American media personality Ben Shapiro is among the Diaspora Jews chosen to light a torch at the state ceremony opening Israeli Independence Day on the evening of April 30, the government announced on Sunday night.
Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev, who is tasked with organizing the ceremony in Jerusalem, picked the conservative pundit from among the recommendations of a public advisory committee.
Other honorees named on Sunday and Monday include Hamas captivity survivor Emily Damari, Olympic judoka and bereaved IDF father Oren Smadja, Oct. 7 hero Lt. Col. Faiz Fares, Lt. Col. (res.) Hagit Alon Elharar, singer Zehava Ben and composer Micha Sheetrit, Regev said.
There will be 36 torch-lighters at the ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, with more to be announced in the coming days.
The central theme of this year’s torch-lighting ceremony, which will mark the start of Israel’s 77th Independence Day, is “Bridges of Hope.”
“Since the Oct. 7 massacre and the war that followed, women, men, girls and boys from a variety of communities in Israel and the Diaspora have come together to build ‘Bridges of Hope,” the organizers stated.
“Their actions stem from the understanding that where disagreements exist, it is necessary to amplify our shared hope across all spheres of activity in the State of Israel,” they continued.
Regev said that the theme is “meant to emphasize that despite our disagreements and pain, there is more that unites us than divides us.
“The logo highlights strengthening the foundations of unity, connection, rebuilding, shared hope for all parts of the nation and our collective yearning for the safe return of the hostages,” added the minister.
Israeli Independence Day, celebrated on the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Iyar (this year it is on the third to avoid desecrating Shabbat), commemorates the signing of the state’s Declaration of Independence in 1948.
Independence Day is celebrated immediately after the end of Remembrance Day (official name: Remembrance Day for the Fallen of Israel’s Wars and Victims of Terrorism), creating a distinction between the pain suffered and the triumph and ultimate reward for the sacrifice of those who fell—independence.
