World War II With
World War II underway, the British authorities asked Goldberg to produce compasses, and Wertheimer participated in a failed research project, trying to improve compass production. He left Goldberg's laboratory and worked as a lathe operator, including in a factory at the
Tel Litvinsky military base producing parts for
jerrycans. In 1943, he was recruited as a civilian contractor for the
Royal Air Force upon the recommendation of Professor Goldberg after the British had asked him to recommend them an optical technician. He was sent to an RAF base in
Bahrain, where he repaired optical sights and air conditioners on military aircraft and serviced the base's electricity generator. He learned to repair air conditioners and generators by hurriedly reading instruction manuals after his arrival. During his time as an RAF contractor, he also studied engineering at a British institute in Bahrain in his free time. After seven months, he returned to Palestine and resumed working as a lathe operator. He was arrested by the British during
Operation Agatha in 1946 and was detained for four months. In 1947, he began working in the development and improvement of cannons for the
Haganah. During the
1948 Arab-Israeli War, he served as a technical officer in the
Yiftach Brigade. Following the war, Wertheimer and his wife briefly lived on kibbutz
Yir'on. They left as he did not agree with the socialist economic model adopted by the kibbutz movement. He worked at
Israel Military Industries and then at
Rafael. In 1952, he was dismissed from his job at Rafael as he lacked a formal engineering degree, which led him to start his own business.
Business career In 1952, Wertheimer started his own business in a shack adjacent to his home in
Nahariya, a small metal shop and tool-making company called
ISCAR. The company quickly became a success and attracted the interest of
Discount Investments, who later became a minority investor in the company. Initially it was a supplier to the Israeli defense industry, which was sufficient to provide for his family, but Wertheimer realized that local demand was limited. While Israeli entrepreneurs tended to shy away from foreign markets at the time, Wertheimer recognized that the greatest opportunities were abroad and established relationships with foreign clients. Over time, the company grew from his small workshop into a large multinational manufacturing enterprise. ISCAR branches exist in dozens of countries worldwide and the company employs over 5,000 people. In 1968, as part of Israeli efforts to overcome the French weapons embargo after the
Six-Day War, Wertheimer founded ISCAR Blades, which later became Blades Technology – one of the largest manufacturers of blades and vanes for jet engines and industrial gas turbines. Wertheimer sold his 51% stake in Blades Technology in 2014 to jet engine maker
Pratt & Whitney for an undisclosed amount. In May 2013 Buffett bought the rest of Iscar for $2.05 billion. At the time of his death, Forbes estimated Wertheimer's net worth at US$7.6 billion.
Industrial parks Wertheimer founded seven industrial parks – in Tefen,
Tel Hai,
Dalton,
Lavon and now
Nazareth in the Galilee; in Omer in the Negev; and another in
Gebze,
Kocaeli, Turkey. Each is based on five principles: exports, education, coexistence, community and culture, with the goal of fostering economic growth and job creation to help create stability in the region. As Wertheimer has explained, "The idea of industrial parks in the Middle East and on the borders between Israel and its neighbors is that the parks will bring industry and provide jobs, which will keep people busy working, instead of engaging in terrorism." Wertheimer's model park is the Tefen Industrial Park. Built in 1982, it encompasses everything from transportation to cultural and educational facilities. Wertheimer's industrial park in the mixed Muslim-Christian Arab city of Nazareth, where Jews and Arabs work side by side, opened in April 2013. Wertheimer and Nazareth Mayor Ramez Jeraisy explained that the industrial park is part of a unique model to promote the advancement of Arab-Jewish Israeli export companies. During his visit to Israel in 2009, Pope Benedict had met with both men at the site of the future park and gave his blessing to the project. Wertheimer has said, "Coexistence in the industrial park in Arab Nazareth is a good example of coexistence. When people work together, they have no time for nonsense. They're too tired at night to commit terrorist acts. They're satisfied, they engage in producing. They work together, not against each other." Prior to the 2013 elections, he took the honorary final slot on
Tzipi Livni's new list,
Hatnuah. He endorsed her alliance with Labor, the
Zionist Union, in 2015. ==Peace efforts==