Freed hostage Emily Damari and bereaved father Oren Smadga to light Independence Day torches

Transportation Minister Miri Regev announces the first two Israelis to be granted the honor of lighting a torch during the official state Independence Day ceremony next week.

Oren Smadga, an Olympic medalist whose son, Omer, was killed fighting in Gaza last year, has been selected for the honor.

Oren won a bronze medal in judo at the 1992 Summer Olympics for Israel, and serves currently as head coach of the men’s national judo team. His son, Sgt. First Class (res.) Omer Smadga, 25, was killed in June 2024 in a Hamas mortar attack in the central Gaza Strip.

Oren Smadga (center) attends the funeral of his son, Omer Smadga, who was killed fighting in Gaza, in Netanya on June 21, 2024. (Flash90)

Emily Damari, a freed hostage who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza and returned as part of a ceasefire deal earlier this year, will also light a torch during the ceremony.

An image of Damari holding up her hand, missing two fingers from a gunshot wound she sustained while being kidnapped, quickly became a symbol of Israeli defiance and resilience after she was freed.

The pair are the first of a number of Israelis expected to be selected for the honor.