Rafael chief resigns amid string of controversies

The long-serving executive of one of Israel’s principal defense contractors was forced out of his job by officials at the Defense Ministry last week.

Yedidia Ya’ari, the head of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the state-owned weapons manufacturer behind the Iron Dome missile interception system, tendered his resignation last Sunday after a spat with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon.

According to a report in the daily Haaretz, despite a successful 11-year career at the helm of the military tech company, Yaari had planned to resign at the end of 2015, following a couple of high-profile mishaps.

But an additional incident in early May spurred the defense establishment to force his resignation even earlier — before an appropriate replacement could be found.

One incident involved Rafael’s unauthorized weapons sales to an unnamed country in central Asia, under the nose of the Israeli government and in direct competition with another Israeli contractor, the report said.

The blunder is particularly sensitive because it mirrors a similar 2013 episode in which stiff, competitive behavior between two state-run Israeli defense contractors sank a weapons deal with Poland.

In another gaffe under Yaari’s tenure, a Rafael employee uploaded sensitive army-related documents to his work computer from the IDF’s internal network — effectively constituting a security breach.

The employer’s superior officer knew of the breach but failed to update the relevant Defense Ministry office in charge of such leaks.

The final bungle occurred in Singapore during the IMDEX Asia maritime defense show, held May 19-21. At the joint Israeli pavilion, Yaari gave a speech in Hebrew ripping into Israel’s foreign policy vis-a-vis Singapore and lambasting other visiting Israeli defense officials at the show.

Although not public, Israeli is widely believed to have burgeoning weapons and defense ties with the Southeast Asian city-state.

Following the ordeal, top ranking Defense Ministry officials including Ya’alon exerted pressure on Yaari to resign. Ya’alon also threatened to cancel a scheduled visit last Monday to Rafael headquarters.

Yaari acquiesced and resigned over the phone last Sunday. No candidate has yet been selected to replace him.

Rafael develops and produces weapons, military technologies and defense techniques for the IDF and for export abroad.

Its projects include guided rockets, ballistics and the hugely successful Iron Dome missile interceptor, tried and tested during conflicts between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Sales in 2013 stood at $2 billion.