Ex-hostages star in recorded Independence Day ceremony after live event canceled
Agam Berger plays violin and Emily Damari lights torch in taping of dress rehearsal that was aired after ceremony called off due to strong winds, which sparked major fires; Channel 14 does not show Dana International
The pre-recorded dress rehearsal of Israel’s 77th Independence Day opening ceremony was broadcast on Israeli television on Wednesday evening after heavy winds in the Jerusalem area forced the cancellation of the live ceremony.
The winds later caused fires to flare and spread widely outside the capital, leading to the evacuation of citizens, the closure of roads, and the cancellation of almost all Independence Day parties.
The annual ceremony opened with a large dance number while the final letters of fallen soldiers to their families were intermittently read aloud by an announcer.
Following opening remarks by the ceremony’s emcees, freed hostage Agam Berger played the violin as singer Dudu Fisher sang a prayer for the return of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
Afterward, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered prerecorded remarks from his office, hailing the wonders of Israel and the warriors who fell defending the country.
He said Israel is determined to achieve “complete victory” over all of its enemies, and to bring home all the remaining hostages held in Gaza.
Historically, prime ministers have not delivered remarks at the Independence Day ceremony, as the main speaker was typically only the Knesset speaker to maintain the ceremony’s apolitical character. In recent years, however, Netanyahu has disregarded this custom.
As Netanyahu spoke, a montage of scenes from Israel, including clips of him and his wife Sara, played in the background.
After Netanyahu’s brief speech, and at other stages of the pre-recorded ceremony, Channels 12 and 13 interrupted their broadcasts of the event and switched to real-time updates on the state of the wildfires, the evacuation of affected areas, and the efforts to gain control of the blazes.
After several more songs with large dance numbers, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana delivered a speech hailing the history of Israel and the Jewish people.
“Even this evening, the State of Israel is not whole, because 59 of our brothers and sisters are still held hostage in Gaza,” he said.
“I speak to them, in the hope that they can hear me — and I also speak to their families, who surely are listening: The State of Israel is committed to bringing you home, each and every one of you! Just as the country has managed, since the outbreak of the war, to secure the release of most of the hostages, so too will it secure the release of all of them, and it will not cease this mission until it is completed.”
He ended his speech by saying that “we will win” the war in Gaza.
Ohana then opened the torch lighting ceremony, whose theme this year was those who bring “hope” to the country.
The hosts introduced the evening’s torch-lighters, including Eli Sharabi, whose wife Lianne and daughters Noiya and Yahel were murdered on October 7, and who was taken captive from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri. His brother, Yossi Sharabi, was also taken hostage and later killed in captivity, likely as the result of an IDF strike.
Sharabi, however, was not present at the recorded rehearsal for the event and consequently did not appear on screen.
The next torch-lighter was Emily Damari, a former hostage taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, who 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.
Damari said she was lighting the torch for the 59 hostages still held in Gaza, stating, “We need to do everything to get them back home.”
She thanked the security forces still fighting to defend the country, and mentioned those widowed and orphaned by the war.
To her friends, hostages Gali and Ziv Berman, she promised, “We will yet see rosy sunsets together.”
The following torch, representing the IDF, was 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.
Other well-known torch lighters included Ben Shapiro, a prominent right-wing pro-Israel American-Jewish political commentator; Omri Casspi, the first Israeli to play in the NBA; Deni Avdija, an NBA player for the Portland Trailblazers; Dana International, the transgender Eurovision champion; and Rachel 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.
Israel’s Channel 14, a right-wing pro-Netanyahu TV station, interrupted its screening of the broadcast immediately before Dana International was introduced, saying it was cutting away to a news update, and did not show her torch-lighting.
The torch lighting ceremony was followed by the flag ceremony, which saw the IDF’s Personnel Directorate pass off an Israeli and IDF flag to the Military Intelligence Directorate.
The Times of Israel Community.