Yaacov Moshe Blum was born on July 25, 1969 in Ramat Gan to Alex and Barbara, New Yorkers who made aliya in 1968. He was a member of Bnei Akiva and completed his studies at the Amit Technology School on the campus of Bar-Ilan University. He was drafted into the IDF in September 1987 and served in the Air Force as a communications technician.
On April 3, 1990, he was injured while setting up a secret radar station for the Air Force. Severe head and neck damage left him paralyzed from the shoulders down and unconscious for 10 months, with a further 14 months of hospitalization. Round-the-clock care, much physiotherapy, and lots of machines allowed him to maintain a 'normal' life. A gifted student as a child, after his accident he attended university lectures, went on family trips, did target practice with a specially modified rifle, and painted brush-in-mouth. He had an exhibition at Bet HaLochem in May 2000.
On August 22, 2003, Binyamin's systems collapsed, probably as a side effect of his medications. His parents, Barbara and Alex Blum, and brothers Avinoam and Shie, buried him the same day in Kiryat Shaul with full military honors.
