Netanyahu’s hernia surgeon gets a seat on Rafael board

JERUSALEM – Israel’s defense sector is in an uproar over a surprise appointment on the board of directors of government-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, whose weapons permeate the entire ecosystem of the country’s sprawling defense apparatus.

Alon Pikarsky, head of the surgical wing and the department of general surgery at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem, will join the board after being approved by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the minister in charge of government companies, David Amsalem.

Pikarsky was entrusted with hernia surgery for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of March, and in March 2021 he managed the appendicitis surgery on Netanyahu’s wife, Sara.

His connections to Rafael’s business or to the defense industry in general are not clear, but he wouldn’t be the only board member without such credentials. Still, Pitarsky’s appointment has fueled speculation here about his personal connection to the prime minister as a driving force.

Rafael’s board of directors has 12 seats, of which only 10 are currently filled, and Pikarski will become its 11th director. At this time, it is not known of any intention from the responsible ministers to fill the 12th seat.

Rafael started as an independent unit at the Israeli Ministry of Defense in 1948 and transferred into a government company in 2002. Since thnn it has transferred the equivalent of roughly $678 million in dividends to the treasury.

Rafael’s annual revenue for 2023 stood at $3.8 billion and its net profit was $159 million for the same period. The company employs about 8,500 local workers and is defined as the largest employer in Northern Israel. It aims to recruit 2000 additional employees by the end of this year.

Pitarsky and the Israeli ministers Galant and Amsalem have declined to comment.