2018 in Israel explained

The following lists events in the year 2018 in Israel.

Incumbents

• President – Reuven Rivlin
• Prime Minister – Benjamin Netanyahu
• President of the Supreme Court – Esther Hayut
• Chief of General Staff – Gadi Eizenkot
• Government of Israel – 34th government of Israel

Events

January

• 2 January – Israel announces plans to deport African migrants who reside in the country illegally, with 90 days given to either leave the country or face imprisonment.^[1]

February

• 5 February – 2018 Ariel stabbing
• 9–25 February – Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics
• 10 February – 2018 Israel–Syria incident

March

• 30 March – Start of the 2018 Gaza border protests

April

• 26 April – Ten youths from a pre-military academy die after being carried off by a surge in the Tzafit stream west of the Dead Sea amid floodings caused by intense storms that strike southern Israel.^[2]
• 30 April – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Iran of not holding up its end of the nuclear deal with the P5+1 countries after presenting a cache over 100,000 documents detailing the extent of Iran's nuclear program. Iran denounced Netanyahu's presentation as "propaganda".^[3] Shortly after President Trump withdrew the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.^[4]

May

• 4–27 May – 2018 Giro d'Italia
• 10 May – Iran's Quds Force on the Syrian-held side of the Golan Heights fired around 20 projectiles towards Israeli army positions without causing damages or injuries.^[5] In response, Israel launched an extensive strike against Iranian targets in Syria.^[6]
• 12 May – Netta Barzilai wins first place for Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest with her song "Toy".^[7]
• 14 May – The new embassy of the United States opens in Jerusalem.^[8]
• 23 May – The Knesset passed a law allowing the Security Cabinet to declare war.^[9]

June

• June 21 – Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was charged for an alleged fraud.^[10]
• June 25 – Prince William began a trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, becoming the first British royal to visit the country in an official capacity.^[11]

July

• July 12 – Start of the 2018 World Lacrosse Championship in Netanya
• July 19 – Israel incorporated in its basic laws a declaration of the country as the "nation-state of the Jewish people."^[12]

September

• September 17 – Syria missile strikes
• September 25 – Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway is officially inaugurated.^[13]

October

• October 7 – 2018 Barkan Industrial Park shooting
• October 30 – Israeli municipal elections

November

• November 11 – November Gaza–Israel clashes

December

• December 4 – The Israeli military launched Operation Northern Shield to destroy cross-border tunnels built by Hezbollah along Israel's border with Lebanon.^[14]
• December 21 – Israel announced its departure from UNESCO, citing bias.^[15]

Deaths

• 4 January – Aharon Appelfeld, novelist (b. 1932)^[16]
• 6 January – Batya Ouziel, handicrafter (b. 1934)^[17]
• 13 January – Eliyahu Winograd, Israeli jurist and acting judge on the Supreme Court of Israel, chairman of the Winograd Commission (b. 1926)
• 20 January – Doron Rubin, military officer (b. 1944)
• 31 January – Dan Alon, fencer (b. 1945)
• 18 February – Ya'akov Ben-Yezri, Israeli politician, Minister of Health (b. 1927)
• 24 February – Shmuel Auerbach, Israeli Haredi rabbi and posek (b. 1931)
• 2 March – Haim Hanegbi, journalist and activist (born 1935)
• 5 March – Uri Lubrani, Israeli diplomat (b. 1926)
• 23 March – Ephraim Stern, archaeologist (b. 1934)^[18]
• 24 March – Rim Banna, singer, composer and activist (b. 1966)
• 24 March – Frank Meisler, architect and sculptor (b. 1925).
• 1 April – Avichai Rontzki, Israeli military Rabbi and rosh yeshiva (b. 1951)
• 4 May – Abi Ofarim, musician (b. 1937)
• 29 May – Eliezer Rafaeli, director of the University of Haifa (b. 1926)
• 20 August – Uri Avnery, peace activist (b. 1923)
• 30 October – David Azulai, politician (b. 1954)^[19]
• 7 December – Shmuel Flatto-Sharon, businessman and politician (b. 1930)
• 17 December – Rona Ramon, activist and NGO founder (b. 1964)^[20]
• 28 December – Amos Oz, writer, novelist and journalist (b. 1939)^[21]
• 29 December – Zvi Levi, activist and NGO founder (b. 1948)^[22]
• 29 December – Yehoshua Glazer, footballer (b. 1927)^[23]

See also

• Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics
• List of violent incidents in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, 2018
• 2018 Gaza-Israel conflict

Notes and References

1. News: Israel: African migrants told to leave or face imprisonment . BBC News . 2018-01-02 . 2018-05-01.
2. News: TEN YOUTH DEAD IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL FLASH FLOODS. Jerusalem Post.
3. News: Netanyahu: Iran Nuclear Deal Is Based on Lies – Here's the Proof. Haaretz.
4. News: Trump pulls US out of Iran deal. 2018-05-08. BBC News . 2018-05-20.
5. Web site: PROJECTILES FIRED TOWARDS ISRAELI FORWARD DEFENSIVE LINE IN THE GOLAN. Jerusalem Post. 10 May 2018. 10 May 2018. 10 May 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180510021308/https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Shots-fired-towards-Israeli-communities-in-the-Golan-556017. dead.
   News: Chamberlain . Samuel . 9 May 2018 . Iran forces launch missiles at Israel from Syria, IDF says . Fox News . 9 May 2018 . Associated Press .
6. News: 'Operation House of Cards,' the IAF mission to cripple Iran's presence in Syria. Judah Ari Gross. Times of Israel. 10 May 2018. 20 May 2018.
7. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5258807,00.html Netta Barzilai brings Eurovision win to Israel
8. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-usa/united-states-opens-its-israeli-embassy-in-jerusalem-idUSKCN1IF1Q7 Israeli joy, Palestinian fury over U.S. embassy launch in Jerusalem
9. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5269100,00.html Security Cabinet now authorized to declare war
10. News: Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli PM, charged with fraud. NBC News. 2018-06-22. en-US.
11. News: Prince William in Israel: All the Details on the First-ever Royal Visit. Haaretz. 2018-06-25.
12. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/world/middleeast/israel-law-jews-arabic.html New York Times: Israeli Law Declares the Country the ‘Nation-State of the Jewish People’
13. News: Israel opens high-speed rail link between Tel Aviv airport and Jerusalem. 2018-09-25. Reuters.
14. News: Israel targets Hezbollah 'terror tunnels'. BBC News. 4 December 2018.
15. News: Israel to withdraw from UNESCO, following US. Ynet News. 22 December 2018.
16. News: Décès de l'écrivain israélien Aharon Appelfeld, survivant de la Shoah . lemonde.fr . fr . 4 January 2018.
17. News: Sterni. Itai. Asheri. Mia. מתה בתיה עוזיאל, אשת הטלוויזיה והאמנות. Batya Uziel, the woman of television and art, died. Haaretz. he. 6 January 2018. 14 May 2021.
18. http://www.news1.co.il/Archive/001-D-401075-00.html פרופ' אפרים שטרן הלך לעולמו
19. Web site: השר לשירותי דת דוד אזולאי הלך לעולמו בגיל 64. 30 October 2018.
20. Web site: Rona Ramon, widow of astronaut killed in Space Shuttle Columbia, dies at 54. 17 December 2018.
21. Web site: Amos Oz, 'Israel's greatest writer,' advocate for peace, dies at 79. .
22. Web site: Zvika Levy, Israel Prize-winning 'father of lone soldiers,' dies aged 70. .
23. Web site: כדורגלן העבר שייע גלזר הלך לעולמו ביום הולדתו ה-91. 29 December 2018.