Prof. Gabi Barbash, former Director of Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, told Channel 12 News on Tuesday that he received several offers to join politics, and that after deliberating those he decided against it.
"I was thinking about it, but decided not to go into politics. I'm used to saying what I want and when I realized there were constraints [to joining politics], I felt uncomfortable with it," Barbash explained.
Asked whether his decision was final, Barbash confirmed that it was indeed final.
On Sunday it was reported that Barbash was in talks with Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett about joining Yamina ahead of the Knesset elections. Barbash was offered to be the party's candidate for the position of Health Minister.
A few months ago, Prof. Barbash's name was mentioned as a leading candidate for the position of coronavirus project manager, but he turned down the post.