Mother brings fallen son’s story to SA

Before 7 October, Yakir Hexter had been about to begin his third year of architectural studies at Ariel University. Instead, he landed up putting on his army uniform and running to report for duty. He forgot his watch. He forgot his boots. He did not, however, forget the people he believed needed him. 

He was killed in Gaza on 8 January 2024 and never got to complete his studies, begin his dream career as an architect, or follow any other dreams. 

But now, three years later, his mother, Chaya Hexter, is bringing his story to South Africa through Yakir’s Light, an exhibition combining his architectural drawings and artwork with her photographs of grief. 

The exhibition will form part of the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) programme marking three years since the attacks of 7 October. It will run in Johannesburg from 5 to 9 October. Hexter will personally guide visitors through the work and speak at the SAZF’s communal commemoration on 7 October. 

For Hexter, taking the exhibition outside Israel is about ensuring that Yakir is remembered as a person, not only as one of the soldiers killed during the war. “This is the first time I’ll be travelling abroad internationally with my exhibit and also in order to speak about my son, Yakir,” she said. “I remember thinking after he was killed that the world needs to hear. The world needs to learn about our soldiers and what kind of people they were.” 

Yakir was killed shortly before his 27th birthday. He had served as a combat engineer in the 8219th Battalion of the Commando Special Forces Unit. 

The eldest of three brothers, he was an athlete who won the Jerusalem Marathon in his age category at 18 and later ran a half-marathon barefoot. He was an artist, a Talmud scholar who received rabbinical ordination, a bartender, and a gourmet chef. 

Yakir raised money for disabled children through running and cycling. Much of his charitable work was done quietly, and Hexter continues to hear new stories about him from people who knew him. “He was very humble, but he was incredibly gifted and talented and accomplished,” she said. “He really managed to pack a lot into the short 26 years of his life.” 

When the war began, Yakir was called up and served two tours in Gaza. When he had the opportunity to return to university instead of going back for another tour, he chose to return to his unit. 

Hexter remembers telling him that he had done enough. His response was simple, “There’s no way I’m leaving my brothers.” A week later, Yakir was killed alongside his close friend and study partner. 

The wait for news was traumatic for Hexter. Israeli military policy is that families are informed of a soldier’s death in person. Yakir was killed during the day, but his family was informed only about 10 hours later. 

“Every knock on the door, every car that went past my door was, ‘Is this it? Is this it?’” she said. More than two years later, grief remains a permanent reality. “People don’t understand that it doesn’t get better and it doesn’t go away,” she said. “This is something for life when you lose a child.” 

Photography became a way for her to process what she was experiencing. “I couldn’t fathom the reality that was in front of me and I couldn’t register and make sense of it,” she said. “So, I took out my camera and took some pictures and it became a timeline and a storyline of that first year.” 

Those photographs became part of Yakir’s Light. The exhibition also includes drawings and architectural projects from Yakir’s studies. His family discovered some of his sketches only after his death. Hexter’s photographs document the experience of losing a son, while Yakir’s work shows the life, creativity, and potential that were lost. 

The exhibition wasn’t initially planned. Hexter began photographing her grief without intending to create a public collection. “I realised after a certain amount of time that I really had a visual presentation of my internal agony,” she said. 

At the same time, she was looking through Yakir’s sketchbooks and discovering more of his work. The two bodies of work eventually became one exhibition. 

Hexter wants visitors to encounter Yakir as an individual. She believes one person’s story can help people understand the scale of loss in a way that numbers cannot. 

She hopes visitors will also learn from the person Yakir was. “I learn about him every day. I really do. And I gather a lot of strength from him,” she said. “I think that’s what people should walk away with, to learn from not just each other, but so many of these amazing boys and to be better.” 

For Hexter, bringing Yakir’s story to South Africa is also about remembering all the soldiers who died in the war. “Not just my story,” she said. “The world needs to learn about our soldiers and what kind of people they were.” 

Asked what she would say if she could have one more conversation with Yakir, she said she would tell him that she has learned far more about him since his death. “I would thank him,” she said. “I would thank him for that and for doing everything that he’s done. Not just to protect us, which he did a lot. But more importantly, what kind of person he was and that light that’s been put out into the world because of him.” 

• Yakir’s Light will be on display in Johannesburg from 5 to 9 October 2026. Attendance is limited and advance registration is required. Hexter will be the keynote speaker at the SAZF’s 7 October commemoration in Johannesburg.