1972 in Israel
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- Prime Minister of IsraelPrime Minister of IsraelThe Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
– Golda MeirGolda MeirGolda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
(AlignmentAlignment (political party)The Alignment was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s. It was established in 1965 as an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda but was dissolved three years later when the two parties and Rafi formally merged into the Israeli Labor Party...
) - President of IsraelPresident of IsraelThe President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with the real executive power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...
– Zalman ShazarZalman ShazarZalman Shazar was an Israeli politician, author. and poet. Shazar served as the third President of Israel from 1963 to 1973.-Biography:... - Chief of General Staff - Haim Bar-Lev until January 1, David ElazarDavid ElazarDavid "Dado" Elazar was the ninth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, serving in that capacity from 1972 to 1974. He was forced to resign in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War.-Early life:...
- Government of Israel - 15th Government of IsraelFifteenth government of IsraelThe fifteenth government of Israel was formed by Golda Meir on 15 December 1969 following the October elections. The government was a continuation of the national unity government formed during the previous Knesset, and consisted of the Alignment, Gahal, the National Religious Party, the...
Events
- January 1 – David ElazarDavid ElazarDavid "Dado" Elazar was the ninth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, serving in that capacity from 1972 to 1974. He was forced to resign in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War.-Early life:...
is appointed as the ninth Chief of StaffRamatkalThe Chief of the General Staff, also known as the Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense Forces is the supreme commander and Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. At any given time, the Chief of Staff is the only active officer holding the IDF's highest rank, Rav Aluf , which is usually...
of the Israel Defense ForcesIsrael Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
. - May 8 – The founding of the kibbutzKibbutzA kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
AfikAfikAfik is an Israeli settlement and a kibbutz, and the first Jewish locale established in the Golan Heights after the Six Day War. Affiliated with Ihud HaKvutzot VeHaKibbutzim, it was established near the site of the abandoned Syrian village named Fiq on 8 May 1972...
. - May 19 – Population Census: 3,147,683 inhabitants in Israel.
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 1972 include:Notable Palestinian militant operations against Israeli targets
Palestinian political violence
Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence undertaken to further the Palestinian cause. These political objectives include self-determination in and sovereignty over Palestine, the liberation of Palestine and establishment of a Palestinian state, either in place of both Israel and...
s committed against Israelis during 1972 include:
- May 8 – Sabena Flight 571 hijacking: Four PLO terrorists hijack an airplane of Sabena Flight 572 carrying 99 passengers and ten crew members on route from BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
to Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. In a mission titled "Operation Isotope", 16 members of Sayeret MatkalSayeret MatkalSayeret Matkal is a special forces unit of the Israel Defence Forces , which is subordinated to the intelligence directorate Aman. First and foremost a field intelligence-gathering unit, conducting deep reconnaissance behind enemy lines to obtain strategic intelligence, Sayeret Matkal is also...
pose as refueling and technical personnel and storm the plane, killing the terrorists and releasing the passengers. - May 30 – Lod Airport massacreLod Airport massacreThe Lod Airport massacre was a terrorist attack that occurred on May 30, 1972, in which three members of the Japanese Red Army, on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine , killed 26 people and injured 80 others at Tel Aviv's Lod airport...
: Acting on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of PalestinePopular Front for the Liberation of PalestineThe Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
, three Japanese Red ArmyJapanese Red ArmyThe was a Communist terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu early in 1971 in Lebanon. It sometimes called itself Arab-JRA after the Lod airport massacre...
members enter the waiting area of Lod Airport near Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and fire indiscriminately at airport staff and travellers. 24 people are killed (including 17 tourists from Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
), and 78 are wounded. - September 5–6 – Munich MassacreMunich massacreThe Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...
: Eleven IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i athletes, members of the Israeli Olympic teamIsrael at the 1972 Summer OlympicsIsrael competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, which began on August 26. On September 5 and 6, eleven members of the Israeli team were captured and murdered by terrorists. The remainder of the team left Munich the day after the conclusion of the horrific event Israel competed...
at the 1972 Summer Olympics1972 Summer OlympicsThe 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, are murdered after eight Palestinian Arab terrorists, members of the Black SeptemberBlack September (group)The Black September Organization was a Palestinian paramilitary group, founded in 1970. It was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of eleven Israeli athletes and officials, and fatal shooting of a West German policeman, during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, their most publicized event...
terroristTerrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
group, invade the Olympic VillageOlympic VillageAn Olympic Village is an accommodation centre built for an Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials, athletic trainers, and other staff. Since the Munich Massacre at the 1972...
; five terrorists and one German policeman are also killed in a failed hostageHostageA hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
rescue. - September 19 – A parcel bomb sent to the Israeli Embassy in London kills Ami Shachori, an Israeli attachéAttachéAttaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
at the Israeli Embassy in London. The letter has been attributed to the Palestinian "Black SeptemberBlack September (group)The Black September Organization was a Palestinian paramilitary group, founded in 1970. It was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of eleven Israeli athletes and officials, and fatal shooting of a West German policeman, during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, their most publicized event...
" militant group. - December 28 – Palestinian Arab terrorists, members of the Black SeptemberBlack September (group)The Black September Organization was a Palestinian paramilitary group, founded in 1970. It was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of eleven Israeli athletes and officials, and fatal shooting of a West German policeman, during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, their most publicized event...
terrorist group, occupy the Israeli embassy in BangkokBangkokBangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, holding twelve hostages. Though their demands are not met, negotiations secure the release of all the hostages and the Black September militants are given safe passage to CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
.
Notable Israeli military operations against Palestinian militancy targets
The most prominent Israeli military counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
operations (military campaign
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
s and military operations) carried out against Palestinian militants during 1972 include:
Unknown dates
- The founding of the moshavMoshavMoshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
Bnei YehudaBnei Yehuda, Golan HeightsBnei Yehuda is an Israeli settlement, moshav, located in the southern Golan Heights, under the administration of Israel. The moshav was built in 1972. It falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the Golan Regional Council...
. - The founding of the West BankWest BankThe West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
settlement of Qiryat Arba.
Notable births
- February 2 – Dana InternationalDana InternationalSharon Cohen , professionally known as Dana International is an Israeli pop singer of Yemenite Jewish ancestry. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums, positioning herself as one of Israel's most successful musical acts ever...
, Israeli singer. - February 10 – Naor ZionNaor ZionNaor Zion is an Israeli comedian, actor, writer and director. Zion was the creator, head writer and an actor for the Israeli sitcom television series "Naor's Friends".- Biography :...
, Israeli stand-up comedian. - February 22 – Haim RevivoHaim RevivoHaim Michael Revivo is a retired Israeli football player, and a businessman. He was especially famous for his free-kick goals and his entertaining celebrations after these goals.- From Ashdod to Tel Aviv :...
, former Israeli football player and a businessman. - March 12 – Doron ShefferDoron ShefferDoron Sheffer , is an Israeli professional basketball player formerly with Maccabi Tel Aviv.Sheffer first gained fame at age 21 when he led Hapoel Galil Elyon to a 1993 victory in the Israeli League semifinals over Maccabi Tel Aviv...
, Israeli basketball player. - March 30 – Mili AvitalMili AvitalMili Avital is an Israeli actress. Avital built a successful stage and film career in Israel, winning the Israeli Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1992 and nominated for Best Actress in 1994.-Personal life:...
, Israeli actress. - April 2 – Eyal BerkovicEyal BerkovicEyal Berkovic is an Israeli former footballer. He played as a midfielder.He is known in Israel by the nickname Ha-Kosem ....
, Israeli footballer. - April 26 – Avi NimniAvi NimniAvi Nimni is Maccabi Tel Aviv's highest ever scorer and is regarded as one of Maccabi Tel Aviv's greatest players ever. Until 2006, he served as the captain of the Israeli national football team...
, Israeli footballer. - June 18 – Michal YannaiMichal YannaiMichal Yannai is an Israeli actress.In 2003, she married businessman Ofer Resles. They divorced in 2005.In 2007 she participated in the Israeli version of the stage show, Avenue Q.-External links:...
, Israeli actress. - June 20 – Yuval SemoYuval SemoYuval Semo is an Israeli actor and comedian. He is well known for acting in the popular Israeli TV show Eretz Nehederet.- Biography :Semo was born in Haifa in 1972. His military service was in the Ordnance Corps. After his military service he worked in the Israel Electric Corporation. He left...
, Israeli actor and comedian.
Notable deaths
- February 1 – Berl LockerBerl Locker-Biography:Born in Kriwiec in Austria-Hungary, Locker was educated at a Jewish school. In 1902 he began contributing to the Der Yidisher Arbeiter newspaper, which he later became editor of...
(b. 1887), Austro-Hungarian-born Zionist activist and Israeli politician. - February 9 – Yaakov HerzogYaakov HerzogYaakov Herzog was an Israeli diplomat.-Biography:Yitzhak Herzog was born in Dublin, Ireland. His father was Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, the second Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, and his brother, Chaim Herzog, became the sixth President of Israel. The family immigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1937...
(b. 19211921 in Ireland-Events:*February 5 - In Brighton, England, the widow of Charles Stewart Parnell, Katherine Parnell, dies aged 76.*March 5 - Irish War of Independence: Clonbanin Ambush: Irish Republican Army kills Brigadier General Cumming....
), Irish-born Israeli diplomat. - February 26 – Yosef SapirYosef SapirYosef Sapir was an Israeli politician and Knesset member of the 1st to 7th Knessets. He served as head of the General Zionists and was a founding member of the Gahal party....
(b. 1902), Israeli politician and Knesset member. - March 1 – Moshe SnehMoshe SnehMoshe Sneh was an Israeli politician and military figure. One of the founders of Mapam, he later joined the Israeli Communist Party , and was one of the leaders of a more pro-Israeli split in 1965.-Biography:...
(d. 1909), Russian (Poland)-born Israeli politician and military figure. - April 5 – Reuven BarkatReuven BarkatReuven Barkat was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment and the Labor Party from 1965 until his death in 1972.-Biography:...
(b. 1906), Russian (Lithuania)-born Israeli politician. - April 19 – Alexander PennAlexander Penn-Early years:Penn was born in Nizhne Kolymsk, Russia. As a youth, he was a boxer. He moved to Moscow in 1920, to study cinema, and published his first poems in Russian that year. In 1927, he immigrated to Mandatory Palestine...
(b. 1906), Russian-born Israeli poet. - May 30 – Aharon KatzirAharon KatzirAharon Katzir was an Israeli pioneer in the study of the electrochemistry of biopolymers. He was killed in the Lod Airport Massacre in 1972.-Biography:...
(b. 1914), Russian (Poland)-born Israeli scientist, killed in the Lod Airport massacreLod Airport massacreThe Lod Airport massacre was a terrorist attack that occurred on May 30, 1972, in which three members of the Japanese Red Army, on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine , killed 26 people and injured 80 others at Tel Aviv's Lod airport...
.
- September 5 – (Munich massacreMunich massacreThe Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...
):- Yossef RomanoYossef RomanoYossef Romano was a Libyan-born, Jewish Israeli weightlifter with the Israeli team that went to the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. He was the second of eleven Israeli team members murdered in the Munich massacre by Black September terrorists during that Olympics...
(b. 1940), Libyan-born Israeli weightlifter. - Moshe WeinbergMoshe WeinbergMoshe Weinberg was the coach of the Israeli international wrestling team as well as being the coach of Hapoel Tel Aviv. He was the Israeli youth champion in wrestling and also the adult champion for a period of 8 years. He began his career in Hapoel Haifa, later becoming a certified coach at...
(b. 19391939 in the British Mandate of PalestineEvents in the year 1939 in the British Mandate of Palestine.-Incumbents:* High Commissioner - Sir Harold MacMichael* Emir of Transjordan - Abdullah I bin al-Hussein* Prime Minister of Transjordan - Tawfik Abu al-Huda-Events:...
), Israeli wrestling coach.
- Yossef Romano
- September 6 – (Munich massacreMunich massacreThe Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...
):- David Mark BergerDavid Mark BergerDavid Mark Berger was an American-born weightlifter for the Israeli Olympic team in 1972. A lawyer by education, Berger was one of 11 members of Israel’s Olympic team who were taken hostage and subsequently murdered by Arab terrorists at the Munich Olympic Games.Berger was born in Cleveland, Ohio...
(b. 19441944 in the United States-January:* January 20 – The U.S. Army 36th Infantry Division, in Italy, attempts to cross the Rapido River.* January 22 – World War II – Operation Shingle: The Allies begin the assault on Anzio, Italy. The U.S...
), U.S.-born Israeli weightlifter. - Ze'ev FriedmanZe'ev FriedmanZe'ev Friedman , was an Israeli flyweight weightlifter. A member of the Israeli Olympic team, he was murdered by terrorists in the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. -Biography:...
(b. 1944), Polish-born Israeli weightlifter. - Yossef GutfreundYossef GutfreundYossef Gutfreund was an Israeli wrestling judge for his country's 1972 Olympic team. He was murdered in the Munich massacre by Black September terrorists along with 10 other members of the Israeli team.-Biography:...
(b. 1932), Romanian-born Israeli wrestling referee. - Eliezer HalfinEliezer HalfinEliezer Halfin was a wrestler for the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Along with 10 other athletes and coaches he was taken hostage by Palestinian Black September terrorists...
(b. 1948), Soviet (Latvian)-born Israeli wrestler. - Amitzur ShapiraAmitzur ShapiraAmitzur Shapira was an Israeli short distance runners in the 1950s and a coach for the Israeli track and field team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. At the time of his death he was also one of the country's best track coaches.-Early life:...
(b. 19321932 in the British Mandate of PalestineEvents in the year 1932 in the British Mandate of Palestine.-Incumbents:* High Commissioner - Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope* Emir of Transjordan - Abdullah I bin al-Hussein* Prime Minister of Transjordan - Abdallah Sarraj-Events:...
), Israeli athletics coach. - Kehat ShorrKehat ShorrKehat Shorr was the shooting coach for the 1972 Israeli Olympic team. He was one of the 11 members of Israel's Olympic team killed in the Munich massacre.-Biography:...
(b. 1919), Romanian-born Israeli shooting coach. - Mark SlavinMark SlavinMark Slavin , was an Israeli Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler and victim of the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics....
(b. 1954), Soviet (Belarus)-born Israeli wrestler. - Andre SpitzerAndre SpitzerAndre Spitzer , was a fencing master and coach of Israel's 1972 Summer Olympics team. He was one of 11 athletes and coaches taken hostage and subsequently killed by Palestinians in the Munich massacre.-Early life:...
(b. 1945), Romanian-born Israeli fencing coach. - Yakov SpringerYakov SpringerYakov Springer , was a wrestler and a weightlifting coach and judge, but is best known as one of the victims of the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics....
(b. c.1921), Polish-born Israeli weightlifting judge.
- David Mark Berger
- Full date unknown – Gershon ShufmanGershon ShufmanGershon Shoffman was an Israeli writer and painter.- Biography :Shoffman was born in Orsha , in the Russian Empire in 1880. His parents were Zalman Shoffman and Feiga Haya Levin...
(b. 1880), Russian (Belarus)-born Israeli writer and painter.
See also
- 1972 in Israeli film
- 1972 in Israeli television
- 1972 in Israeli music
- 1972 in Israeli sport
- Israel at the 1972 Summer OlympicsIsrael at the 1972 Summer OlympicsIsrael competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, which began on August 26. On September 5 and 6, eleven members of the Israeli team were captured and murdered by terrorists. The remainder of the team left Munich the day after the conclusion of the horrific event Israel competed...