On October 20, 2025, the Center was honored to host in person Brigadier General (ret.) Dr. Chezy Levy, the former Surgeon General of the Israel Defense Forces and former Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Health.

Organized by the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies.

About the Program

Dr. Levy served as the CEO of the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon in southern Israel from 2013 to 2025. Dr. Felicia Marie Knaul, Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine and Associate of the Chancellor, moderated Dr. Levy's talk.

Dr. Levy gave a detailed and moving presentation regarding the events of October 7, 2023, when nearly 400 victims of the Hamas atrocities were brought to Barzilai's emergency room. He described how the hospital had to improvise in real time to deal with the mass influx of casualties, including addressing the highly complex and ethically fraught issues involving patient triage. He also discussed the ongoing impacts of October 7 on hospital staff suffering from PTSD-related issues. Finally, Dr. Levy described the role Barzilai has played in providing care to Israeli hostages released from Hamas captivity and torture.

Dr. Levy's talk was the first in a new series of academic events and public programs the Center is planning regarding the October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent reverberations both inside Israel and more broadly throughout the Middle East.

 Pictured from left to right: Sharon Nazarian, PhD, President, Y&S Nazarian Family Foundation; Professor Steven E. Zipperstein, UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center Director; Dr. Felicia Marie Knaul, Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine and Associate of the Chancellor; Dr. Chezy Levy, the former Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Health and former CEO of Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon; Israel Bachar, Consul General of Israel to the Pacific Southwest.

DISCLAIMER: The views or opinions of our guest speakers and the content of their presentations do not necessarily reflect the views of the UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. Hosting speakers does not constitute an endorsement of the speaker's views or opinions.