Netanyahu invites flydubai pilot and Indian PM Modi to light Independence Day torch

By Lazar Berman

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3 October 2026, 9:24 pm

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Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invites Indian flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to light a torch at Israel’s next Independence Day celebrations.

Netanyahu does not have the authority to unilaterally determine who will light a torch at next year’s traditional ceremony.

Under the government-established selection process, torch lighters are chosen through a public advisory committee and subsequently approved through the designated ministerial process, which under Netanyahu’s recent governments has been led by Likud loyalist Miri Regev.

“You are a true hero of the brave peoples of India and Israel,” Netanyahu tells Machchhar during a phone call. “And you are a hero of the entire world.”