Transportation Minister Miri Regev announced on Sunday that Jewish-American commentator Ben Shapiro will be a ceremonial torchbearer at Israel's Independence Day ceremony on Mount Herzl.
Regev clarified she chose him from among the recommendations of the public advisory committee.
Shapiro, who self-identifies as an Orthodox Jew, is an outspoken supporter of Israel and is considered one of the most influential Jews in the world, with more than 20 million followers on social media.
He is the founding editor-in-chief of The Daily Wire and host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” a conservative podcast, which is ranked second in the United States by Podtrac.
The commentator has written numerous non-fiction books. He earned a BA in Political Science from UCLA in 2004 and graduated from Harvard Law School in 2007. Shapiro became at age 17 the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the US.
The ceremony
Yom Ha'atzmaut will begin at sundown on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, and end at nightfall on Thursday, May 1, 2025. Regev announced earlier on Sunday that she has also chosen Oren Smadja and former Israeli hostage Emily Damari to be among the torchbearers at the Independence Day ceremony on Mount Herzl.
Smadja, a former judoka and coach of the Israeli national judo team, is the winner of the country's second Olympic medal in its history.
Public backlash
In response, Igy, Israel's LGBTQ+ youth movement, reported in a public statement that it makes "perfect sense" that a person who referred to the community as "mentally ill" would receive national honors, and that "every boy and girl will once again receive the message that this is exactly what their government thinks of them.
"We call on the Knesset Speaker and the master of ceremonies to reverse their shameful decision. There are amazing people who have worked no less for Israeli awareness and national pride — they should light a torch," the movement added.
Israel's Women's Network voiced on X/Twitter: "Ben Shapiro, the man who claims that women who have abortions are 'baby killers,' should not be lighting a torch on Independence Day. It's not an honor, it's an insult to women in Israel. You can't celebrate freedom when you give a platform to those who don't believe in our freedom over our bodies."
The Aguda, the umbrella organization for the LGBTQ community in Israel, commented: "The selection of Ben Shapiro to light a torch on Independence Day is an embarrassing decision that cheapens the prestige of the torch-lighting ceremony and reveals the values of a government that chooses to honor a person who demeans women, denies basic rights, and calls LGBTQ people a “sin” and a “disease.”"
"On Israel’s Independence Day — just one day after Remembrance Day, which commemorates fallen IDF soldiers, including LGBTQ community members who died in battle — soldiers will have to watch a national ceremony in which one of the country’s highest honors is awarded to someone who refuses to recognize the legitimacy of their very existence," The Aguda added.