Posted on 07/27/2013 10:58:34 PM PDT by Mortrey
Edited on 07/27/2013 11:36:00 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Updated: Added the article
He’s a proud American, a proud Turk, a proud Muslim and a great friend of Israel, though his visit here this Sunday will be his first •
"Israel and Turkey have too many common interests that are impossible to ignore, and the leaders are aware of them."
Boaz Bismuth
I got two pieces of advice from Dr. Mehmet Oz when we started the interview. The first had to do with health: "Eat right. Treat the supermarket like a pharmacy. It has all the vital ingredients for preserving good health." The second, which he offered as a Muslim, had to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the conflicts among the nations of the regions in general: "I pray you will be able to see the things that unite you and realize that they're stronger and much more dominant than the differences between you."
For anyone who has not yet heard of him -- though many Israelis are familiar with him -- Dr. Oz is not just any physician. A cardiac surgeon by training who will be coming to Israel for a historic visit, he is the most watched physician in the United States. Millions of Americans view his television program, The Dr. Oz Show is broadcast to more than a hundred countries, including our own Health Channel. His books, which have been translated into about 40 languages, including Hebrew, are runaway best-sellers. On his television programs and in various publications, Dr. Oz tells us how to lose weight, live longer, be younger, be beautiful and improve our sex lives.
But Dr. Oz has other traits: He's a proud American, a proud Turk and a proud Muslim who is considered a great friend of Israel, though his visit here this Sunday will be his first. The visit was arranged by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, one of the most famous rabbis in America and the founder of This World: The Values Network. At a gala dinner of his organization last May benefiting the Rambam Medical Center, Rabbi Boteach honored Dr. Oz as a champion of human values. The other honorees were Elie Wiesel and Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson.
That same evening, with the mediation and assistance of the Adelsons, it was decided that the time had come for Dr. Oz to visit Israel with his family to connect to the Holy Land.
"I thought to myself that the State of Israel would only benefit from the visit of such a well-known physician and great friend," Rabbi Boteach told me in a telephone conversation from the United States. Dr. Oz will be arriving with Lisa Oz, his wife of 28 years, and their four children. He is expected to lecture at the University of Haifa, and he has already taught Israeli physicians. The physician and the rabbi -- who will also be arriving with his family and will visit the Cave of the Patriarchs, among other places -- met during a program that they presented together on Oprah Winfrey's radio station, Oprah Radio.
The Turkish model
If his schedule allows, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with Dr. Oz. The doctor and the prime minister will talk about more than just medicine. Dr. Oz has another advantage in understanding the region that only few have: He is personally acquainted with, and admires, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Dr. Oz, people in Israel aren't all that thrilled with Erdogan, who makes things difficult for us. What can you tell us about him?
"I met him quite a few years ago when he was still serving as mayor of Istanbul. You have to understand that he's an extremely important leader in the Muslim world. His political success is not a coincidence. He worked hard. You may not know it, but he personally took care of the city's poor. Through Islam, he improves the citizens' lives. Of course, one can argue about his ideas and his performance, but despite everything that Turkey is going through now, Erdogan brought political stability to his people. Erdogan's Turkey has become a democratic model for other Muslim nations."
In your opinion, will there be a change in the chilly relations between Israel and Erdogan's Turkey?
"Relations will go back to being friendly. I'm convinced of that, and it's only a matter of time. The Turkish and Israeli nations know how to work together, and they like doing so. They engaged in transactions before, and they will again. Israel and Turkey have too many common interests that are impossible to ignore, and the leaders are aware of them. Israel and Turkey have been allies for many years. Both countries must not be at odds. I can promise you that it will be all right."
When you said that Erdogan's Turkey was a model for the Arab nations, were you referring to the Arab Spring?
"Yes. I'm very optimistic about what's happening in the Arab world. They are people, and I believe in them. Still, we have to keep a careful eye on what's happening. Look at what's happening now in Egypt. It's not easy. Democracies are tested not by how the winners are treated, but by how the losers are treated. When the Muslim Brotherhood is not allowed to take part, that's a problem in the end. It's not democracy. We have to see how things will turn out. The Turkish model that combines Islam and democracy is the dream of the Arab nations, who took to the streets to protest."
"People aren't connected anymore"
Dr. Oz, the son of Turkish immigrants Suna and Mustafa Oz, believes in cooperation between Jews and Muslims. His family experienced such cooperation when he studied medicine from Jewish physicians and did his specialization among them. He recalls that a Jewish physician named Dr. Nissan treated his mother. He describes such cooperation as optimism, which is one of his main characteristics and to which he attributes his success.
At the age of 53, he can be pleased. His television program, The Dr. Oz Show, has won three Emmy Awards. He is a professor at the Department of Surgery at Columbia University, where he also serves as vice chair. He is also the director of the Cardiovascular Institute and heads the alternative medicine program at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. He has conducted many studies about heart transplants and alternative medicine and that show how to stay in good health -- and on top of all that, he performs about 100 heart operations per year.
Do you feel you're more effective as a surgeon or as a television host who gives medical advice?
"There's nothing like being a heart surgeon. Imagine what a heart is. Imagine what happens during heart surgery. It's so unique. I would love to perform 10,000 operations per year, but in the end I'm limited in the number of operations I can perform."
Still, television is a tool that helps you in your work.
"Definitely. Let's say I operate on 500 cases a year. Imagine how many people I can reach through television. I want to believe that the advice I give people through my television program has the clear advantage of helping them maintain their health and stay young."
Dr. Oz believes strongly in caring for and maintaining the body. This September, another book in the series he co-writes with Dr. Michael Roizen will be coming out in Hebrew -- YOU: Being Beautiful: The Owner's Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty.
Would you say that people care more about health today than in the past?
"I'm very glad to see there's been a change in people and that they understand that science alone is not enough for our health. Fifty years ago, people died of infections, and then people said, 'If only there were antibiotics.' Now we're at a different level, where we want to be aware of how to protect our bodies and live well."
Can we have an example from a specific health field?
"Let's look at the field of addiction. People eat too much, but we shouldn't just tell them 'Don't eat.' Instead, we should tell them we love them and they're important to us, so it's important to us that they take care of themselves. It's that way with addiction to smoking, too. You have to make people understand why we don't want them to suffer from harmful addictions, not just tell them it's forbidden. Also, when we talk about health in general terms, we have to know how to do it, since the subject bores people. It's much better to tell them what can make them more beautiful, smarter and sexier."
In your opinion, what is the toughest medical problem we are dealing with today?
"People aren't connected anymore. People don't connect with each other. People don't make eye contact. That only prevents us from developing well. Connection is what defines us and our lives. For example, obesity is a symptom of loneliness. Stress causes us to make wrong choices. A rich country is a healthy country."
Would you tell us what food you won't give up?
"I'm very fond of ice cream, especially pistachio and chocolate. Luckily, I also like to eat raw vegetables, especially cauliflower. It's the winning combination -- to eat things you like that are also healthy."
What are you careful about?
"Eight hours of sleep. That's a must. Any night that you go to sleep before midnight helps stabilize your circulatory system. It helps your creativity and alertness. I go to bed at 10 o'clock every night and wake up feeling like new at a quarter to six in the morning."
It sounds like you know how to deal with many things, but it's reasonable that there's something you have difficulty with.
"The toughest thing for me is to lose a patient. You develop techniques for dealing with it, but you never really get over it."
How do you give yourself encouragement?
"I talk with my wife. She's always there to listen to me."
Love and religion
The more the conversation progresses, the clearer it becomes that Dr. Oz is a special person who doesn't just give out medical advice, but also practices what he preaches. Accordingly, he looks young and energetic, and he is also encouraging his children to aim high. Just as he followed in his father's footsteps, his daughter is following in his: She is a medical student at Harvard University, where Dr. Oz completed his studies in 1982.
Despite his great success, or perhaps because of it, Dr. Oz has gained many critics who dispute the advice he dispenses. But his press file is enough to silence them. For two years running (2010 and 2011), he made Forbes's list of the world's most influential celebrities, and in 2008 he made Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people. He appears on many "best doctors" lists as well.
At this stage of the interview, we revisit the advice he gave me at the beginning. I ask him to go a bit more deeply into his interest in what is happening in our conflicted region.
What were you referring to when you said that all religions had more things in common than things that divided them?
"Love. To me, love is the most important lesson religion gives us. Loving God and loving your neighbor. When groups put more emphasis on what unites us than on what divides us, it will be a lot harder to nourish conflicts. In other words, I pray that the nations will realize that what unites us is stronger than all the little differences, which are usually led by tribal loyalty to very specific ideals."
During the 9/11 attacks, were you afraid of how Muslims might be treated in the United States?
"I was worried that people might connect all the Muslims in the United States with the 19 people who committed the attacks, but the result was very different. The Americans learned a lot more about Islam. It was much more comfortable for them to talk and debate about religion and the way to respect Islam in various countries. With time, the general result was that America has a better understanding of the Muslim faith, and tolerance there has only increased."
Do you have a way to cure the sicknesses here in the Middle East to resolve the conflict, or teach us how to do it?
"The word 'medicine' has the meaning of healing. The word 'doctor' has the meaning of teaching. So my choice is to intervene to heal by teaching wisdom. I believe that all the professions have an obligation to talk about civil subjects of great importance to help societies in times of turmoil. I also think that medicine has always been successful at crossing every geopolitical and religious border."
What would you do if you weren't a surgeon?
"I guess I'd be an athlete. I'd love to be a football star. In general, I find all kinds of sports captivating."
Full disclosure: Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson own the company that is the primary shareholder of Israel Hayom.
"When the Muslim Brotherhood is not allowed to take part, that's a problem in the end. It's not democracy. We have to see how things will turn out."
He’s definitely an imbecile.
Something strange about taking medical advice from a guy named Oz? Gee Toto I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.
Dr. Oz is a proctologist?
I’m not taking ANY advice of ANY kind from a Muslim. Oz should go back to an Islamic hell hole and ‘live the dream’.
Well he’s a Turk so that figures.
From what little I know of of him I’d barely be interested in his opinion on a medical matter let alone anything else. Shove it, Mehmet.
two peoples cannot unite when one of them has a core belief that they must eradicate the other people.
oz should stick to medicine.
His first name is just a modified version of “Mohammad”, too.
Another thing, there’s always been a decidedly dark edge about him that I’ve found off-putting. Creepy.
I really don’t get that, they name half their males after him but it’s a stoning offense to show a picture of the jerk.
Oprah is creepy herself.
Mission accomplished, Mohammedans? And, Mehmet, I don't think you'd be overjoyed by what I've learned about your religion since that day.
>> a proud Muslim
Really?
If you're fat.....STOP EATING SO MUCH....
If you're lazy....GET OFF YOUR A**....Walking is free
All of a sudden....everyone is lactose intolerant, can only eat gluten free....It's called brain washing!!
...and now, he’s a US Senate candidate...
Yup.
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