Prof. Salman Zarka Appointed as New Coronavirus Commissioner

Prof. Salman Zarka was appointed by Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz as Israel’s next coronavirus commissioner on Wednesday to replace outgoing commissioner Prof. Nachman Ash.

Zarka, a Druze, has been director-general of Ziv Medical Center in Tzfas for the past seven years.

He is a graduate of the Technion Medical School in Haifa. Zarka is a clinical associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Tzfas of Bar Ilan University, and a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health and in the Department of Military Medicine at the Hebrew University. He holds a master’s degree in epidemiology and public health from the Hebrew University of Yerushalayim and is a graduate of the National Security College. Prof. Zarka has two specializations – one in public health and the other in public administration.

In the past, Prof. Zarka served as commander of the IDF Medical Services Center and as head of the Health Department of the Medical Corps. He established and commanded a military hospital on the Syrian border, during a special humanitarian operation carried out by Israel.