Prof. Salman Zarka was appointed by Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz as Israel’s next coronavirus commissioner on Wednesday.
He will replace outgoing commissioner Prof. Nachman Ash, who was selected as the ministry’s new director-general, at the helm of Magen Israel, the special task force set up to coordinate the fight against COVID-19.
“I will work in full partnership with experts and political leaders in a professional and determined manner, always having the values of the medical profession before my eyes,” Zarka said. “The coronavirus pandemic is not just a health issue, it is a complex issue concerning the national security of the State of Israel. We must take into account all the considerations and broad implications of dealing with the virus.”
Zarka has been director-general of Ziv Medical Center in Safed for the past seven years and was already a member of the committee of experts advising the authorities on the pandemic.
A graduate of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the doctor is an epidemiologist, teaches at both Bar-Ilan and Hebrew universities, and is also an expert in public health and public health administration.
A member of the Druze community, Zarka served in the Israel Defense Forces for 25 years, reaching the rank of colonel. He established and commanded the field hospital that the IDF set up in the Golan to treat Syrians wounded in the civil war. On Israel’s 71st Independence Day in 2019, he was chosen to light one of the torches.
“The last few weeks have proven that the challenges brought by the coronavirus will accompany us for a long time, and the work of Magen Israel is necessary for maintaining public health,” Horowitz commented. “I have no doubt that the vast experience and skills that Prof. Zarka brings with him will be a great asset for us in the Health Ministry and for all citizens of Israel.”
“Prof. Zarka is a natural choice for the position of coronavirus commissioner at a time when we are dealing with a rising morbidity,” Ash said, adding that he “has led the response to the coronavirus pandemic from day one at the hospital he directs, he was a member of the Magen Israel experts committee and was heavily involved in dealing with corona in the Arab sector.
“I wish him much success in his new role, and I am sure we will work in full cooperation.”
Zarka is the third commissioner appointed to the position since the beginning of the pandemic, after Ash and Prof. Ronnie Gamzu, CEO of Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), who served in the role between July and October 2020.