Israel on Tuesday night ushered in its 78th Independence Day with the traditional torch-lighting ceremony at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl, which this year took place against the backdrop of shaky ceasefires with Iran and Lebanon.

Assorted dignitaries and hundreds of flag-waving spectators flooded into the makeshift stadium at Mount Herzl, marking the return of a live audience to the ceremony for the first time since 2023, with war and wildfires having kept them away for the past two years.

Among those in attendance were Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Supreme Court Chief Justice Isaac Amit and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. Joining them was Argentine President Javier Milei, who was selected to light a torch at the ceremony — the first time the honor has been bestowed on a foreign leader.

The official theme of the ceremony, organized as it is every year by Transportation Minister Miri Regev, was “Forces of Renewal.”

Practically, this translated to a heavy focus on the joint US-Israeli war with Iran, which began on February 28 and was halted on April 8 with a two-week ceasefire — which at the time of the ceremony, was hours away from expiring before US President Donald Trump announced it would be extended for the time being — and on the fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Despite being in attendance, Netanyahu’s addressed the ceremony in a pre-recorded video, in which he lauded Israel’s military achievements over the past few years.

“Israel is stronger than ever, and together with the United States, we are leading the fight against the forces of evil in the world,” Netanyahu said.

Enemies have risen up in every generation to try to destroy the Jewish people, Netanyahu said, but in the “generation of revival,” Israel rises up “against our enemies.”

“The Iranian axis of evil, which plotted to destroy us, is now fighting for its very survival. In the War of Revival, we smashed major parts of [Iran’s axis],” he bragged.

“War of Revival” is the official name approved by the Israeli cabinet last year for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The adoption of that name has sparked anger and concern from critics who view it as a rebranding effort by Netanyahu and his government to evade responsibility for the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre. He made no mention of the Hamas massacre in his address.

“We have launched two bold operations to remove an existential threat from above us,” Netanyahu went on, referring to the danger posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

He said Israel brought ties with the US under Trump to “unprecedented heights.”

“We dealt a heavy blow to Iran’s regime of terror, harming its ability to endanger us. We strengthened Israel’s position as a regional power. We forged new alliances and opened the door to expanding the circle of peace,” he said, crediting Israel’s soldiers and citizens, as well as “the courageous decisions we made,” with such feats.

“In the War of Revival, in [Operation] Rising Lion and [Operation] Roaring Lion, we made major achievements,” he reiterated, referring to the two campaigns against Iran.

On Gaza, he said, “we have returned all of our hostages” from Hamas captivity, “every last one of them,” without differentiating between those who were returned alive versus those whose bodies were returned after they were killed in captivity. He said Israel continues to tackle Hamas, “in order to ensure that Gaza will no longer threaten Israel.”

He also hailed Israel’s military actions in Lebanon and Syria, including the establishment of security zones in both those countries. In Lebanon, he says, Israel blew up Hezbollah’s beepers and killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah, “and created a deep security zone that pushes the threat away from residents of the North. In Syria as well, we established a security zone… and we are protecting our Druze brothers,” he said.

“We are pressing forward on all fronts,” Netanyahu reiterated, moving on to address advancements in the economic, transport, science and technology, innovation and settlement fields.

“With God’s help, we will complete the victory, strengthen our state, and secure our future,” he concluded.

Soldiers, a chef and a Jewish Iranian ex-judicial official

The first torch at the ceremony was lit by IDF officers Col. “Mem” and Maj. Nurit Rokah.

Mem — identified only by his first initial in Hebrew — is the head of the Israeli Air Force’s Iran department, and Rokah is a commander in the Border Defense Corps’s Combat Intelligence Collection Array.

Rokah was wounded while defending the army’s Urim base during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led onslaught and severely injured a second time in a Hamas ambush in the Gaza Strip in April 2025.

The IAF officer, who donned sunglasses and a balaclava to mask his identity, said he was lighting the torch “in honor of the fighters, men and women, in the air, at sea, and on land, in the standing army and in the reserves, who operate around the clock, in defense and offense, with courage and determination.”

Rokah similarly said she was lighting the torch “in honor of the fighters, men and women, members of the ground forces, including my brothers and sisters from the Combat Intelligence Collection Array, who operate along all borders and beyond them.”

Among other torch-lighters were Talik Gvili, the mother of deceased former hostage Sgt. Ran Gvili, and hostage point man Gal Hirsch.

Ari Spitz, a combat soldier who was critically injured in Gaza, losing both legs and an arm, was also chosen to light a torch.

He dedicated his to those who fell in war, and to those injured by it “in body and in mind.”

Ora Hatan, a northern resident, was chosen to light a torch as a “symbol of determination” for remaining in Shtula over the past two and a half years of war and earning a reputation for cooking for Israeli forces stationed in the area.

Also honored for his food, and for “representing the creative Israeli spirit,” was celebrity chef Assaf Granit, whose Paris restaurant Shabour is the first Israeli-owned eatery in France with a Michelin Star.

Professor Dina Ben-Yehuda, a doctor who has held various top jobs in Israel’s medical establishment, said she was lighting her torch to represent the country’s medical community, which she noted “has been facing difficult years with bravery, from the coronavirus to the long and painful war.”

Among the other torch-lighters were Tamer Atallah, a Druze former soldier, who was honored for his work to boost ties with Syrian Druze; venture capitalist and cyber entrepreneur Gili Raanan; Moshe Edri, an Israel Prize-winning filmmaker; and Roni Ineshaz Farshahd, who as a Jewish judicial official in the Islamic Republic helped Jews under threat from the regime, before fleeing to Israel in 1997.

“I light this torch,” said Farshahd, “in honor of the magnificent community of Iranian Jewry, in honor of the brave, great, and peace-loving Iranian people, the vast majority of whom love the Jewish people and dream of freedom.”

The picks for torch-lighters were not without controversy, though, and the IDF last week distanced itself from the decision to honor controversial reservist Abraham Zarbiv, a rabbi and state rabbinical judge who has called to “flatten” the Gaza Strip and rebuild Israeli settlements there.

Zarbiv is known for celebrating demolitions carried out in Gaza by his IDF reserve bulldozing unit, and accordingly, he dedicated his torch to them.

“I light this torch,” he said, “in honor of the bulldozer and excavator operators, the trailblazers, destroyers of the enemy and the dismantlers of terrorist infrastructure who protect the lives of our soldiers.”

Last up was Milei, who, to loud applause and cheers, joined an upbeat song number on stage, singing “Libre” by Nina Bravo with Mali Levi and Rotem Cohen.

“The light always overcomes the darkness, because lies and hatred always yield to the power of truth and time,” Milei told the crowd. “Thus, we light this torch in honor of all those who fought for the freedom and sovereignty of Israel. Israel has proven time and again that victory is not determined by the number of soldiers, but by the forces that come from the heavens.”

???????? AURA TOTAL: TREMENDO RECIBIMIENTO AL PRESIDENTE MILEI EN LA CEREMONIA Y SUBE AL ESCENARIO PARA CANTAR “LIBRE” EN ISRAEL "VIVA LA LIBERTAD CARAJO" @JMilei pic.twitter.com/WyhyPfqlbE — Agarra la Pala (@agarra_pala) April 21, 2026

???????? AURA TOTAL: TREMENDO RECIBIMIENTO AL PRESIDENTE MILEI EN LA CEREMONIA Y SUBE AL ESCENARIO PARA CANTAR “LIBRE” EN ISRAEL

"VIVA LA LIBERTAD CARAJO" @JMilei pic.twitter.com/WyhyPfqlbE

— Agarra la Pala (@agarra_pala) April 21, 2026

One person, though, was reported to be less than happy with Milei’s attendance at the annual celebration — National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

The far-right minister walked out of the ceremony with his wife in tow after being asked to move from their seats as they were reserved for members of Milei’s entourage, Hebrew media reported, citing ceremony organizers.

Speaking with Channel 12 news, sources close to the minister claim that he left after he requested to sit next to Netanyahu but was rebuffed by Regev, a longtime loyalist of the premier.

“It is very unfortunate that Miri Regev does not internalize that this is a state ceremony in which all government ministers are supposed to participate,” the sources close to Ben Gvir told the network.

The network cited organizers as saying that “contrary to the reports, Minister Ben Gvir was assigned a seat like all other ministers and senior staff, but apparently sat by mistake in the seats designated for the President of Argentina and his entourage. Minister Ben Gvir was simply asked to sit in the seat allocated to him.”

Alternative ceremony draws thousands

Far from the pomp and circumstance of Jerusalem, thousands gathered outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art — which for two years was known as Hostages Square — for an alternative “liberal, democratic” torch-lighting ceremony, led by opponents of the current government.

Torch-lighters at the ceremony included former Likud minister and IDF chief Moshe Ya’alon, and leaders of the Brothers and Sisters in Arms and the Mothers at the Front protest groups.

Yifat Calderon, the cousin of former hostage Ofer Calderon, also lit a torch.

“The October 7 massacre is the greatest disaster in the history of our beloved country,” said Calderon. “The families of the victims, the survivors, and in fact all of us, must receive answers. Any attempts at a cover-up or silencing by those responsible for the failure of October 7 will not be accepted… In order to prevent the next disaster, we will continue to demand the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, which alone will be able to uncover the truth.”

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