1988 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...
- Yitzhak ShamirYitzhak Shamir' is a former Israeli politician, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, in 1983–84 and 1986–92.-Biography:Icchak Jeziernicky was born in Ruzhany , Russian Empire . He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement...
(LikudLikudLikud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
) - 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 - Dan ShomronDan ShomronGen. Dan Shomron was the 13th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, from 1987 to 1991....
- Government of Israel - 22nd Government of IsraelTwenty-second government of IsraelThe twenty-second government of Israel was formed by Yitzhak Shamir of Likud on 20 October 1986. Shamir replaced Shimon Peres of the Alignment as Prime Minister as part of a rotation deal within the national unity coalition between the two parties...
until December 22, 23rd Government of IsraelTwenty-third government of IsraelThe twenty-third government of Israel was formed by Yitzhak Shamir of Likud on 22 December 1988, following the November 1988 elections. The government remained a national unity coalition between Likud and the Alignment, with the National Religious Party, Shas, Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah also...
Events
- January 6 - Michel SabbahMichel SabbahMichel Sabbah was the Archbishop and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1987 to 2008.Sabbah began his priestly studies at the Latin Patriarchal Seminary of Beit Jala in October 1949 and was ordained a priest for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in June 1955. He was a parish priest for a few...
is consecrated as Roman Catholic Bishop of Jerusalem becoming the first Palestinian Arab to hold this position. - January 17 - Education Minister Yitzhaq NavonYitzhak NavonYitzhak Navon is an Israeli politician, diplomat, and author. He served as the fifth President of Israel between 1978 and 1982 as a member of the center-left Alignment party...
orders the mobilisation of high school students to assist in the citrus fruit harvest in a crisis caused by the absence of Palestinian Arab workers. - February 18 - Israeli authorities close Tari al-Sharara a Hebrew/Arabic newspaper published in Israel.
- February 25 - A camera crew working for a US network film four Israeli soldiers breaking arms of two bound Palestinian Arabs. On 15 March the IDF announced that one of the soldiers had been sentenced to 21 days in prison, a second to ten days.
- March 13 - An estimated 200,000-250,000 Israelis demonstrate in support of Prime Minister Shamir's rejection of US peace proposals. The day before, March 12, Peace Now held a demonstration of 50,000 in favour of the plan.
- March 24 – An Israeli court sentences Mordechai VanunuMordechai VanunuMordechai Vanunu ; is a former Israeli nuclear technician who, citing his opposition to weapons of mass destruction, revealed details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986. He was subsequently lured to Italy by a Mossad agent, where he was drugged and kidnapped by...
to 18 years in prison for disclosing Israel's nuclear weapons programNuclear weapons and IsraelIsrael is widely believed to be the sixth country in the world to have developed nuclear weapons and to be one of four nuclear-armed countries not recognized as a Nuclear Weapons State by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty , the others being India, Pakistan and North Korea...
to The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times (UK)The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
. - April 25 – In Israel, Ivan Demjanjuk is sentenced to death for war crimeWar crimeWar crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s committed in World War II. He was accused by survivors of being the notorious guard at the Treblinka extermination campTreblinka extermination campTreblinka was a Nazi extermination camp in occupied Poland during World War II near the village of Treblinka in the modern-day Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. The camp, which was constructed as part of Operation Reinhard, operated between and ,. During this time, approximately 850,000 men, women...
known as "Ivan the Terrible". The conviction was eventually overturned in 1993 by the Israeli Supreme Court. - June 18 - UK government expels Israeli diplomat and orders end of Mossad activities in UK following the killing of Naji al-AliNaji al-AliNaji Salim al-Ali was a Palestinian cartoonist, noted for the political criticism of Israel in his works.He drew over 40,000 cartoons, which often reflected Palestinian and Arab public opinion and were sharply critical commentaries on Palestinian and Arab politics and political leaders...
. - August 16 - Two prisoners are killed when 1,000 Palestinian Arab detainees riot at Ktzi'ot PrisonKtzi'ot PrisonKtzi'ot Prison is an Israeli detention facility located in the Haluza sand dunes region. It is Israel's largest detention facility in terms of land area, encompassing ....
. - September 19 – Israel launches Ofek-1, its first reconnaissance satellite, into space.
- November 1 – In the Israeli election, LikudLikudLikud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
wins 47 seats, Labour wins 49, but Likud Prime Minister Yitzhak ShamirYitzhak Shamir' is a former Israeli politician, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, in 1983–84 and 1986–92.-Biography:Icchak Jeziernicky was born in Ruzhany , Russian Empire . He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement...
remains in office. - December 22 – Yitzhak ShamirYitzhak Shamir' is a former Israeli politician, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, in 1983–84 and 1986–92.-Biography:Icchak Jeziernicky was born in Ruzhany , Russian Empire . He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement...
presents his cabinet for a KnessetKnessetThe Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
"Vote of Confidence". The 23rd GovernmentTwenty-third government of IsraelThe twenty-third government of Israel was formed by Yitzhak Shamir of Likud on 22 December 1988, following the November 1988 elections. The government remained a national unity coalition between Likud and the Alignment, with the National Religious Party, Shas, Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah also...
is approved that day and the members are sworn in.
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 1988 include:- April 6 - An 15 year old Israeli girl is killed in the Palestinian village of Bayta in West Bank. First official announcements state that she had been stoned to death. A subsequent IDF investigation revealed that she had been accidentally shot by her group leader. Two Palestinian Arabs are killed in the incident.
- December 7 – Yasser ArafatYasser ArafatMohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
recognizes the right of Israel to exist.
Notable Palestinian militant operations against Israeli targets
The most prominent Palestinian Arab terror attack
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 1988 include:
- March 7 – Mothers' Bus attackMothers' Bus attackThe Mothers’ Bus attack refers to the 1988 hijacking of an Israeli civilian bus carrying workers to the Negev Nuclear Research Center. Three Arab militants took 11 passengers hostage and executed two women. The bus was then stormed by Yamam, Israel's elite counter-terrorism unit...
: A squad of three Palestinian Arab militants, members of the FatahFatahFataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
organization, infiltrated Israel from Egypt. The militants hijacked a bus full of women returning from work at the Negev Nuclear Research CenterNegev Nuclear Research CenterThe Negev Nuclear Research Center is an Israeli nuclear installation located in the Negev desert, about thirteen kilometers to the south-east of the city of Dimona. The purpose of Dimona is widely assumed to be the manufacturing of nuclear weapons, and the majority of defense experts have...
near DimonaDimonaDimona is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, to the south of Beersheba and west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. Its population at the end of 2007 was 33,600.-History:...
and threatened to kill the passengers one by one if Israel would not release Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons. After the militants executed one of the passengers, members of the elite civilian counter-terrorism unit YamamYamamThe Yamam ) is an elite Border police, not civilian Police counter-terrorism unit in Israel. The Yamam is capable of both hostage-rescue operations and offensive take-over raids against targets in civilian areas...
broke into the bus, killing all three hijackers, but not managing to prevent another two Israeli passengers from being killed. See Mothers' Bus attackMothers' Bus attackThe Mothers’ Bus attack refers to the 1988 hijacking of an Israeli civilian bus carrying workers to the Negev Nuclear Research Center. Three Arab militants took 11 passengers hostage and executed two women. The bus was then stormed by Yamam, Israel's elite counter-terrorism unit...
. - May 11 - A car bomb near the Israeli Embassy in NicosiaNicosiaNicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
, Cyprus, kills three and injures 15. A caller claims that the 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...
organization carried out the attack.
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 1988 include:
- January 2 - Israeli helicopters and fighter jets attack Palestinian targets in South 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...
killing at least 19, wounding 14. - January 11 - The Israeli army declares the Gaza StripGaza Stripthumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
a closed military zone and imposes curfews on Khan YunisKhan YunisKhan Yunis - often spelt Khan Younis or Khan Yunnis - is a city and adjacent refugee camp in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics the city, its refugee camp, and its immediate surroundings had a total population of 180,000 in 2006...
, Dayr al-Balah, MaghaziMaghaziMaghazi can refer to any of the following:* Maghāzī is a genre of prophetic biography in Islamic literature* Maghazi is Palestinian refugee camp...
, Nusyrat and Burayj refugee camps. - January 13 - All refugee camps in 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...
and Gaza Strip are put under curfew. - January 19 - With 38 Palestinians killed since 9 December, Defense Minister Yitzhaq RabinYitzhak Rabin' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
announces a new policy using "might, power and beating" to quell demonstrations. A month later a team of US physicians estimated that over 1,000 Palestinians had suffered broken bones and other injuries. In the same period three Palestinians had been beaten to death by members of the Israeli armed forces. - February 14 - A bomb kills three 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...
officials in LimassolLimassolLimassol is the second-largest city in Cyprus, with a population of 228,000 . It is the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island. The city is located on Akrotiri Bay, on the island's southern coast and it is the capital of Limassol District.Limassol is the...
, Cyprus. - March 23 - The IAFIsraeli 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...
rockets Palestinian targets in South Lebanon killing or wounding fifteen. A second raid the following day kills or injures five. - March 30 - The Israeli High Court upholds an Israeli army order banning the international media from the West Bank.
- April 12 - Israeli army Deputy Chief of Staff, Ehud BarakEhud BarakEhud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
, announces that army reserve duty will be extended from 40 to 62 days. A day earlier he had said that there were 4,800 Palestinian activists being held in Israeli prisons, 900 of them under administrative detention. - April 16 – Abu JihadAbu JihadKhalil Ibrahim al-Wazir , also known by his kunya "Abu Jihad" , was a Palestinian military leader and founder of the secular nationalist party Fatah...
is assassinated in his Tunis home, allegedly by an Israeli hit squad. His driver and two bodyguards are also killed. In demonstrations that follow in the West Bank and Gaza Strip at least fourteen Palestinian are killed by Israeli army gunfire. - May 2 - The Israeli government announces it will begin cutting water and electricity to towns in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that do not pay their bills.
- May 4 - Operation Law and Order. Between 1,500 and 2,000 Israeli soldiers kill 40 Hizbullah fighters around the Lebanese village of Maydun in a two day offensive. Three Israeli soldiers are killed and 17 wounded.
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 Beitar Illit. - 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....
Givat ElaGivat ElaGivat Ela is a communal settlement in northern Israel. Located near Ilut and Zarzir, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 1,700....
. - 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...
KmehinKmehinKmehin |Truffles]]) is a secular moshav in the western Negev desert in Israel.Located near Nitzana, it is named for the truffles that grow in the area. The moshav was founded in 1988 and is part of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council. It is home to around 30 families.The moshav's main produce is cherry...
.
Notable births
- February 2 – Eliyahu AsheriEliyahu AsheriThe murder of Eliyahu Asheri was a terror attack which carried out on June 25, 2006, in which Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees militants kidnapped, and later murdered the 17 year-old Israeli high school student Eliyahu Asheri....
, Israeli civilian kidnapped and murdered by Palestinian Arab terrorists (d. 20062006 in Israel-Incumbents in government:* Prime Minister of Israel – Ariel Sharon until January 4, Ehud Olmert * President of Israel – Moshe Katsav* Chief of General Staff – Dan Halutz...
). - June 22 – Omri CasspiOmri CasspiOmri Casspi is an Israeli professional basketball player. He is under contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but is playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. during the 2011 NBA lockout...
, the first Israeli basketball player in the NBA.
Notable deaths
- June 25 – Hillel SlovakHillel SlovakHillel Slovak was an Israeli-American musician best known as the original guitarist and founding member of the Los Angeles rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
(b. 19621962 in Israel-Incumbents:* Prime Minister of Israel – David Ben-Gurion * President of Israel – Yitzhak Ben-Zvi* Chief of General Staff - Tzvi Tzur* Government of Israel - 10th Government of Israel-Events:...
), Israeli-American guitarist (Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
). - August 18 – Ernst SimonErnst SimonErnst Akiba/Akiva Simon, or aqibhah Ernst Simon , was a German-Israeli Jewish educator, and religious philosopher. Along with Martin Buber, he founded in the 1920s one of the earliest Israeli peace groups, Brit Shalom, which advocated for a binational state including Jews and Arabs...
(b. 18991899 in Germany-National level:* Kaiser - Wilhelm II* Chancellor - Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst-Kingdoms:* King of Bavaria - Otto of Bavaria* King of Prussia - Kaiser Wilhelm II* King of Saxony - Albert of Saxony...
), German-born Israeli Jewish educator, and religious philosopher. - October 27 – Michael ReisserMichael ReisserMichael "Mikha" Reisser was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1981 and his death in 1988.-Biography:...
(b. 19461946 in the British Mandate of PalestineEvents in the year 1946 in the British Mandate of Palestine.-Incumbents:* High Commissioner – Sir Alan Cunningham* Emir of Transjordan – Abdullah I bin al-Hussein until 25 May...
), Israeli politician. - November 2 – Menachem SavidorMenachem SavidorMenachen Savidor 20 August 1917 – 2 November 1988) was an Israeli civil servant and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud from 1977 until 1984...
(b. 1946), Russian (Ukraine)-born Israeli civil servant and politician.
See also
- 1988 in Israeli film1988 in Israeli filmA list of films produced by the Israeli film industry in 1988.-Unknown premiere date:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...
- 1988 in Israeli television
- 1988 in Israeli music
- 1988 in Israeli sport
- Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988
- Israel at the 1988 Summer OlympicsIsrael at the 1988 Summer OlympicsIsraeli athletes competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea.-Boxing:Men's Light Flyweight * Yehuda Ben Haim* First Round — Bye* Second Round — Lost to Mahjoub Mjirich , walk-over...