Consider Roi Klein

Consider Roi Klein

40x30x9cm glazed ceramic, metal 2007

I was inspired to create a sculpture about Roi Klein, a true modern-day hero.

Roi Klein was a Major in the Golani Brigade at the time of the 2006 Lebanon war. During the Battle of Bint Jbeil, a hand-grenade was thrown into the house where Klein and his men were taking cover. Klein immediately told his men, "Report that I've been killed"; he recited Shema Yisrael, the quintessential Jewish prayer, as he threw himself on the live grenade and absorbed the explosion with his body.

Roi Klein, a young husband and father of a small son, was killed on the spot but his soldiers were all spared.