Coronavirus Commissioner Professor Nachman Ash, a specialist in internal medicine, has been tapped to become the new Director-General of Israel’s Health Ministry it was announced Monday.
The news comes as the number of new COVID-19 cases in Israel is again on the rise. On Sunday, 145 cases of the virus were diagnosed, the highest number of daily new cases since April.
“Professor Ash looks at people as human beings and his considerations always carry a high level of social sensitivity,” Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said in his announcement.
“We will confront coronavirus in a professional, level-headed and transparent manner while also strengthening the public health system, reduce the gaps in health treatment and place people at the center.
“We both believe that the mission of the Health Ministry is to serve as the flagship of equality and human rights in Israel, and we will lead the system in this spirit,” Horowitz added.
Current Health Ministry Director-General Professor Chezi Levy resigned from his position on Sunday after having served one year. Levy said he will return to his previous post as Director-General of Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett congratulated Ash on his appointment, and said, “Nachman, I am sure that just as you have successfully led the State of Israel and the health care system as part of your role as Coronavirus Commissioner, you will also successfully lead the Health Ministry in normal times as well as times of emergency and protect the health of Israeli citizens.”
In response, Ash thanked the health minister “for the trust he has placed in me” and said he felt it a “great privilege to lead Israel’s excellent health system.” He added that the ministry “faces a huge challenge in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic alongside strengthening the system in all its areas of responsibility.”