he director general of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Hezi Levy, announced his resignation

The director general of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Hezi Levy, announced his resignation today (Sunday). Levy, who was appointed to the position in June 2020 by former Minister Yuli Edelstein, will return to manage Barzilai Hospital. He replaced Moshe Bar-Siman Tov.
Levy's main task was to prepare the health system for the second wave of the corona, fearing the winter months and flu season. Shortly after his appointment, Prof. Roni Gamzo was appointed corona projector. Levy appointed Dr. Sharon Elroi-Price as head of public health services, at a time when the ministry's senior management backbone had been replaced.
During his tenure, the health care system faced two more waves of illness. The last of which began in December 2020 with the penetration of the British variant and the start of the vaccination campaign in Israel.
Levy's area of ​​activity in the past year has been extremely limited and has not allowed him real management. During his time, the ministry focused on treating the corona plague, parts of which were treated by Projector Gamzo and later by Prof. Nachman Ash. The political reality and the lack of budget also paralyzed the ministry and did not allow it to make significant or broad moves in the health system in the year he served in office.
The question of the identity of his replacement has been debated in recent weeks. The medical professionals whose names came up are, among others, Prof. Nadav Davidovich, from the Public Health School at Ben Gurion University and chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians, and Dr. Oli Weinstein, who served as head of the government hospitals division at the Ministry of Health. In general. Another name that came up is Dr. Osnat Luxenburg, director of the ministry's medical technology division, and names like Prof. Ofer Marin, director of Shaare Zedek, and Michael Halbertl, CEO of Rambam.
Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said after the resignation: "I would like to thank Prof. Hezi Levy, who volunteered to serve as the ministry's director general during one of the most challenging periods known to the health system in Israel. Hezi has served the State of Israel with great professionalism, and I am confident that he will continue to contribute his skills to the public health system. "
Levy was previously the director of the Barzilai Medical Center and previously served as the office's senior vice president. Levy, a specialist in surgery, participated in the First Lebanon War. And Rwanda. According to Edelstein, his extensive experience in emergency medicine was an important parameter in choosing him.
He served as Chief Medical Officer in the IDF until 2007, after which he was appointed Senior Vice President and Head of the Medical Administration at the Ministry of Health. In 2012, he was elected director of Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, and in 2018 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Minister of Health to health professionals.