On video: the beacon ceremony on Mount Herzl (photo: Neidat Herzliya)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering the possibility of giving a speech at the torch lighting ceremony on the eve of the country's 75th Independence Day at the end of April.
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It became known today (Thursday) that initial discussions are currently taking place on the outline of Netanyahu's participation between the Prime Minister's Office, the Office of Transport Minister Miri Regev and the Information Center entrusted with the production of the ceremony.
According to sources privy to the details, Netanyahu and his wife Sarah intend to participate in the ceremony, as they do every year, and are discussing the possibilities of the prime minister's speech at the ceremony - a speech, or a video that will be filmed in advance.
For years, the torch-lighting ceremony was considered to be of a state and non-political nature, but Netanyahu himself changed the practice in 2018 when he demanded a speech at the state's 70th Independence Day ceremony alongside the Speaker of the Knesset, who, according to protocol, presides over the ceremony and delivers the keynote speech
. The Speaker of the Knesset at the time, Yuli Edelstein, opposed the move and the change in the nature of the ceremony, but eventually succumbed to pressure from Netanyahu and the former Minister of Culture and Sports Miri Regev, who headed the Ceremonies and Symbols Committee and was responsible for the Ministry of Information that produces the ceremony.
Netanyahu at the beacon lighting ceremony in 2018 during which he gave a speech (photo: Walla! NEWS system, Noam Moskovitz)
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Following the events, in 2018, Regev passed a resolution in the Rituals and Symbols Committee, which stated that the Prime Minister will make a speech and raise a special torch on each Independence Day that marks a decade for the country.
But Netanyahu does not want to wait until the 1980s for the next speech - and intends to also participate in the beacon ceremony of the country's 75th Independence Day - and is interested in giving a speech, and at the very least producing a video starring him.
Netanyahu himself currently heads the Ceremonies and Symbols Committee that oversees the ceremony, a position he took upon himself when the government was formed.
Regev is a member of the committee, and received the responsibility on his behalf for the 75th Beacon Ceremony, which will be about pioneers and primitives.
Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana, who is considered close to Netanyahu, will be the keynote speaker - and is not expected to oppose another speech by the Prime Minister. There was
no response from the offices of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Culture.
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Political-political
Tags
Benjamin Netanyahu
The torch lighting ceremony
Independence Day
Miri Regev
Amir Ohana
