Background
Zilker was born in Güstrow near Berlin and immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1935 with his parents.
Zilker was born in Güstrow near Berlin and immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1935 with his parents.
In 1969, he was elected for the first time to be mayor of the city, became Ashdod"s second mayor. Although he left office in 1983 when he was succeeded by Aryeh Azulay, he became mayor for a second time in 1989 and retained the position until he lost to Yechiel Lasri in 2008 municipal elections.
Between 1963 and 1969, he was a member of the regional council and then city engineer of Ashdod.