"I created the 'Hero of Israel' as a tribute to the demonstrators who were battling to sustain a healthy democracy that would fulfill justice to all the groups & minorities living in Israel. I felt as if I was called to fulfill my duty as a citizen of Israel to protect our democracy. As an artist, it was important for me to challenge the parliament and confront them about the policies of a democratic state whilst forming a dialogue about the essence of our countries principles. I wished to view all the heroes in my perspective since week after week they fought for an ongoing period of time (more than a year) and did not give up. I created it as a response to the trampling of the democratic values, a plea for the unification of society, against agitation, for the sake of modesty & transparency. I aimed to keep the culture of speech, the culture of protest, and be Against corruption and abuse of power.”

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This project was financed by loans. Supporting the project is supporting the act of protest. The money from the merchandise will enable Itay to continue to engage and create powerful living protest art, and keep the protesters who actively participated heard.
 

The statue of the ‘Hero of Israel’ was first placed on December 4 2020 in Democracy Square (Balfour - Jerusalem).

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The original sculpture is made of bronze and weighs 900 kg, the base is 5 tons. The Israeli Police took the statue in the middle of the night on a high order and was temporarily placed in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv and traveled around Israel’s Cities.