In the summer of 2005, Israel took the very painful step of evacuating 10,000 of its citizens from 21 communities in the Gaza region. Families were uprooted, synagogues were abandoned, schools and businesses were closed forever – all in the hope of a peaceful future.

“There will be no more rockets fired into Israeli communities”, was the Israeli position, “since Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip has ended.” Unfortunately, disengagement from Gaza had the opposite effect.

The once flourishing Israeli communities were turned into bases of terror, from which thousands of rockets were launched daily, deep into Israeli territory. As rocket attacks intensified, fear, panic and destruction became the norm.

As sirens wailed “Code Red”, residents had 15 seconds to run for their lives. Israel’s response was muted, in the hope that perseverance and restraint would lead to a diplomatic solution. But restraint only encouraged more rocket attacks.

Operation Cast Lead was launched in December 2008 as a last-resort attempt to bring about the elusive peace and security that its citizens rightfully deserved. Although a military success, the operation was a diplomatic nightmare, as the UN’s Goldstone Report condemned Israel for its’ aggression.

Israel’s basic right of self-defense was ignored and its’ obligation to protect its citizens, denied. It seems that the world forget about all of those rockets.

While the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza was significantly damaged, it was not eliminated, and rocket fire continues to terrorize Israel’s citizens. But the people of Israel are resilient – their spirit remains high and their dreams for a peaceful future remain very much alive.

They live by their biblical promise that, “Swords will be turned into plowshares” (Isaiah 2:4). Out of destruction comes growth. “Am Yisrael Chai” – the people of Israel will endure.

In the remote Israeli town of Yated, just a stone’s throw from Israel’s border with both Egypt and Gaza, metal sculptor, blacksmith and part-time computer teacher Yaron Bob, has found his way of turning “swords into plowshares”. He turns Kassam rockets that were fired into Israel by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, into beautiful hand-sculpted pieces of art – magnificent roses.

Following years of relentless rocket attacks into Israeli communities so close to home, Yaron was driven to create something positive from these objects of destruction and death.

“I find it fascinating to make a work of art from a piece of metal. It is powerfully meaningful when a missile that is used for killing is turned into a sign of beauty, growth and prosperity”, Yaron said.

The Israeli police enthusiastically support Yaron’s work. While most of the rockets are stockpiled in police stations throughout southern Israel, some are made available for Yaron’s project.

With just a hammer, anvil and furnace, Yaron melts, moulds and sculpts rocket metal into gorgeous flowers. It is our hope that Yaron’s roses remain very limited edition pieces.

Each rose is different – and takes 3 to 4 hours to sculpt. The stem is welded onto a metal base shaped as the map of Israel, with the rose “growing” from the very place where most of the rockets landed. A plaque mounted on the base indicates the month and year that particular rocket landed. A signed and numbered certificate of authenticity accompanies each rose.

Yaron’s roses are truly a piece of history – living proof that Israel has endured missile attacks for years. They have been presented to dignitaries such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

A portion of the proceeds of each item sold will be donated to the United With Israel Bomb Shelter Campaign to build bomb shelters in the city of Ashkelon.

The city of Ashkelon and Yaron Bob are most grateful for your support. And please refer all your friends, family and associates to our site. We would appreciate your help in spreading this powerful life changing message of Rockets into Roses around the world.

Hand Sculpted Roses

With just a hammer, anvil and furnace, artist Yaron Bob melts,
moulds and sculpts Kassam rocket metal into gorgeous flowers.

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‘Rockets into Roses’ products are unique, hand-sculpted works of art, fashioned by metal sculptor Yaron Bob, from actual rockets that landed in Israel. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind, custom, hand-made, very limited edition collector’s item.

Yaron Bob, a metal sculptor living on the Gaza border in southern Israel, pictured with his precious roses made from Kassam Rockets.

Most roses take at least three to four hours of turning and twisting the rocket metal, and hand-sculpting intricate petals and leaves onto the rose. The larger, more detailed roses and bouquets can take significantly longer to create.

The rose sculpture’s base is shaped as the map of Israel. The stem is attached to the base in the town of Sderot, so that the rose literally “grows” from the place of destruction – where most of the rockets have landed.

The Short and Long Stemmed Rose flowers bear a close resemblance to the actual metal of the rockets. While they are molded, twisted and beautifully shaped, they are thicker and a bit more “raw” than some of the other styles.

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The “petite” and “fine petal” roses have a rounder shaped flower with drooping greenery below the flower. The petals are finer, thinner and a bit more elegant – and bear less resemblance to the actual rocket shell. Each piece is created with the utmost attention to detail and beauty.

A certificate of authenticity accompanies each piece, attesting to the fact that the art was created from kassam rockets. Each certificate is signed and numbered – as these are very limited edition pieces of art.

A portion of the proceeds goes towards building above-ground, portable bomb shelters in the city of Ashkelon. We are committed to building shelters in Ashkelon because it is a large city with relatively few bomb shelters. It is also within close range of the missiles that are being fired from Gaza. By purchasing these items, you are helping to protect the people of Israel.

Yaron Bob and the city of Ashkelon are most grateful for your support. Please refer all of your friends, family and associates to our site. We would appreciate your help in spreading this powerful life-changing message of ‘Rockets into Roses’ around the world.

‘Rockets into Roses’ artwork are true pieces of history – living proof that Israel has endured missile attacks for so many years. They have been presented to dignitaries such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

A silver plaque is attached to the base of the rose. On some of the plaques, we are able to show the date when the rocket landed in Israel.

Yaron Bob has become world famous because of all the media attention and as result his hand-sculpted roses have become collector’s items. He has literally transformed instruments of death, weapons of war, into objects of great beauty and meaning, representing love, growth and great hope for a peaceful future.

And at the same time, this project helps to protect the citizens of Israel from future rocket attacks by providing much needed above-ground portable shelters.

The Israeli police are supportive of this project and are happy to help by providing the “rocket metal” needed to create these beautiful works of art. However, there are only a limited number of each item available for sale.

And it is our fervent hope that Yaron’s roses remain very limited edition pieces.

Due to the custom, hand-made nature of our products and shipping time from the artist’s location in Israel, please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery.