Rockets into Roses
May 16th 2011
When you’ve got lemons, make lemonade. And when you’ve got rockets, make roses.
A fairly unconventional tactic for dealing with the hardship of life, Israeli artist Yaron Bob has done the impossible- making something that is a symbol of death and destruction into a sign of rebirth.
How? With a hammer, anvil and furnace, Yaron sculpts rocket metal from Kassam rockets fired from Gaza into stunning, hand sculptured flowers.
As Yaron states, “I take the Kassam Rocket, the instrument of death and I change it, I transfer it into something of beauty.”
Traveling in Israel with its beautiful landscape and serene nature, you would never realize the proximity Israel is to its unfriendly neighbors, unless your Israeli tour guide tells you news stories about Israel’s past and current situation. On your Israel vacation, your Israeli private group tour will probably also not visit Sderot, a town that is in dangerously close proximity to the Gaza Strip. Some background information: Despite Israel’s removal of its citizens from Gaza in 2001, over 12,000 rockets have been fired into Israeli soil, specifically the town of Sderot, with profound trauma as the result.
Yaron seems to be continuing the tradition to “turn swords into plowshares”, as he quotes from Isaiah 2:4 on his website, making something productive from the chaos that surrounds him.
Yaron’s roses have been given to dignitaries around the world including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator John Kerry, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, to gain support and awareness for Israeli victims of terror.
What’s more- on top of the opportunity to commemorate the past, remember the victims, and stand firm not to let it happen again, by purchasing one of Yaron Bob’s roses, you can actually help prevent any additional Kassams from making a mark on Israeli lives.
As Yaron Bob explains, by the time the siren goes off, the residents of the town have about 15 seconds to run for cover. And with few bomb shelters, that means that there are a lot less places to find safety in a crunch. Yaron is determined to change that as well, with consumers’ help.
Proceeds from every sale go to help build additional bomb shelters, specifically in Ashkelon, a nearby also in dangerously close firing range to Gaza. The projected goal is to raise $300,000 for Operation Lifeshield. If you are on an Israel bar mitzvah tour or Israel bat mitzvah tour, this is an amazing project that your child can participate in when he returns back home; raising awareness of the Rockets into Roses project and collecting money on its behalf.
You can purchase your own flower at www.rocketsintoroses.com, complete with a Certificate of Authenticity that your flower was made from a Kassam rocket that was fired from Gaza.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
And additionally, advises Yaron Bob, when life gives you rockets, make roses.
