Opposition MKs warn against politicization of Independence Day ceremony

Transportation Minister Miri Regev's decision to hold this year's Independence Day ceremony without a live audience was made in order to prevent demonstrative acts by opponents of government policy or families of hostage families, Knesset members form the opposition accused during a Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee meeting on Tuesday morning.

The MKs and family members of hostages who also participated in the meeting argued that there had not been a "convincing reason" for the lack of live audience. They also criticized the fact that the ceremony's title is "Israeli Heroism", which they argued symbolized a lack of empathy towards the hostage families. 

Regev was granted responsibility for the ceremony in late December, and the preparations have been done without convening the statutory Ministerial Committee for Ceremonies and Symbols. The MKs argued in a letter ahead of the committee meeting on Tuesday that "it is inconceivable that the Independence Day ceremony, which is supposed to be a unifying and significant moment for all segments of the nation, will be managed in a completely centralized and non-transparent manner … and will be subject to arbitrary decisions by one minister."

No Knesset members from the coalition attended the meeting, which was run by deputy chair MK Simon Davidson (Yesh Atid).

"It is delusional in my eyes that the government decided to hold an engineered and staged ceremony … with whatever political content they want to insert," Davidson said at the meeting, adding that the fact that Regev did not send a representative to the committee was a "disparagement of the Knesset."

"It cannot be that there will be Independence Day events while there are hostages in Gaza," Davidson said.

"We have no reason to celebrate independence"

Naama Weinberg, cousin of Itay Svirsky who was taken hostage by Hamas and then murdered, said that "we have no reason to celebrate independence."

"We have completely lost our way. It cannot be seen as anything but dancing on the blood. They [the hostages] do not deserve this. This it the time to save them," Weinberg said.

Hostage families announced earlier this week that instead of the traditional torch lighting ceremony, they will hold a "torch extinguishing" ceremony. Davidson said at the meeting that he would attend the alternative ceremony.

Regev explained in a press briefing last week that there will be no fireworks at this year's ceremony and the artistic section will be adapted to accommodate the event. The ceremonial section will be reduced, and that the ceremony will include references to fighting in the north and south, the hostages, the evacuees, the wounded, the disabled, the reservists, and the security and rescue forces will be incorporated. She added that the ceremony will be filmed in advance and will take place without an audience, following consultations with security personnel. 

Regev was also responsible for Independence day celebrations last year, at the height of the public struggle over the government's controversial judicial reforms. The minister last year had the ceremony's dress rehearsal recorded in order to switch the live feed to the recorded version if protestors disrupted the ceremony. The ceremony eventually passed without disruption.