‘Fauda’ Star Idan Amedi Declines Invite to Israel’s Independence Day Ceremony

Israeli singer and actor Idan Amedi declined an invitation to light a ceremonial torch in Israel’s upcoming state ceremony to mark its 76th Independence Day, which will take place in May.

The Fauda star wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday that he will instead stay at home to remember those killed in the Israel-Hamas war that began following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in the Jewish state.

“There is no greater honor than that, but unfortunately I will not be able to receive it this year,” Amedi said about being offered to light one of the torches at the Independence Day celebration, which this year will be themed “Israeli heroism.”

“We have encountered so many heroes since that black Saturday [Oct. 7], and I have fought alongside some of them, both in the past and during the current war,” Amedi added. “This year, I will stay at home and join in their memory like many people in Israel. I hope in the future to maybe have the right to light a torch thanks to the words I write, and not because of the war.”

Amedi was seriously injured in an explosion on Jan. 8 while fighting in the Gaza Strip as a reservist in the combat engineering unit of the Israel Defense Forces. Six soldiers were killed in the incident. After being discharged from the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan on Jan. 25, Amedi said,  “I will come back to singing and acting and, with G-d’s help, I will also return to  fight for my country.”

In his Instagram post on Wednesday, Amedi wrote it was clear to him that he was doing the right thing by joining IDF soldiers fighting in the Gaza Strip.

“Everywhere I went (in Gaza), I was met by surprised soldiers. Some of them asked me, ‘what are you doing here?’ Something in the picture didn’t add up for them,” he recalled. “But laying on the ground, dusty, with equipment and weapons, I felt more than ever that I belonged to my people. I was fortunate to meet the best of the nation’s sons and daughters, real heroes. But before that, people with dreams and passions, who were hungry and homesick.”

“I am proud of the choices I have made,” he noted. “It was clear to me that this time I was fighting for the future of my children, Yaeli and Jonathan, and that gave me strength and helped me give others the strength, even in the darkest of places.”

Many in Israel, including a number of mayors and local authority leaders, have said they believe Independence Day celebrations should be toned down this year considering those killed on Oct. 7, the 134 hostages who remain held against their will by Hamas in Gaza, and the IDF soldiers still fighting in the Hamas-ruled enclave.

Israel’s Independence Day, known as Yom Haatzmaut in Hebrew, will begin this year on May 13 in the evening and end on the evening of May 14.