The Israeli emergency response service United Hatzalah has appointed Dr. Ehud Davidson as its new CEO, succeeding Eli Pollak, who leaves the role after five years, the organization announced on Thursday.

Davidson, an internist and the former CEO of Israel’s Clalit Health Services — one of the country’s largest healthcare providers — and former head of several Israeli hospitals, signifies United Hatzalah’s continued efforts to professionalize and to gain recognition as a major force in the Israeli medical system. 

“I want to welcome the incoming CEO, Professor Ehud Davidson, who brings with him great professionalism in the field of medical management in the State of Israel,” United Hatzalah founder and President Eli Beer said in a statement. (In Israel, doctors who teach at medical schools go by the honorific professor, which is considered weightier.)

“Under Professor Davidson’s leadership, we will continue to advance the second largest emergency organization in the State of Israel,” Beer said, referring to the organization’s long-standing rivalry with Magen David Adom, the country’s official ambulance service. “And we’ll continue to pioneer rapid emergency medical care nationwide, assisting those in need with unparalleled professionalism and even faster response times.”

United Hatzalah maintains a network of approximately 7,000 active volunteers across Israel, who rely on a fleet of ambucycles, electric bicycles, ambulances and other assorted emergency vehicles to respond to 2,200 emergency calls on average each day.

Mark Gerson, the international chair of United Hatzalah, said that he’d had “the genuine pleasure of getting to know Ehud in the last month” and came away impressed by his abilities. 

“His organizational philosophy, business-minded approach, knowledge of the Israeli health care system, commitment to the United Hatzalah volunteers and their mission and management style give me the confidence that he will be an outstanding CEO of United Hatzalah of Israel,” said Gerson, a U.S.-based investor and philanthropy.

Pollak, the son of a Haredi politician, was among the founders of United Hatzalah, alongside Beer, serving in a variety of roles with the organization. In 2019, he became CEO of the organization, leading it through the COVID-19 pandemic. During his tenure, he expanded the operation’s crop of volunteers to include more women and non-Jews. He helped oversee United Hatzalah’s efforts to bring infirm and elderly immigrants to Israel as they escaped the war in Ukraine. He has also led the organization through Oct. 7 massacres and the past 10 months of war.

“My dear friend, the outgoing CEO Eli Pollak, served as the organization’s leader for the past five years and led us during some of the most difficult periods for the people of Israel, and for me personally. I thank him from the bottom of my heart for his inspiring dedication to the organization,” Beer said.

Pollak told staff that he intends to remain with the organization as its deputy CEO.

“I am proud to conclude five years in which I led the organization through some of the biggest crises and challenges that the State of Israel has known,” Pollak said in a letter to employees and volunteers.