Montel Williams, an Emmy award winning American television personality and radio talk show host has been visiting Israel for the past six days.

Williams was visiting the Jewish state on an educational mission to learn about Israeli progress in science, medicine and available therapies to patients living with multiple sclerosis, also known as MS. Williams suffers from multiple sclerosis and has travelled around the globe to learn about his disease and available medicinal remedies.

“I had heard from trusted colleagues and advisors that Israel was far ahead of its counterparts in areas of study critical to my condition…” said Williams.

Williams visited  with physicians at leading Israeli hospitals including the Hadassah Medical Center, Abarbanel Hospital, Shaare Zedek Hospital and Sheba Medical Center. Williams also met with researchers from Hebrew University and Haifa University.

During his visit, Williams also took the time to visit with 100 American and Canadian lone soldiers serving in the IDF, who are affiliated with the Lone Soldier Center, an organization which provides service to foreign-born IDF soldiers. The Lone Soldier Center had organized a special steak dinner and poker night for the soldiers this past Saturday night. Williams joined the soldiers in the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem, where he moderated the poker playing as a world-class poker player himself.

In addition, Williams is a decorated US naval officer who spent 22 years in the military. Throughout his travels, Williams says he makes it a point to visit with troops, as he identifies strongly with lone soldiers.

During the action-packed poker night, Williams was notified at one point during the evening that Grad rockets from Gaza had struck Ashkelon. Williams then decided to pause the poker playing in order to reflect for a moment on the precarious situation facing southern Israeli residents.  

Williams, who also spent time with Save a Child’s Heart, an organization that assists families from developing nations in securing life-saving treatment for their children, said he found his visits both with Save a Child’s Heart and the lone Israeli soldiers, especially inspiring moments during his trip.

“Israel is a special place and I am humbled that the country welcomed me to learn about the ground breaking discoveries they have made in various medical, scientific and technological arenas,” said Williams.