From Iranian missiles to menorahs, Israeli blacksmith forges trauma into works of art
“This is my playground,” says Bob of the Qassam rockets, Grad missiles, and Iranian ballistic missiles that fill the backyard outside of his blacksmith studio.
Israeli blacksmith Yaron Bob has been turning Iranian ballistic missiles into art and Judaica, from menorahs to menorahs, for nearly two decades. Bob lives in Moshav Yated, a community near the borders of Egypt and Gaza, where he experienced a Qassam rocket attack that nearly destroyed his high school and left him with PTSD symptoms.
After witnessing another rocket attack, Bob turned to metalwork as a way to process his trauma. He started by reshaping metal forks and creating a rose sculpture from rocket metal, which became his signature piece. The mayor of Sderot encouraged Bob to add the map of Israel and display the sculpture at the site of the rocket attacks.
Bob's creations have been gifted to dignitaries such as Ban Ki-moon, Tony Blair, Hillary Clinton, and Nikki Haley, and displayed at the White House. His studio, Rockets into Roses, sells his works and donates proceeds to terror victims and bomb shelter construction. Bob also creates musical instruments from rocket materials and volunteers to teach fork-art sculpting to hospitalized children in Israel and abroad.
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