A local woman passes by a shop that displays an Israeli flag in the city of Tiberias, Israel, Nov. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

The resilience of the people of Israel has taken many forms during the current war with Hamas. With more than 50 percent of the population volunteering since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, Israeli civilians have been working hand in hand with the war effort.

The business sector in particular has been hit hard, with many finding it next to impossible to work on anything unrelated to the war. However, companies have been embodying Israel’s “startup nation” mentality to find ways to endure despite such adversity.

Carrar is an Israeli startup that develops and produces thermal management systems for electric vehicle batteries, allowing for actions such as fast charging. Located near Sderot in southern Israel, not far from Gaza, the company employees many people who live in the kibbutzim that were attacked by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7.

Avinoam Rubinstain, the startup’s CEO, spoke about the fear the company had not knowing if its employees were dead or alive. Fortunately, they learned that all employees were able to remain safe in their safe rooms, though the trauma persisted.

Taking a week off prior to returning to the office, the team needed an elite Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unit to first come and scan the office to ensure no terrorists were hiding. They were then able to jump right back into action and complete a tight deadline to produce a battery pack for a client testing in Germany.

Carrar, which works with auto giants such as Volvo, Toyota, and GM, has done its best to keep some semblance of normalcy.

This has been tough, though, as roughly one third of their engineering team was called for reserve duty and are currently stationed in the north and south of the country protecting the borders. Reserve duty in particular has become a major challenge for business across Israel as more than 350,000 civilians were called from their homes to join the war.

For Carrar employees working either from home, the accelerator space they have been allowed to work out of in Tel Aviv at Drive TLV, or coming to their automotive lab, their head of HR has been visiting weekly to check in and ensure they are OK.

“We see our company as an island of stability for our workers,” said Rubinstain.

Amid war, Carrar has been one of several examples of companies enduring amid adversity and, according to an Israeli investor, ensuring Israel remains the “startup nation.”