Sam Philipe

Sam Philipe was born in 1950 in Jerusalem

Shlomo (Sam) Philipe was born in Jerusalem in 1950 to an old Jerusalem family. After his army service as a combat medic, he spent a year in New York City, where he restored antique furniture and studied art. Back in Israel, he made a living sculpting animals in chocolate.

In 1989 he opened a studio in Jerusalem and also began designing jewelry and Jewish ceremonial art. The Israeli government has given his sculptures as gifts to world leaders, including Pope John Paul II, King Hussein of Jordan, George H. W. Bush and Princess Diana. Yitzhak Rabin received his sculpture of a paratrooper praying at the Western Wall.

His outdoor works stand in Jerusalem and across Israel, including Ammunition Hill and Mount Scopus, where his bronze "Reut" shows a combat medic embracing a wounded soldier. He often places his works on bases of Jerusalem stone or black basalt from the Galilee. His sculptures are also shown at a museum in Alleppey, India.

Later projects include the SS Exodus memorial at Haifa Port, the Machal memorial on Ammunition Hill and the Tree of Life sculpture in Ma'aleh Adumim. He bases much of his work on Bible themes.