Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
A portrait of President Shimon Peres etched into a wheat field at Kibbutz Tal-Yossef, February 2013. (photo credit: Assaf Suleman)
President Shimon Peres was treated to an unusual early birthday gift Thursday when he flew over a field that had an impression of his face etched in the wheat.
Peres was flying by helicopter to an annual state memorial service for Zionist hero Joseph Trumpeldor. As the aircraft flew over the fields of Kibbutz Tel Yosef, the pilot pointed out the enormous work of art.
“I plowed the fields and now I am plowed in them,” Peres remarked as the helicopter banked over the field to give him a better view. “This is to go back to one’s roots.”
The portrait is the work of Peter Weiner, commissioned by Kibbutz Tel Yosef to mark Peres’s 90th birthday, which is coming up on August 2. Covering 250 dunams (62.5 acres), the etching is the largest ever completed in Israel.
President Shimon Peres looks out of a helicopter window at a large portrait of himself etched in a field, February 2013. (photo credit: Mark Neeman)
In order to complete the artwork, Weiner, who specializes in field sketches, used a tractor to chemically deplete the wheat stalks and render a much-larger-than-life representation of the president’s visage.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
“It is a great honor for me to make the image of the president in such a special and unusual way,” Weiner and added that it took “many hours” to make.
The portrait is available for viewing throughout the day, no entrance fee required. Bring your own helicopter.
Advertisement
Is our live election coverage important to you?
Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the 2026 Israeli election? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:
Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock to report political developments as they unfold;
Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and podcasts; and
Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including our DocuNationstreaming film series and weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
