1985 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...
– Shimon PeresShimon PeresGCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
(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...
– Chaim HerzogChaim HerzogChaim Herzog served as the sixth President of Israel , following a distinguished career in both the British Army and the Israel Defense Forces .-Early life:... - Chief of General Staff - Moshe LeviMoshe LeviLeiutanant General Moshe Levy was the 12th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces . He served in this position from 1983–1987...
- Government of Israel - 21st Government of IsraelTwenty-first government of IsraelThe twenty-first government of Israel was formed by Shimon Peres of the Alignment on 13 September 1984, following the July elections. With both the Alignment and Likud winning over 40 seats each, neither side could form a stand-alone coalition, resulting in a national unity government, together...
Events
- February 16 – Israel begins withdrawing troops from LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. - March 10 – Twelve IDF soldiers are killed in a suicide car attack near Metulla.
- June 11 – HaBonim disasterHaBonim disasterThe HaBonim disaster, which occurred on June 11, 1985, was an accident in which a train crashed into a bus, transporting students from the Y.H. Brenner middle school in Petach Tikva on their annual field trip, near Moshav HaBonim. 22 people were killed: 19 students, a teacher, the bus driver, and a...
: 22 are killed in collision between a bus and a train near Kibbutz HaBonimHaBonimHaBonim or Habonim may refer to:*A Socialist-Zionist youth movement Habonim Dror.*HaBonim, Israel, a moshav in Israel....
. - July – The 1985 Maccabiah Games1985 Maccabiah GamesThe 1985 12th Maccabiah Games brought over 4,000 athletes to Israel from 40 nations to compete in 28 sports.Twenty years after his first appearance in the Maccabiah, Olympic Champion Mark Spitz returned to Israel to carry the Opening Ceremony’s Torch into Ramat Gan Stadium...
are held. - September 4 – The Israeli new shekel (NIS) is introduced. It does not replace the old shekel as Israel's official currency until January 1, 1986.
- October 5 – Ras Burqa massacreRas Burqa massacreThe Ras Burqa massacre was a shooting attack in October 1985 on Israeli vacationers in Ras Burqa, a beach resort area in the Sinai peninsula, in which seven Israelis were killed, including four children.-The attack:...
: An Egyptian soldier shoots and kills seven Israeli vacationers (including four children) at Ras BurqaRas BurqaRas Burqa is a resort town on the Red Sea in the district of Nuwaiba, Egypt....
, a beach resort in the Sinai peninsulaSinai PeninsulaThe Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
. - November 21 – Jonathan PollardJonathan PollardJonathan Jay Pollard worked as a civilian intelligence analyst before being convicted of spying for Israel. He received a life sentence in 1987....
is arrested in the United States by the FBI and subsequently convicted of spying for Israel.
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 1985 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 1985 include:
- April 9 – A Palestinian Arab suicide car bomber drives an explosive-laden vehicle into an Israeli army patrol, killing 2 soldiers.
- September 25 – An Arab terrorist cell takes over an Israeli yachtYachtA yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
off the coast of LarnacaLarnacaLarnaca, is the third largest city on the southern coast of Cyprus after Nicosia and Limassol. It has a population of 72,000 and is the island's second largest commercial port and an important tourist resort...
, CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and kills its three Israeli occupants. An elite section of the PLO known as Force 17Force 17Force 17 was a commando and special operations terror unit of the Palestinian Fatah movement and later of the Office of the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority. It was formed in the early 1970s by Ali Hassan Salameh ....
claims responsibility for the attack. - October 7 – The Italian cruise ship MS Achille LauroMS Achille LauroMS Achille Lauro was a cruise ship based in Naples, Italy. Built between 1939 and 1947 as MS Willem Ruys, a passenger liner for the Rotterdamsche Lloyd. It is most remembered for its 1985 hijacking...
is hijacked in the Mediterranean SeaMediterranean SeaThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
by Palestinian Arab militants. The hijackers' original aim was to use the ship to slip into Israel. However, crew members discover them cleaning weapons, and the group then seizes control of the ship; holding the passengers and crew hostage, they direct the vessel to sail to Tartus, SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, and demand the release of 50 Palestinian ArabsPalestinian peopleThe Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
then in Israeli prisons. During the incident, the militants kill the passenger Leon KlinghofferLeon KlinghofferLeon Klinghoffer was a disabled American appliance manufacturer who was murdered and thrown overboard by Palestinian terrorists in the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985.-Hijacking and murder:...
, a 69-year-old wheelchair-bound Jewish American, and throw him overboard. - December 27 – Palestinian Arab militants from Abu NidalAbu NidalAbu Nidal , born Sabri Khalil al-Banna , was the founder of Fatah–The Revolutionary Council , a militant Palestinian group more commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization...
's militant group open fire at the counters of El AlEl AlEl Al Israel Airlines Ltd , trading as El Al , is the flag carrier of Israel. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights to Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East from its main base in Ben Gurion International Airport...
in the airports of Rome and ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. 18 Israelis were killed and 40 were injured.
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 1985 include:
- October 1 – Operation Wooden LegOperation Wooden LegOperation Wooden Leg was an attack by Israel on the Palestine Liberation Organization headquarters in Hammam al-Shatt, Tunisia, 12 miles from the capital of Tunis. It took place on October 1, 1985. Taking place 1,280 miles away, this was the furthest operation from Israel undertaken by the...
: Following the attack in Cyprus, the Israeli Air ForceIsraeli Air ForceThe Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
bombs PLOPalestine Liberation OrganizationThe Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
Headquarters near TunisTunisTunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
.
Unknown dates
- 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 OranitOranitOranit is an Israeli settlement and local council located off Highway 5 adjacent to Kafr Qasim, north of Rosh HaAyin on the western edge of the West Bank. On the Seam Zone, a sizable amount of the town's land is located within the Green Line...
. - The founding of the communal settlementCommunal settlement (Israel)A community settlement is a type of town in Israel. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the town's residents, who are organized in a cooperative, can veto a sale of a house or a business to an undesirable buyer....
ShaharutShaharutShaharut is a communal settlement 40 kilometers north of Eilat, and 6 kilometers west of Yotvata on a ridge above the Arava Valley in the far south of Israel. It is the only settlement in the area that is not in the valley itself. It belongs to the Hevel Eilot Regional Council. It was founded in...
.
Notable births
- April 1 – Shay DoronShay DoronShay Doron is an Israeli professional basketball player in the Israeli league. She plays for Elitzur Ramla.-Biography:Doron was born in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, to Yehuda and Tamari Doron...
, Israeli basketball player. - April 4 – Dudi SelaDudi SelaDavid "Dudi" Sela is an Israeli professional tennis player.Sela reached a career-high singles ranking of # 29 in July 2009. He is currently Israel's top men's singles player, ahead of Amir Weintraub.As a 17-year-old junior, he won the 2003 French Open boys' doubles championship with his doubles...
, Israeli tennis player. - April 30 – Gal GadotGal GadotGal Gadot is an Israeli actress and model. She won the Miss Israel title in 2004 and went on to represent Israel at the 2004 Miss Universe beauty pageant...
, Israeli actress and model. - June 4 – Bar RefaeliBar RefaeliBar Refaeli is an Israeli model and occasional actress, most known for her modeling work and for her relationship with American actor Leonardo DiCaprio. She was the cover model of the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.-Early life:...
, Israeli model.
Notable deaths
- January 18 – Mordechai BentovMordechai BentovMordechai Bentov was an Israeli journalist and politician, and was one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:...
(b. 1900), Russian (Poland)-born Israeli journalist and politician. - January 31 – Menachem BaderMenachem BaderMenachem Bader was a Labor Zionist activist during the Mandate era, and later a politician who served as a member of the Knesset.-Biography:...
(b. 1895), Austro-Hungarian (Galicia)-born Haganah member and Israeli politician. - April 24 – Yitzhak KahanYitzhak KahanYitzhak Kahan was President of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1982 until 1983. He was the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the Events at the Refugee Camps in Beirut also known as the Kahan Commission, which was established to investigate the Sabra and Shatila massacre.Born in Brody,...
(b. 1913), Austro-Hungarian (Galicia)-born Israeli jurist, sixth President of the Supreme Court of IsraelSupreme Court of IsraelThe Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...
. - September 29 – Yona WallachYona Wallach-Writing career:She was proud of her bisexuality and stunned her readers with her daring expressions of sexuality and spirituality combined.Wallach also featured Jungian psychology in her work. Wallach also wrote lyrics for, and performed with, Israeli rock bands. Her book, Island Songs, was...
(b. 19441944 in the British Mandate of PalestineEvents in the year 1944 in the British Mandate of Palestine.-Incumbents:* High Commissioner - Sir Harold MacMichael until 30 August; John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort* Emir of Transjordan - Abdullah I bin al-Hussein...
), Israeli poet. - October 6 – Noah Moses (b. 1912), publisher and editor of Yedioth AhronothYedioth AhronothYedioth Ahronoth is a daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Since the 1970s, it has been the most widely circulated paper in Israel. In a TGI survey comparing the last half of 2009 with the same period in 2008, Yedioth Ahronoth retained the title of most widely read newspaper in Israel...
. - December 7 – Shlomo RosenShlomo RosenShlomo Rosen was an Israeli politician and minister.Born in Moravská Ostrava in Austria-Hungary , Rosen made aliyah to Mandate Palestine in 1926. He joined kibbutz Sarid the following year. Between 1933 and 1935 he returned to Ostrava to serve as an emissary for Hashomer Hatzair...
(b. 1905), Austro-Hungarian (Austrian SilesiaSilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
)-born Israeli politician and minister. - November 30 – Joseph ZaritskyJoseph Zaritsky-Biography:Zaritsky was born in 1891 in Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire. He lived in Amsterdam, Paris and Brussels, but mostly he lived in Jerusalem. He studied at the art academy in Kiev before emigrating to Mandate Palestine in 1923. In 1929, he relocated from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv,...
(b. 1985), Russian (Ukraine)-born Israeli painter. - Full date unknown
- Benjamin AkzinBenjamin AkzinBenjamin Akzin was an early Zionist activist and, later, an Israeli professor of law.-Biography:Akzin was born in 1904 in Riga, Latvia, then in Livonia in the Russian Empire. He completed doctorates in political science and law at the universities of Vienna and Paris...
(b. 1904), Russian (Latvia)-born early Zionist activist and Israeli university professor. - Moshe Rudolf BlochMoshe Rudolf Bloch-Biography:Born in 1902 in Aussig-an-der-Elbe, Bohemia, then in Austria-Hungary. He received a PhD from the University of Bern. In 1926, he became head of the department of Metallography X-ray Spectography at the Technische Hochschule in Karlsruhe in Germany...
(b 19021902 in Germany-National level:* Kaiser - Wilhelm II* Chancellor - Bernhard von Bülow-Kingdoms:* King of Bavaria - Otto of Bavaria* King of Prussia - Kaiser Wilhelm II* King of Saxony - Albert of Saxony to 19 June, then George of Saxony...
), German-born Israeli scientist. - Moshe RachmilewitzMoshe RachmilewitzMoshe Rachmilewitz was an Israeli doctor and was one of the fathers of professional medicine in Israel.-Biography:Rachmilewitz was born in 1898 in Mstislavl , then part of the Russian Empire, and grew up in the city of Babruysk. His parents were Eliezer Lipman Rachmilewitz and Dvosha Zack...
(b. 1898), Russian (Belarus)-born leading Israeli doctor. - Eliezer SmoliEliezer SmoliEliezer Smoli was an Israeli writer, famous for his children's books.- Biography :Smoli was born in 1901 in the Volhynia region of western Ukraine...
(b. 1901), Russian (Ukraine)-born Israeli writer, famous for his children's books.
- Benjamin Akzin
See also
- 1985 in Israeli film1985 in Israeli filmA list of films produced by the Israeli film industry in 1985.-Unknown premiere date:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...
- 1985 in Israeli television
- 1985 in Israeli music
- 1985 in Israeli sport
- Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1985