‘Israel’s Highest Honour’: Netanyahu Invites Indian Pilot Smit Machchhar for Independence Day Ceremony

Netanyahu Invites Indian Pilot Smit Machchhar, PM Modi to Light Flame at Israel Independence Day

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invited Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to light the ceremonial flame at Israel’s next Independence Day celebrations, describing it as Israel’s “highest honour.”

Netanyahu made the invitation during a phone conversation with Captain Machchhar, who was the pilot of a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv when he was reportedly attacked and stabbed in the cockpit by his Omani co-pilot.

“I would like Captain Smit and PM Modi to bear the celebratory flame at our Independence Day. It is our highest honour,” Netanyahu said, according to the statement.

He added that the honour is normally reserved for Israeli citizens, but said that in Captain Machchhar’s case, “all the citizens of Israel will embrace you.”

Captain Machchhar has received widespread attention after the incident aboard the Flydubai flight, in which he and others reportedly managed to regain control of the aircraft and make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Netanyahu’s invitation comes as India and Israel continue to highlight the close ties between their two countries. The proposed participation of Captain Machchhar and Prime Minister Modi at the Independence Day ceremony would carry a strong symbolic significance, recognising the pilot’s role during the in-flight emergency.