As a dual Israeli-American company, these weeks have been without a doubt the toughest we have ever faced. The support and concern we’re receiving has been overwhelming, heartwarming and greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Keeping it together
At this point in time 30% of our 160-person team in Israel are either serving in the reserve forces or have close family in the army. And the rest are at home with their children, worrying about what the future holds.
But in this time of hardship, is when our true spirit shines. I am dumbfounded by the acts of care and kindness that surround me. People opening their homes, supporting each other, volunteering and putting complete strangers’ interests before their own. Whole communities mobilized and organized to make sure every person that is impacted gets the support they need. No one gets left behind.
Inside Augury it’s no different. Our number one priority is the health – both physical and mental – of our team and their families. The level of strength, support and “togetherness” that I see leaves me speechless. The team in Israel continues to deliver while their global peers jump in wherever they can to cover and close any gaps.
Our customers and partners trust us with the reliability and safety of their production lines, and we will not let them down.
Coming back together
I was interviewed for a recent The Wall Street Journal article, ‘SodaStream Built a Factory for Israelis and Palestinians to Work Together. Then a War Erupted’ [gated]. I told them: “We have Arab employees, we have secular Jews, we have Orthodox Jews, we have right-wing and left-wing. Everyone is going through hell right now, and everyone has their own version of it.”
In January of this year, at the Calcalist כלכליסט “Power In Diversity” Conference, Augury won the award for the highest representation of Israeli Arabs in a Tech company. And it’s true we’ve put a lot of effort into creating an environment that enables people from different backgrounds to come to work every morning and feel safe and respected.
During times of peace our diversity is a source of power and pride. In times like these, when Israel is at war and opinions and beliefs could widely differ, it’s even more important that we keep our promise to respect each other and create a safe space for our team members.
When this is over, and someday soon it will be, we need to think about the society we want to build. Bringing people together through tighter collaboration is the best way I know to bridge cultural divides.
“I hope that we can come back together. If we do not, that will be a very big mistake,” said a manager at Sodastream in the same article. “We all have to stay in hope. We have to show that we really believe in that.”
I totally agree.
