Reservist rabbi who called to ‘flatten’ Gaza will light torch at state Independence Day event

Avraham Zarbiv, a state rabbinical judge known for celebrating demolitions that his IDF reserve bulldozing unit carried out in Gaza, was named Thursday as one of the honorary torchlighters at the state’s annual Independence Day ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on April 21.

“Rabbi Avraham Zarbiv is a paragon of deep commitment to the nation of Israel, the Torah of Israel and the Land of Israel,” said Miri Regev, the ceremony’s long-time planner, in an announcement of Zarbiv’s selection.

“Through his person we are saluting the men and women of the national religious community, who combine leading a life of Torah with service and contribution to the state, and continue leading Israeli society forward out of a deep sense of mission,” she said.

In multiple interviews with right-wing media, Zarbiv, 54, has called to “flatten Gaza,” establish settlements there, drive out Palestinians from the Strip’s north and “destroy” anyone who stays behind.

State Ombudsman for Judges, Judge Asher Kula, ruled in February that Zarbiv, who serves on the Tel Aviv rabbinical court, violated ethics rules by publicly expressing his views on controversial issues. The ruling upheld a complaint by the Israel Religious Action Center, the public advocacy arm of the Reform Jewish movement in Israel.

In reserve duty following the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, Zarbiv operated a D9 Caterpillar bulldozer for the Givati infantry brigade in Gaza. The bulldozers are often used to raze buildings to give soldiers more leeway on the battlefield.

Early in the war, a photograph of Zarbiv circulated on social media showing him posing seated at a desk in a building in Gaza with the words “Rabbinical Court of Khan Younis” written on a whiteboard behind him.

Zarbiv’s popularity on social media led to the coining of the Hebrew word lezarbev, a play on his surname that refers to the act of demolishing buildings in Gaza.

Zarbiv was filmed on at least one occasion razing a building in Gaza, with a person behind the camera making liberal use of the neologism as he described the demolition in the style of a sports announcer.

The rabbi often employs the catchphrase, “To victory, to settlement,” including in brief video homilies on the weekly Torah portions that he sent from Gaza.

השרה מירי רגב הודיעה כי הרב אברהם זרביב ידליק משואה ביום העצמאות. על שמו של זרביב הודבק המינוח "לזרבב את עזה", וסרטונים שלו הופצו בכל העולם pic.twitter.com/9Cw4LrpwqP

— יואלי ברים yoeli brim (@yoeli_brim) April 9, 2026

In one homily filmed in Rafah last April, Zarbiv prayed that “there will be no more battles” there, adding: “You know why? Because there will be no more Rafah.”

Besides Zarbiv, other torchlighters announced by Regev include IDF soldier Ari Shpitz, who has been in rehab for over 200 days after losing two legs and an arm in Gaza, and Ora Hatan, a resident of Shetula on the Lebanese border, who is being recognized for her resilience in the face of incessant bombing by Hezbollah.

Also to light torches are entrepreneur Gili Raanan, a board member of cybersecurity firm Wiz, which sold to Google this year for $32 billion, the largest such deal in Israeli history, and senior Israeli film industry executive Moshe Edri.

To be honored, too, is Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who Regev called “a true friend and Zionist… and among the greatest friends of the Jewish people.”

Another torchlighter will be Talik Gvili, whose son Ran Gvili’s remains were the last to be returned by Hamas after he was killed and his body abducted while battling the terror group’s invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The torch representing the IDF will be lit by Col. “Mem” — identified only by his first initial in Hebrew — the head of the Israeli Air Force’s Iran department, and Maj. Nurit Rokah, who was wounded while defending the army’s Urim base during the October 7 onslaught and injured a second time during fighting in Gaza.

Selections for the Independence Day torchlighting role have occasionally sparked controversy. Earlier this week, former Hamas hostages and their families slammed the selection of Gal Hirsch, the government’s hostage point man, whom they accused of mistreating the families while their loved ones were in captivity in Gaza.