American media personality Ben Shapiro will be among the Diaspora Jews chosen to light a torch at the state ceremony opening Israeli Independence Day, the government has announced.
Transport Minister Miri Regev, who is tasked with organising the April 30 ceremony in Jerusalem, picked the conservative pundit from a list of recommendations from a public advisory committee.
Shapiro, who heads the right-wing Daily Wire news site, rose to prominence for his staunchly conservative views and combative debate tours of college campuses in the mid-2010s. He adheres strictly to an Orthodox interpretation of Judaism and has spoken regularly about how his faith informs his politics.
Other honourees named on Sunday and Monday include British-Israeli Emily Damari, who survived 471 in Hamas captivity, and Olympic judoka and bereaved IDF father Oren Smadja, whose son Omer was killed fighting as a reservist in Gaza last year, and lawyer Natasha Hausdorff of UK lawyers for Israel.
Also named was October 7 hero Lieutenant Colonel Faiz Fares, singer Zehava Ben and composer Micha Sheetrit. Fares, from a Druze community in northern Israel, helped evacuate civilians to safety as his special forces unit fought of Hamas terrorists at Kibbutz Re'im during the attacks.
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 ceremony, which will mark the start of Israel’s 77th Independence Day, is “Bridges of Hope”.
“Since the October 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 organisers 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 added that the theme is “meant to emphasise 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.
On Shapiro’s selection, Regev said it was due to the “gratitude that Israeli society feels for him for his determination to lead the advocacy efforts against all those wishing to harm the state,” in reference to his vocal support for Israel.
However, his inclusion has prompted some concern in Israel, particularly among women’s rights and LGBTQ+ organisations over his hard-line social conservatism, including his advocacy against abortion and gay marriage.
Israeli Independence Day, celebrated on the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Iyar (this year it is on the third to avoid Shabbat), commemorates the signing of the state’s Declaration of Independence in 1948.
