Gabriela Sztrigler Lew, a humanitarian worker from Mexico, will be Israel’s 73rd Independence Day torchbearer for the Torch-Lighting Ceremony that will be held on April 14 2021.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev and Culture and Sports Minister Chili Tropper, the two ministers in charge of the ceremony, jointly made the announcement on Friday.
Sztrigler Lew is a humanitarian volunteer from Mexico, who participated in more than 10 humanitarian interventions within Mexico, and also took part in the response team sent to Honduras for the humanitarian relief post hurricanes ETA and IOTA in 2020.Sztrigler Lew joined the hurricane relief efforts as part of Shalom Corps' mission - an organization established by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and the Jewish Agency. During the mission, she was responsible for delivering water filters and solar lamps to affected communities. Shalom Corps has also assisted Holocaust survivors and elderly citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"As a Jewish woman, it means the world to me to be part of an emergency response team. Since I was little, I always dreamed of making a change in the world. No matter how small my contribution is, I know that I'm doing my best to create a positive change. Being part of an emergency response team is not just a commitment - it is a privilege that life gave me," declared Sztrigler Lew, grateful of being selected.
Following the decision, it was announced that Israel, during the ceremony, will extol the "Israeli spirit of togetherness", greeting citizens working to strengthen Israel's social resilience, shared values and unity.