Chaim Witz superstar

KISS founder Simmons bonds with Israeli soldier

(AP) Israeli-born rocker Gene Simmons has sent a televised message of support to an Israeli soldier seriously wounded in fighting in Lebanon, calling him his `’hero’, AP reported. Simmons, 57, founded the heavy metal band Kiss in the 1970s, was born Chaim Witz in the northern Israeli city of Haifa before immigrating to New York as a child. Simmons sent a video message to Ron Weinreich, an Israeli soldier and die hard Kiss fan, who was seriously wounded in Israel’s 34-day fight with Hizbullah. Weinreich remains hospitalized and is paralyzed from the chest down. Above his hospital bed, a Kiss poster is spread across the wall. “Hi Ron, this is Gene Simmons. I’m talking to you from my home. I can’t tell you how proud I am of you, and how much the world and Israel owes you a debt of gratitude,” he said. “From the bottom of my heart, you are a real hero, you are everybody’s hero, you are my hero, and I wish I could be there with you.” Suddenly switching to Hebrew, Simmons added: “My name is Chaim, I was born in Haifa.”