Innovation Alley: Yaron Bob

Over 18,000 Kassam (Qassam) Rockets have been fired into southern Israel in the last 14 years, deliberately targeting Israeli civilians, causing chaos, destruction and death. An entire generation of children has been traumatized by the terror of ongoing rocket attacks. Israeli cities such as Sderot and Ashkelon continue to be in real danger.

Rockets into Roses are hand sculpted roses, candlesticks and menorahs crafted from actual Kassam Rockets that landed in Israel, symbolize the perseverance of the people of Israel. Living symbols of Israel’s endurance in the face of Hamas and Islamic terror. Yaron Bob, an Israeli artist, who understands what it means to live in the shadow of terror, has found his way of transforming objects of war into expressions of peace. He creates metal art sculptures that blossom with hope: A magnificent rose with a mission.

Yaron had two close calls with rockets and he knew he needed to react to the terror that he and his community were facing.Yaron wanted to create something that speaks of growth and prosperity and to make something out of the destruction and of the ruin of the Kassam.

The truth is because the rocket is an instrument of death he really didn’t want to handle it. However, his frustration was intensifying with so many missiles falling on Israel and so many alarms.The situation was very stressful on him and his family. “It finally struck me that I need to make a rose from the Kassam”, Yaron says. Now. Yaron collects the spent rockets, most given to him by the police, after they have been checked by the bomb squad.Yaron is not a pacifist, but he would like Hamas to know talking is better than firing rockets and starting a war. His goal is to somehow let the world know people in Israel are not hungry for war and what they really want is a bright and beautiful future.