‘Bridges of Hope’: The torch-lighters at Israel’s 77th Independence Day celebration

After this story was published, the annual live state ceremony was canceled due to dangerous weather conditions. A recording of the dress rehearsal aired instead, in which two torch-lighters, Eli Sharabi and Chicki Elghanian, were absent.

Marking the intense and emotional transition from Memorial Day to Independence Day on Wednesday evening, 35 individuals will light torches at the annual state ceremony on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl, representing a wide swath of Israeli society.

Most of those receiving the honor – considered one of Israel’s most prestigious accolades – are consensus figures: freed hostages, war heroes, bereaved family members and cultural icons, under this year’s theme, “bridges of hope.”

But a few have raised eyebrows and criticism, especially in the charged political landscape of a nation whose fissures have deepened during the grueling ongoing war. And some prominent names publicly refused the honor altogether.

The state ceremony, which is aired simultaneously on all four main TV networks, was watched live last year by more than a million Israelis. While traditionally, 12 individuals have been selected to light the 12 torches – a number meant to echo the biblical tribes of Israel – the number has swelled this year to 35, with Transportation Minister Miri Regev, the organizer of the event, saying it was impossible to narrow it down.

Each of the 12 torches will be lit by three individuals, except for the torch symbolizing the hostages, which will be lit by only two, to symbolize the missing 59 captives still held in Gaza.

The best-known names set to take the stage include singer Zehava Ben, basketball players Omri Casspi and Deni Avdija, Olympic medalist Oren Smadga, freed hostages Emily Damari and Eli Sharabi, and October 7 hero Rachel Edry.

The two torch-lighters who have garnered the most controversy stand diametrically opposed – Eurovision winner and transgender icon Dana International, and American conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.

Dana, who won the Eurovision in 1998 with her song “Diva,” is arguably the most well-known transgender figure in Israel and an LGBTQ icon both in the country and around the world. Shapiro, a firebrand TV and podcast host with a huge following, has averred that transgender individuals are suffering from mental illness and that homosexuality is a sin.

Dana initially declined the invitation to light a torch, saying she was not interested in being recognized only as an artist and not as an activist. But noting a flood of positive and negative reactions, the singer reversed course, writing on social media that “I always believed that you can change reality, that you can connect people, that you have to accept everyone. Sometimes the path there demands a battle. A battle for change has many paths.”

The performer added that the torch-lighting ceremony is “a celebration for all of us… I hope we’re doing the right thing. And I’d like to see up close who this Shapiro is.”

Shapiro, who is not an Israeli citizen, is the founder of The Daily Wire news site, host of the popular radio show and podcast “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and one of the most influential right-wing voices in the United States.

He has long been a prominent pro-Israel activist in the US media landscape, and his defense of the Jewish state and activism against antisemitism on college campuses has sharpened and intensified in the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacre. He also promotes staunchly conservative values, including denouncing abortions and gay rights, and uses incendiary language to attack his opponents.

Asked by a reporter this week in the Knesset about sharing the stage with Dana International, Shapiro responded diplomatically, saying, “If you want my political views, I have a show, you can listen to it every day,” and declining to comment further.

The selection of Dana was protested by conservative Israeli groups as well as homophobic MK Avi Maoz, while the decision to honor Shapiro drew anger from LBGTQ rights groups.

While Dana ultimately agreed to take part in the ceremony this year, singer Yardena Arazi turned down the invitation, citing the “unstatesmanlike period” in Israel. She wrote on social media that she is “pained” by the current reality, “and I hope for better and more united days when statesmanship will return to be a leading value in Israeli public life.”

Singer Boaz Sharabi said he turned down the invitation solely for scheduling reasons, while a report that the five freed observation soldiers who were held hostage in Gaza declined the honor was denied by Regev. Released soldier Agam Berger is slated to play the violin during the ceremony, among a number of musical performances.

The first torch to be lit Wednesday evening will be ignited by released hostages Sharabi and Damari.

Sharabi, whose wife Lianne and daughters Noiya and Yahel were murdered on October 7, was taken captive from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri. His brother, Yossi Sharabi, was also taken hostage and was killed in captivity, likely as the result of an IDF strike. Eli was returned as part of a ceasefire deal in February and since then has spoken widely and publicly about the horrors he faced in captivity and the need to bring everyone still there home.

Damari, who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, lost two of her fingers when she was shot during her kidnapping. The day of her release in January, an image of her using that hand to make a “rock on” emoji quickly became a viral symbol of resilience and survival.

The torch representing the IDF will be lit by Lt. Col. Fayez Fares, a Druze commander who fought in Kibbutz Re’im on October 7; Lt. Col. (res.) Hagit Alon Elharar, who was displaced from her home in the north and lost her son, Sgt. Amitay Alon, 19, in a Hezbollah drone attack in October 2024, but continues to serve in the reserves; and Inbar Ben-Simon, whose husband, Raz, served many months in reserves duty during the war.

A torch representing mutual responsibility will be lit together by Rabbi Shai Graucher, a Haredi activist who set up a charity to aid IDF soldiers, evacuees, widows and, more recently, freed hostages; Orly Robinzon, an interior designer who helped displaced Israelis set up their new homes; and Haim Taib, a multi-millionaire businessman and philanthropist who heads the Africa branch of Save a Child’s Heart and founded the Menomadin Foundation to boost Israeli resilience.

Shapiro and Casspi – who was the first Israeli drafted in the NBA, playing for a number of US teams including the Sacramento Kings, and, as a venture capitalist and activist, brings athletes and celebrities to Israel, including organizing a trip for Elon Musk to visit Israel after October 7 – will light a torch marking “a bridge to the world” alongside Natasha Hausdorff, a British lawyer and legal director of UK Lawyers for Israel.

The torch for “strength of spirit” will be lit by Edry – who was held hostage in her home in Ofakim by Hamas terrorists, and placated them with drinks and snacks until she could be rescued – along with Rafael Arvas, whose son, Staff Sgt. Shay Arvas, was killed fighting in Gaza and dedicated himself to tending to the graves in the Holon military cemetery; and Machlouf Ohana, the director of the cemetery in Kiryat Shmona, Israeli’s northernmost city, which was evacuated during the war.

Together, 10-year-old Ben Carasso, who used social media after October 7 to advocate for Israel, and 87-year-old Levana Zamir, president of the Association for Egyptian Jews and an activist for Jewish refugees from Arab lands – will light the “from generation to generation” torch along with Eli David, a right-wing X activist and AI expert.

A torch representing determination will be lit by Smadga, who won an Olympic bronze medal in judo in 1992 and lost his son, Sgt. First Class (res.) Omer Smadga, fighting in Gaza in June 2024, then coached Israel’s Olympians in Paris a month later; Avdija, who plays in the NBA for the Portland Trail Blazers; and Gal Hamrani, a blind Paralympian who won a silver medal for Israel in goalball at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

Lighting a torch for healing and rehabilitation will be Elisha Medan, who lost both of his legs while fighting in Gaza in November 2023; Jenny Sividia, who survived the Nova festival massacre where her brother, Shlomo Sivida, was killed; and Yarin Ilovich, also known as DJ Artifex, who performed at the festival just before Hamas launched its attack.

A torch dedicated to bridging communities will be lit by Rabbi Shmuel Slotki, whose two sons, Noam and Yishay, were killed on October 7 while working to save residents of Kibbutz Alumim; Racheli Tadesa Malkai, founder of the nonprofit Empowering Ethiopian Women; and Riki Sitton, a Haredi mom of 10 who works to unite religious and non-religious Jews.

Representing the “Israeli soundtrack,” Dana International will light a torch with popular Mizrahi singer Zehava Ben and musician Micha Shitrit, a member of the band HaChaverim Shel Natasha.

Lighting a torch symbolizing generosity will be 92-year-old Blanca Got, who has been knitting olive green clothing items for IDF soldiers since October 7; Shekoufeh “Chicki” Elghanian, a native of Tehran who at 84 moved to Israel from New York and dedicated herself to cooking for IDF soldiers; and Chief Warrant Officer (res.) Itzik Akrish, who worked for years to incorporate Israelis with special needs into the IDF.

And finally, a torch will be lit by three anonymous individuals – Mossad officers identified only as R., D. and N., who were among those responsible for the September 2024 pager attack on Hezbollah officials in Lebanon.

Jessica Steinberg, Emanuel Fabian and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.