http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=11065

Israel Hayom | Dr. Oz at Yad Vashem: We can never forget

Famous American TV doctor visits Israel with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and, together, the two and their respective entourages visit Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Maimonides' tomb in Tiberias, Nazareth and the Wedding Church in Kafr Kanna.

Yori Yalon and Danny Brenner

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the famous TV doctor from the United States, and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, both of whom have been spending time Israel, visited Yad Vashem on Tuesday.

Oz and Boteach met while working for one of the most influential television hosts in the U.S., Oprah Winfrey. Boteach invited Oz -- a Muslim of Turkish origin -- and his wife and children to visit Israel with him.

The two men and their families were guided by Hanoch Teller through the Yad Vashem's Holocaust museum, the Hall of Names and the Children's Memorial. Following his visit, Oz told Israel Hayom that the museum helped him understand the dimensions of the Holocaust, and the horrific system the Nazis employed to carry out their plans. Oz said he was stunned at how the Nazis were able to come up with arguments to back their actions, leading the Jews to their deaths.

Oz said the lessons of the Holocaust must be remembered, so that history does not repeat itself.

From Jerusalem, Oz and his entourage visited Tiberias and Nazareth, stopping on the way for a kosher lunch in Beit Shean. In Tiberias, he visited the tomb of Maimonides -- a historically prominent Middle Eastern physician who worked mainly in Cairo during the 12th century -- at the Maimonides Heritage Center in the city. Boteach served as tour guide there, explaining to Oz Maimonides' legacy and medical methodology, which including a preference for more natural remedies -- dietary adjustments and healthy lifestyle choices -- before administering medication.

Following the visit, and not before a token photograph taken at the center, Oz said he was impressed by Maimonides' skills as a physicians nearly 1,000 years ago, especially his emphasis on the mental element of the healing process, which Oz said was just as important for convalescence. Oz wondered how Maimonides could have had such medical insight in the 12th century.

The group then visited the Wedding Church in Kafr Kanna near Nazareth, where Christians believe Jesus performed his miracle in the Gospel of John by turning water to wine at a wedding. Archeologist Danny Herman led the tour here, surprising Oz and his group by showing a Hebrew inscription on the church floor and explaining that it was built on the remains of an ancient synagogue.

Even in Kafr Kanna, it was impossible for the group to go unnoticed, with several village residents running up to the U.S. TV star and asking him for a photograph.