Rabbi credited with demolishing Gaza homes to light torch at Israel’s Independence Day ceremony

The Israeli Ministry of Culture and Sport announced that Avraham Zarbiv, a rabbi whose public statements have repeatedly celebrated the razing of civilian dwellings in Gaza, will be one of fourteen individuals selected to light a ceremonial torch during the nation’s independence day celebrations scheduled for Tuesday, an honor that the state describes as recognizing "extraordinary contribution to society and the state" alongside a scientist, a Michelin‑starred chef, a leading physician, security‑force members and entrepreneurs.

According to the official programme, the torch‑lighting segment, traditionally reserved for figures deemed to embody national values, will feature Zarbiv standing alongside other honorees, thereby formally integrating his controversial record of endorsing the demolition of Palestinian homes into the symbolic narrative of the country’s founding mythos, a move that has been interpreted by observers as an institutional endorsement of policies that many international bodies have characterized as constituting ethnic cleansing.

Human‑rights organisations, citing the rabbi’s unapologetic rhetoric and documented involvement in campaigns that encouraged the physical eradication of Gaza neighbourhoods, condemned the appointment as a stark illustration of the state’s willingness to valorise actions that amount to war crimes, arguing that the ceremony’s inclusion of Zarbiv signals a broader acceptance of violent displacement as a legitimate instrument of national policy.

The episode, set against the backdrop of ongoing hostilities and a humanitarian crisis that has left thousands of Gaza residents homeless, underscores a persistent dissonance between Israel’s self‑portrayal as a democratic state committed to the rule of law and its recurrent reliance on mechanisms that facilitate, or at the very least fail to prevent, the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure, thereby raising uncomfortable questions about the criteria by which public commendation is awarded and the extent to which such recognitions reflect deeper structural contradictions within the nation’s political and moral framework.

Published: April 22, 2026