David Rokni

David Rokni (Hebrew: דוד רוקני‎, (born January 6, 1932) is an Israeli colonel. He became an Israeli icon as the commander of the annual Israel Independence Day torch lighting ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem for nearly four decades.

David Rokni
Native name
דוד רוקני
Born (1932-01-06) January 6, 1932
Kermanshah, Iran
Years of service1950–1983, 1983–2016
Rank Aluf Mishne
Commands heldTorch lighting ceremony commander

Biography
David Rokni meets with President of Israel Reuven Rivlin upon the end of his command of the annual Independence Day torch lighting ceremony in May 2016

David Rokni was born in Iran. He was a Colonel in the Israel Defense Forces. For 37 years in a row, Rokni organized and led the annual Independence Day ceremony on Mount Herzl.[1]

In 2013, a documentary film, The Ceremony, about the torch-lighting ceremony and the role of David Rokni, won the Audience Award at the DocAviv Festival.[2]

In May 2016, Rokni announced that he was retiring, and the ceremony that year would be the last one under his command.[3] After the announcement, Rokni was hosted by president Reuven Rivlin at the President's Residence.[4]

See also

References
  1. Watch Star of David: Israeli Flag featured in Independence Day Ceremony
  2. The Ceremony
  3. Zionist Federation of Australia, Israeli news, May 11
  4. Gideon Allon, Yori Yalon and Nitzi Yakov. "President to honor 120 soldiers on Independence Day". israelhayom.com. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
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