, and interviewer Howard Gardner, Harvard University professor, will take place at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. The event is open to the public. Admission is free for temple members; $5 for non-temple members. Call 383-3428 for more information and reservations.