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Dr. Mehmet Oz, the most famous doctor in the United States, will come with his family to Israel on July 28, his first visit to the country. Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, is likely to garner considerable fanfare because his television show, "The Dr. Oz Show," is broadcast in 118 languages, including in Israel on the Health Channel.
The show recently won, for the third consecutive year, the Emmy award for best show. His books have also sold millions of copies worldwide and have been translated into 40 languages, including Hebrew.
"I'm very happy to be coming to Israel," Dr. Oz told Israel Hayom. "My being of Turkish descent, I have always appreciated the ties and deep friendship shared between the Turkish people and the Israeli people, and me being an American I have always appreciated the deep friendship between Israel and the American people," he said.
Dr. Oz is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit.
The renowned doctor is convinced that the warm and deep bond between Israel and Turkey will persevere. In the interview that will be published in full this weekend, Oz speaks of his father, also a doctor, who still lives in Turkey, about his father's mentor who was Jewish, and about his friend, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and how his appearance on TV helps his viewers improve their health no less than the heart surgeries he still performs.
He also tells Israel Hayom what he would want to do if he were not a doctor.
Dr. Oz will arrive in Israel accompanied by "the most famous rabbi in America," Shmuley Boteach, who has written 29 books, among them "Kosher Sex."
The two were first acquainted on Oprah Winfrey's radio show.
"It has been years since I've wanted to bring a giant figure such as Dr. Oz to Israel," Boteach told Israel Hayom on Wednesday.
Dr. Oz, along with Elie Wiesel and Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, were recently honored at This World: The Jewish Values Network’s inaugural Champion of Jewish Values International Awards Gala. The Adelsons are behind the initiative to bring the famous doctor on his first visit to Israel.
