Israeli human rights group B'Tselem said Tuesday that honoring a rabbi involved in demolishing homes in Gaza shows that "genocide has officially become part of Israel's national narrative."
The criticism came after Transportation Minister Miri Regev selected extremist rabbi Avraham Zarbiv to light a ceremonial torch during what Israel calls its 78th Independence Day events, which marks the establishment of the state on occupied Palestinian land.
The official ceremony, held Tuesday evening, includes the lighting of 12 torches symbolizing the tribes of Israel by individuals considered to have made notable contributions to the country.
In a statement, B'Tselem cited past remarks by Zarbiv in a television interview in which he boasted about destruction in Gaza, saying, "They (the Palestinians) have nothing to return to in Rafah and Jabalia. Tens of thousands of families have no documents, no childhood photos, no identity cards, and no home—they have nothing."
"Granting this high honor to someone who committed war crimes and boasted of leveling Gaza as part of his work as a reserve bulldozer driver illustrates how deeply the dehumanization of Palestinians has taken root at the heart of Israel's mainstream," the group said.
It added that this is "another alarming sign that genocide has officially become part of the national narrative."
Zarbiv serves as a judge in a regional rabbinical court in the illegal settlement of Ariel near Salfit in the occupied West Bank and heads a pre-military academy in the illegal settlement of Beit El, north of Jerusalem, where hundreds of Israeli youths are trained, according to B'Tselem.
The group said that during hundreds of days of reserve service since October 2023, Zarbiv documented himself demolishing civilian buildings in Gaza. In several instances, he was seen blowing a shofar (traditional ram's horn), praying, and reciting verses from the Torah while carrying out the demolitions.
He has repeatedly called for the destruction of the Gaza Strip and shared videos showing him leveling Palestinian homes, the statement added, saying his name has become "synonymous with the deliberate and systematic destruction of Gaza."
"Selecting him to light a torch, as a model citizen and as someone representing the spirit of the nation, sends a clear message to Israeli citizens and the world: in Israel, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes are the spirit of the nation," B'Tselem said.
Israel launched a genocide on Gaza in October 2023 that has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and wounded over 172,000, most of them women and children, and destroyed about 90% of the territory's civilian infrastructure.
A ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, but has been violated hundreds of times, killing 775 Palestinians and injuring 2,171 others.
