Ron Abbuttbul, an IDF soldier who was seriously injured in Operation Protective Edge, proposed to his girlfriend, Lee, by the side of the chimney – 250 meters (820.2 feet) above sea level – of the Israel Electric Corporation's Orot Rabin power plant on Sunday, Arutz Sheva has reported.
Abbuttbul underwent four-and-a-half years of rehabilitation following his injury, after which he began to work with the electricity company.
"Will you marry me?" was written on a sign especially designed by the electric company for the young couple in the presence of immediate family members who were invited to witness the moving event.
The idea for this special proposal was conceived at a company conference on diversity and inclusion, when Abbuttbul told the company's management about the way the electricity company had integrated him despite his disabilities. Then, the idea for a particularly "electrifying proposal" came up, celebrating both his success in the company and his relationship with Lee – and the company's employees made sure that the idea would come to fruition. "This is a huge project," said Abbuttbul. "The program gave me the framework through which I could reintegrate myself back into routine life, and have a stable job and income. The feeling I had someone [like the company] who supported me and had my back – and believed in me and my strengths – was invaluable in my returning to regular life, and finding Lee of course. The feeling is that there are always backers, who believe in us and allow us to prove ourselves, and strive and advance to new heights."Ron served as a liaison in the Golani Brigade's 13th Battalion, and participated in combat in Operation Protective Edge. One day, the entire brigade was barricaded inside one of the houses, and Abbuttbul was sent by the company commander to a mission outside the home.As soon as he left, heavy fire started, and he was hit by a piece of shrapnel in the neck. As he lay seriously wounded, a sniper standing a few dozen meters away shot him in the head, critically wounding him.
Ron met Lee when he applied for work at the electricity company; she manages the division for employing people and in fact got him the job in the company's technical department.The IEC employs over 400 people with disabilities as of the end of 2019 – 200 of whom were recruited under the "Nitzan Or" program, which helps disabled people find work.