Skip To Content
logo/forward/small
Get our NewslettersShop our Store
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Support Our WorkSupport Us
Fast Forward

Should U.S. Jews Light Israel’s Independence Day Torch?

Image by getty images

Nathan Guttman

By Nathan Guttman April 27, 2017

Lighting one of the 12 torches at the ceremony marking the opening of the country’s Independence Day celebrations is one of Israel’s highest honors, so this year’s decision to invite two Jewish American leaders to participate is proving controversial.

Philanthropist Michael Steinhardt and Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Wiesenthal Center, were chosen to light together the torch representing the Jewish diaspora. But conservative columnist and author Irit Linur, writing in Haaretz had some choice words about the decision.

“I assume that both love Israel and wish it success. That’s gladdening, but they are American citizens,” Linur wrote. “In the torch-lighting ceremony on the day of the celebration of the one miracle of which there is no second, the proper place for anyone who’s not an Israeli is in the visitors’ gallery.”

The connection between Israel and the diaspora, she concludes, is similar to that of a spaceship and mission control in Houston. “The spaceship has to get to Mars safely, when all is said and done, whereas the folks in Houston will head home at the end of the day whether the spaceship lands or crashes.”

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Dive In

Explore

Most Popular

In Case You Missed It

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:

  • Credit the Forward
  • Retain our pixel
  • Preserve our canonical link in Google search
  • Add a noindex tag in Google search

See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

Should U.S. Jews Light Israel’s Independence Day Torch?

Copied to clipboard
Copied to clipboard

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.