Zvi Zilker

Zvi Zilker was born in 1933 in Güstrow

Zilker was born in Güstrow, Germany, in 1933 to a Jewish family. In 1935 the family immigrated to Mandatory Palestine and settled in the Kerem Avraham neighborhood of Jerusalem.

In the IDF he served as a fighter and officer in the anti-aircraft forces. He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a master's degree in planning systems at the Technion. He also studied toward a doctorate at the Hebrew University but did not complete it.

He worked as an engineer for the Ministry of Housing and for Beit Shemesh, then became the engineer of Ashdod in 1962. He was elected mayor of Ashdod in 1969 and served until 1983. He later headed the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs as director-general, and led the Association of Contractors and Builders from 1987 to 1990.

He was elected mayor again in 1989 and served until 2008, when he lost to Yehiel Lasri. In 2004 a court found him responsible for failing to prevent pollution of the Lachish stream but did not convict him, and set 60 hours of community service. He joined Kadima in 2005 and ran for mayor again in 2013 without success.

He married Hana Gutanski in 1955 and they had 3 children. In 2018 Ashdod named its culture complex after him. He died in 2021 and was buried in Ashdod.