Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’ production lines haven’t stopped working for a moment since October 7. They operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with both men and women, young and old, working on the assembly lines alongside volunteers from other departments at Rafael who are giving give them a hand.
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Dr. Shai Rachimi, senior vice president and head of the Manor Technologies Division at Rafael, said that "out of the 8,500 employees in the company, almost 20% are IDF reserves who received an emergency call-up order, and the rest are recruited for intensive work in the company to support the wartime effort. Many employees from development divisions have moved to the production lines to meet demands, and we also see employees who are on reserve duty who are sent home on weekends and coming to work on Friday and Saturday to help."
One of these employees is 33-year-old Yehiel, married and a father of four, who has been working at Rafael for 10 years. He’s an ultra-Orthodox Jew, and was at holiday services in synagogue when the war broke out on October7. "Rumors started circulating in the synagogue," he said.
"I couldn't wait any longer, went to my parents' house, turned on the phone, and checked on my WhatsApp to see if I was called up to my reserve unit in the military, where I serve as a combat soldier and medic in the Nahal Brigade. The first call-up order actually came from my workplace: they located me via another family, and asked me to come in. I changed out of my Sabbath clothes and went to work on the production line."
However, on that same Saturday at 4:00 p.m., he was called up for reserve duty at his unit. "I traveled with dozens of others to the recruitment center," he said. "I spent 20 days on the northern border, and then my company commander informed me that Rafael's request to release me had been approved – and I immediately returned to the production line."
According to Yehiel, "working at Rafael was always a personal mission to me. We do everything with a sense of sacred duty. Today, work comes first above all. No questions asked. We stay and work as much as needed. We’re part of the front line."
Shahar, 36, married and a father of three, has been working at Rafael for 12 years. On regular days, he works on the development of rocket engines. However, in the war’s first days, he was enlisted to work on the production lines.
"In our daily routine, we sit in front of computers," Shahar said, "but for us, working at the production lines is an important mission. It's a job that gives great satisfaction: We see products coming to life and provide them to the IDF. We all feel the fighting spirit, pleading to work shoulder-to-shoulder with the people on the production lines. These are our combat soldiers."
Yehiel and Shahar join 69-year-old Yossi, married, father of two, and grandfather of three. He retired after 40 years at Rafael but immediately returned to work there two days a week since the war broke out. Now he also works the rest of the week, including on Saturdays, as a volunteer. "There is no exact time when we go home. It can be very late in the evening," he said.
"I feel great that at my age, I can continue to contribute to Israel’s security," he said. "Even in previous operations in Gaza and Lebanon, we were here and worked extra hours and weekends to provide as many products as possible in the shortest amount of time.”
“But now the feeling is different: every Israeli wants to contribute as much as they can to compensate for the blow we received from these Hamas Nazis,” he added. “It's a shame that a tragic event like what happened to us in southern Israel was needed to unite the people. Now, we need to keep this unity strong. Together, we’re the most powerful people in the world."