Dr. Tamir Geshan resigned on Tuesday last week as head of Israel’s Veterinary Services, after what sources in the system described as a long period of mistreatment by the Agriculture Ministry. Geshan, one of Israel’s most experienced veterinary professionals, studied at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, worked for nearly two decades in cattle medicine, taught and supervised students, and joined the Veterinary Services in 2016. He became head of the field services in 2018 and later led the national service in an acting role and then permanently.
The immediate trigger was Geshan’s support for importing frozen chicken from Brazil, a move meant to open the poultry market to competition and sharply cut prices. In a court filing, he rejected claims by poultry growers that Brazilian imports would endanger public health, wrote that parts of Israel’s poultry sector do not meet accepted international standards, and noted that Israel is not allowed to export raw chicken to many developed countries. He also said Brazil’s poultry health situation was no worse than Israel’s, and possibly better, and dismissed warnings about avian flu in Brazil.
His opinion prompted unusually harsh attacks from the industry, especially from poultry growers. Association chairman Moti Alqabetz said, “If the chief veterinarian for poultry health in the State of Israel, who is responsible for standards, scares and disparages the quality of the Israeli product, it would have been better if he had resigned and handed over the keys.” According to sources, the ministry did not back Geshan and instead allowed the attacks to continue, despite the fact that his position aligned with lower consumer prices.
In his resignation letter, Geshan said he had decided to end his tenure after about a decade in the Veterinary Services, including roughly eight years as head. He cited broader organizational strains, including the merger of headquarters, disagreements with ministry leadership, reduced staffing and budgets, and limits on modern information systems. The Veterinary Physicians Association in Israel said his resignation exposed a deep, structural crisis caused by the loss of the service’s independence, warning of damage to animal health, rabies control, food safety and emergency response.
The Agriculture Ministry said Geshan informed it he would end his role on July 31, 2026, thanked him for his service, denied knowing of any claim of mistreatment, and said it would move in the coming days to appoint a permanent replacement through the Civil Service Commission.
