Catching Grenades: Aner Shapiro's Heroism

After a festive Simchat Torah meal with his family, 22-year-old Aner Shapiro went to an all-night dance party at the Nova music festival at Kibbutz Reim together with his best friend, American-born Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Aner, on leave from his elite Nahal Brigade of the IDF, did not expect to find himself in a situation more dangerous than he’d ever faced in the army.

When the sirens sounded and missiles were beginning to fall, Aner and Hersh ran into a small roadside shelter, where about 30 young men and women had already been squeezed into the tiny space in an attempt to escape the bombing.

Survivors recall that when Aner saw the panic in people’s eyes, he immediately tried to calm everyone down.

“Guys, don’t worry!” he called out. “I’m a soldier, my comrades are nearby, I’m here. Everything will be all right!”

From the shelter, Aner heard gunfire and understood that terrorists infiltrated into Israeli territory. As the sound of gunfire came closer, he resolved to fight back. He positioned himself next to the entrance of the shelter, together with Hersh and several other young people who offered to help.

Realizing that the Hamas terrorists were about to throw grenades into the shelter, Aner told his newly formed team, “I’m going to catch the grenades and throw them back. Watch me! If anything happens to me, take over and continue what I am doing.”

When a terrorist threw the first grenade, Aner caught it and threw it right back. It exploded outside the shelter. The terrorist threw another grenade, but Aner again caught it and threw it back outside where it exploded. This continued for some time.

Aner threw a total of seven grenades back at the terrorists. He was killed by the eighth grenade.

Best friends, Aner and Hersh

When the terrorists eventually managed to enter the shelter, Hersh, whose arm was blown off by a Hamas grenade and who fashioned his own tourniquet, was taken as a hostage to Gaza, along with three other young people. Hersh’s parents, Rachel and Jon Polin, are currently leading a worldwide campaign, @BringHershHome, advocating for his release.

Seven of the young people in the shelter managed to escape. Thanks to Aner’s bravery, they survived and returned home.

Aner’s Life, Music, and Art

Aner was the eldest of the seven children of Shira and Moshe Shapiro. A talented musician and artist, Aner grew up in the Arnona neighborhood in Jerusalem. “Aner’s connection to Jerusalem was very deep,” says Shira, his mother. “He loved music, he loved art, and he loved Jerusalem. Many of his songs are about Jerusalem. He was exploring the unique atmosphere of the city: Jews, Arabs, orthodox, secular, religious, the mix in Jerusalem, the vibe of the street. He liked Hapoel, Jerusalem’s soccer team.”

Aner would spend time with his friends in the Ben Sira bar in Jerusalem, which boasts “a unique atmosphere,” says Shira. “It’s people who love peace, love music, care about justice. Very special people. It’s a specific part of Jerusalem, but they feel that Jerusalem is part of their identity.”

Aner’s love of music began at an early age. As a child, he played piano and enjoyed classical music. As a teenager, he became interested in hip-hop and rap music. He began composing his own music and lyrics in high school.

The Shapiro Family

After high school, Aner attended an army preparatory program for candidates for elite IDF units. At the program’s completion, the army holds field exercises, where the candidates are assigned to their units. During these exercises, Aner was injured and required surgery. While recovering from surgery at home, Aner set up a home studio and began recording his music. His second attempt to join an elite army unit also resulted in an injury. Aner waited 15 months until he was finally able to begin his army service. During this time, he continued writing and recording music.

Finally, Aner achieved his goal of joining the Nahal Brigade.

“Aner believed in taking a stand,” says Shira. “He believed very deeply in the good of people, in the importance of making peace and trying to talk to each other rather than fighting each other. He believed that human nature is good and that if you don’t put people into a regime of power, they will do good.” Shira explains, “It sounds like a contradiction, but for Aner it wasn’t. He believed that in an ideal world, you don’t need the army. But as long as we have the army and we need to defend ourselves, he must do his best to defend people. This is the combination that worked for him.”

Aner’s music and art reflect his values and his deep caring for the good of humanity and his desire to relieve human suffering. One of his songs, written three years ago, long before the current war, is about people getting killed in the Gaza Envelope. The song is about children near Gaza sitting in bomb shelters, the rockets in the sky, the fear, the deaths.

Another theme is truth, honesty, and standing up for what you believe in.

A song Aner wrote last year, during the political protests in Israel, is about fighting brotherly hatred. “It was very important to him,” says Shira. “It’s an amazing song and a very important message to everyone, even now, to remember that we are not supposed to fight each other or hate each other.”

Aner’s dream was to release an album of his songs, but he didn’t have the necessary funds. To raise the money, he planned to produce a collection of merchandise with his art: T-shirts, bags, hats, and so on. Unfortunately, he only managed to produce one T-shirt before his life was cut short.

Aner’s art, which he kept in a small notebook, ranges from views of Jerusalem to surreal art featuring faces. “He liked to try different things,” says Shira.

Aner’s Musical Legacy

After Aner’s death, his family and friends resolved to release an album with Aner’s songs, fulfilling his dream. They looked through his recordings and found about 60 projects. After a closer examination, they decided that about 30 of the songs were complete enough to be released. One of Aner’s songs, Jerusalem, is already on YouTube. The family just released an Extended Play short album with five songs. By the end of the year, they hope to release a double album with the remaining 24 songs. The albums will be available on YouTube and Spotify.

On March 28^th, a special evening in honor of the first album’s release will take place at the Hansen House in Jerusalem. The event will include an exhibit of Aner’s art.

Aner and his father Moshe

The work on the album has brought Aner’s family, his girlfriend Shelly, and his friends closer together. In addition, people who did not know Aner personally joined this project. “They came and said that they wanted to help,” says Shira. “We are working together, and it’s very moving to see. We feel like we’re continuing, making art from his art.”

About 15 to 20 people are involved in the production of the album. But Aner’s story brought together even more people who had nothing to do with each other before the war. People from all walks of Israeli life reached out to the Shapiros. Shira tells of a group of Orthodox women who were so moved by Aner’s story that they held a song-writing workshop in Aner’s memory. They collected the songs written at the workshop and presented them to Aner’s family.

Rabbis also called the family, expressing their care and support. On the other side of the religious and political spectrum, the Jerusalem Poel soccer team hosted a special soccer game in Aner’s honor. During the game, they spoke about Aner and displayed his art and songs at the stadium. The Israeli Symphonic Orchestra performed one of Aner’s songs at a classical music concert. Graphic artists are creating graphics with Aner’s art. A city in southern France dedicated a square to Aner. The family finds all these gestures beautiful and meaningful.

Aner’s Ethical Legacy

Besides art and music, Aner left his family and friends with an ethical legacy, which they would like to share with the world. Moshe, Aner’s father, says that on the last day of his life, Aner saw the situation he found himself in as his mission. He did not choose to be attacked by terrorists, but once he was attacked, he consciously chose to fight back and to save lives.

Shira adds, “It’s a very special message that he left us, that you can choose, until the very last minute of your life, to do good. It’s in your hands! Literally, it was in his hands when he used his hands to throw the grenades back.”

Another important message, says Shira, is “to take a stand. It’s something we can learn from his songs and his attitude towards life. You don’t sit and wait for things to happen. You take a stand. And lastly, the message that I am trying to learn from him is to live in a meaningful way every minute of life.” Aner did not waste a minute. He never slept in, he never watched TV. He was always busy with something productive.

“At first, I was angry,” says Shira. “Why did he have to stand at the entrance? Why did he have to be a hero? My children also said that they would rather have a brother who is alive than a brother who is hero. But then my father said to us, ‘Listen, a weak person can’t be a hero, but a hero can’t be weak! That’s the only thing Aner could have done. That’s who he was.’”

How did Aner’s parents raise such a special son? “It’s not us,” Shira says, “it’s only him. I didn’t raise a hero. If he were here now, he would really hate all this talking about him. He would say, ‘I don’t know what the big deal is. I did what I had to do.’”

The shelter today, where Aner was killed.