Arnon Afek (; born May 18, 1963) is an Israeli physician who specializes in

pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

and medical management. Afek served as Director-General of the Israeli Ministry of Health in 2014–2015. He is currently Deputy Director-General of

Sheba Medical Center Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer (), also known as Tel HaShomer Hospital, is the largest hospital in Israel, located in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan in the Tel HaShomer neighborhood, Israel. In 2025, ''Newsweek'' ranked it as ...

and acting director of Sheba General Hospital at

Tel Hashomer Tel HaShomer (, ''lit.'' Hill of the Guardsman) or Kiryat Krinitzi is a neighborhood in Ramat Gan, Israel. It borders Kiryat Ono in the north, Yehud in the east, and Or Yehuda in the south. A major Israel Defense Forces base and the Sheba Medical ...

Biography

Arnon Afek was born in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. His father, Dr. Yigal Afek, was an engineer, and his mother, Shoshana, was a teacher. Afek grew up in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. In 1981–1987, he studied at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

and

Hadassah Medical School Hadassah Medical Center () is an Israeli medical organization established in 1934 that operates two university hospitals in Jerusalem (one in Ein Karem and one in Mount Scopus) as well as schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacology a ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, graduating with distinction. He did his internship at

Beilinson Hospital Rabin Medical Center () is a large general hospital located in Petah Tikva, Israel. It is owned and operated by Clalit Health Services, Israel's largest health maintenance organization. In January 1996, Beilinson Hospital and Hasharon Hospital were ...

(

Rabin Medical Center Rabin Medical Center () is a large general hospital located in Petah Tikva, Israel. It is owned and operated by Clalit Health Services, Israel's largest health maintenance organization. In January 1996, Beilinson Hospital and Hasharon Hospital were ...

) in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

in 2000–2002 and residency in

pathological anatomy Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the gross examination, macroscopic, Histopathology, microscopic, biochemical, immu ...

. In 2002 to 2004, he earned an MSc in Health Administration at

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) (, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public university, public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Named after Israeli List of national founders, national founder David Ben-Gurion, the unive ...

, graduating with honors, and specialized in medical administration at Sheba and the Ministry of Health.

Military career

After graduating from medical school, Afek served in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

as a military physician. In 2004–2007, he was head of the Occupational Medicine and Medical Classification branch of the IDF, as well as chairman of the Department of Medical Administration of the IDF Medical Corps. He serves in the reserves as a member of the IDF-MC Helsinki Committee at the rank of Colonel (Res). During his time in the military, Afek changed the concept of medical classification and promoted volunteering for military service. Matanyahu Englman in SHIBA

Medical and academic career

Afek is a professor of

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

and Director of the New York State/American MD program at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

. He teaches at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Coller School of Management, and holds an associate professorship at the School of Medicine of the

University of Nicosia University of Nicosia (UNIC) is a private university in Nicosia, Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical o ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. In 2011–2013, he taught at

Bar Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

. Since 2018, he has been lecturing on healthcare innovation in the international MBA program of the Arison School of Business at the

IDC Herzliya Reichman University () is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC Herzliya, ) private college, before being rebranded in 2021. It receives no ...

. In 2008, Afek was appointed Deputy Director-General of Chaim Sheba Medical Center. Afek is the founding Chairman of the National Council of Pathology and Forensic Medicine of the Israeli Ministry of Health. In addition, Afek chairs the Association of Israeli Hospital Management and the Israel Medical Association World Federation. He is a former member of the OECD Health Committee Bureau of Governance. In January 2012, he was appointed director of Medical Affairs of the Ministry of Health, becoming Director-General of the Ministry in May 2014. He led the regulatory reform on medical cannabis. In 2017, he was a contributing editor to a special issue of the medical journal ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...

'', focusing on health in Israel. In July 2019, he was appointed Chief Medical Advisor of the Ministry of Health's Medical Cannabis Unit.

Awards and recognition

Afek has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles on topics ranging from

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...

and other risk factors in

cardiovascular In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart a ...

disease to

vascular Vascular can refer to: * blood vessels, the vascular system in animals * vascular tissue Vascular tissue is a complex transporting tissue, formed of more than one cell type, found in vascular plants. The primary components of vascular tissue ...

disease,

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and cancer in adolescents, and the immunopathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Afek has won numerous awards, among them the Goldenberg Award and the Kellerman Prize for research in cardiology.

Publications

* Yuval Lendscheft, Elbo Boaz, Rephael Meshulam, Arnon Afek. ''Medical Cannabis – Clinical Guideline (The Green Book)''. 2019 3rd edition. Israeli Ministry of Health Publications, Jerusalem, Israel

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afek, Arnon 1963 births Israeli government officials The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School alumni Academic staff of Tel Aviv University Academic staff of Bar-Ilan University Israeli pathologists Israeli military doctors Israeli corporate directors Living people