In the El Chorrillo neighborhood of Panama City, special guests from Israel arrived this week. A senior delegation from Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital) came to the country to provide medical care to the local community at the neighborhood’s health center, in a gesture of solidarity and the historic friendship between Israel and Panama. Each day of the operation, the Israeli team treats about 200 patients.
The delegation, an initiative of Israel’s ambassador to Panama, Mattanya Cohen, in cooperation with Ichilov Aid, Panama’s Health Ministry and the Office of the First Lady, spent about a week in the country, strengthening primary care in the area. The Israeli team also donated medical equipment and 200 pairs of eyeglasses to neighborhood residents.
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The son, paramedic Ido, checks the president’s wife’s blood pressure as his mother, Dr. Ronit Almog, watches proudly
(Photo: Israeli Embassy in Panama)
Alongside the doctors, another delegation from “Heroes for Life” has been working in the city for two weeks. The group consists of young Israelis after military service who, as part of their post-army travels, choose to give back to the community by volunteering in local schools, where they teach children basic subjects and renovate school facilities.
The two delegations received significant media coverage in Panama, as well as visits from senior government ministers, including the foreign and health ministers, underscoring the initiative’s place on the country’s public agenda. Mayer Mizrachi, the well-known mayor of Panama City and social media personality with 1 million followers, also came to greet the Israeli delegation and thank its members.
Panama’s Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha warmly thanked the Israeli Embassy and medical team, saying: “This is the diplomacy that President José Raúl Mulino wants and calls for: diplomacy that reaches people, turns into solutions and improves the lives of Panamanians.”
Special ties with Israel
Israel’s ambassador to Panama, Mattanya Cohen, said: “This mission is much more than medical aid — it is an expression of the friendship between Israel and Panama and of the fact that the best diplomacy is built on empathy, solidarity and service that reaches people directly. We are proud and happy to carry out a mission that has such a positive impact on the health of Panama’s residents. I thank the doctors at Ichilov Hospital who are making an extraordinary effort to bring their expertise to places where the medical system is not as developed as it is in Israel.”
(Photo: Israeli Embassy in Panama)
Relations between Israel and Panama have long been very strong. Panama is the only country in Latin America that does not recognize a Palestinian state, a fact that reflects the special and warm relationship between the two countries.
Those ties have only grown closer in recent months. In May 2026, President Isaac Herzog made a historic visit to Panama and Costa Rica, the first official visit by an Israeli president to Central America. Following the visit, another Israeli delegation is planned for Panama, this time involving experts from Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, who will share Israel’s unique knowledge and experience in water management with their Panamanian counterparts amid the severe water crisis facing the country.
An integral part of Israel-Panama relations is Panama’s Jewish community, a vibrant community of about 15,000 people that serves as a living and significant bridge between the two countries and makes major contributions to the country’s economic, social and cultural life. Panama has six Jewish schools of different denominations, as well as active youth movements such as Maccabi and Noar.
'We go everywhere in the world'
The Office of Panama’s First Lady added two fully equipped mobile medical units to the operation, offering mammograms, hearing tests and other preventive services. The move significantly expanded the scope of care and enabled the teams to reach more patients.
Dr. Ronit Almog, director of Ichilov Aid and head of the delegation, said: “We go everywhere in the world — in Asia, Africa and Latin America — and bring the help that local residents need. This is a mission of the highest importance for us, to provide care to those who need it, and certainly a great honor for us to do so on behalf of the State of Israel in a friendly country like Panama.”
(Photo: Israeli Embassy in Panama)
A central component of the operation is the collaboration between Israeli specialists and Panamanian doctors. There is strong demand in Panama for Israeli expertise: Each Israeli doctor in the delegation works alongside one or two Panamanian doctors in close collaboration that facilitates an exchange of knowledge, including diagnostic and treatment techniques, clinical experience and best practices developed in Israel’s health care system.
Beyond the direct care provided to patients, this cooperation creates the lasting value of the visit — an impact that remains at the health center long after the delegation returns home.
As noted, alongside the medical operation, a delegation from “Heroes for Life” is active in the same neighborhood and two other impoverished neighborhoods. The group consists of 28 young men and women who, as part of their post-army travels, volunteer at local schools, renovate facilities and teach children basic subjects.
Teenagers from Panama’s Jewish schools have also joined the volunteers. Together with the former soldiers, they paint and renovate schools and clinics in the area — while also improving their Hebrew along the way.
Among the volunteers accompanying the medical team on behalf of “Heroes for Life” is Ido, a discharged paramedic and the son of Dr. Ronit Almog, head of the delegation. The two had barely seen each other for nearly six months, since Ido set out on a post-army trip through Latin America after completing his military service.
This time, they found themselves working together, each in his or her own role — Ronit as a doctor and Ido as a paramedic — serving the same community in Panama City.