21.06.2017

Shimon was born in Israel in 1956, the son of holocaust survivors. His father, Professor Kalman Perk, was the founder and first principal of Israel’s only Veterinary School. Shimon studied agriculture at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, from 1979-1981. During his studies there Shimon met Rachel, and they married in 1980. On completing their studies, Shimon and Rachel went together to Madrid to study veterinary medicine. On graduation in 1987 they travelled to Gainesville, Florida to complete a year of internship (1988), after which they returned to Israel and Shimon started work as a poultry clinician at the regional poultry laboratory at Har-Tuv, Jerusalem.
Shimon completed the poultry expert qualification in 1993, and in 1997 he was appointed manager of the regional poultry laboratory at Hadera.  In addition to this position he was also given responsibility for the field control of veterinary medicines, in which role he was responsible in the year 2000 for the exposure of widespread sale of fake veterinary products in Israel. In spite of severe threats against him, Shimon carried out his duties with determination and a deep sense of public duty. In 2002 Shimon was appointed head of the Division of Avian and Fish Diseases at the Kimron veterinary Institiute, exchanging clinical activities for the advancement of many research projects undertaken by the division, especially on the subject of avian influenza. During this period Shimon also coordinated the poultry medicine course at the Koret School of Veterinary Medicine of the Hebrew University. In addition, from 2007 to 2012 Shimon served as the deputy head of the Veterinary Institute.
In 2012, Shimon was appointed Chief Veterinary Officer for Poultry, in which post he continued until his death. He was a candidate for the post of Chief Veterinary Officer of Israel, an ambition never realised due to his untimely passing. Throughout his years in the profession, Shimon always listened to the poultry farmers and their needs, but he was also resolute in the execution of veterinary policies that he believed necessary for the progress of the poultry industry in Israel. He succeeded in maintaining critically important professional dialogues with the Ministry of Health, veterinarians in the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt, and leading veterinary researchers around the world. Shimon’s deep involvement in avian influenza research led him to initiate a regional conference in Turkey, which brought together vets from Israel, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority to discuss the influenza issues in our area. Shimon earned much respect and several awards for his professional activities, including the Oded Plesser award and the Kimron prize.
Shimon was my close friend and I will miss him greatly, both personally and on a professional level.
He combined professional insight with gentleness, sensitivity and respect for others.
He is survived by his wife and their three children; I offer them my sympathy at this time.
May his memory be a blessing.

Nati Elkin