L, 26 years old, a member of the Druze community, works at Rafael as a student quality engineer in the propellant and explosives development department.

She grew up in a traditional Druze village and a conservative Druze household. Despite her background, L achieved significant milestones in her field within a short time, establishing new infrastructures, refining processes, and training new employees while monitoring and documenting progress.

L’s professional managers foresee a promising career for her, breaking additional glass ceilings at Rafael, and contributing further to defense engineering efforts that bring pride to both the organization and the Druze community.

L shares:
“Our work at Rafael during times of war is a tremendous achievement. Seeing the products I worked on with my own hands delivered directly to our military for the mission of rescuing our abducted men and women, and knowing those products performed well and reliably, gives me even more motivation to work harder.

From a young age, my parents encouraged me to succeed, to work hard, and to persist even when things are difficult. Working at Rafael is a major challenge for me—dealing with highly sensitive explosives and propellants, overseeing the entire process from start to delivery, checking processes, and ensuring the product is 100% high quality. It’s a huge responsibility and makes me feel like an active and important part of Rafael.

After the “Black Saturday” events, I felt the need to contribute more significantly, so I volunteered to work on Rafael’s production lines. For me, this has been my most meaningful achievement so far—supporting and working for our country.

In the Druze religion, we are obligated to protect our land. However, since Druze women are not allowed to enlist in the military, I chose to do national service with at-risk girls. At Rafael, I feel that my work is a contribution to Israel’s security without wearing a uniform.”