Events in the year 1981 in Israel.

Incumbents

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The posi ...

–

Yitzhak Navon Yitzhak Rachamim Navon ( he, יצחק נבון; 9 April 1921 – 6 November 2015) was an Israeli politician, diplomat, playwright, and author. He served as the fifth President of Israel between 1978 and 1983 as a member of the centre-left ...

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...

–

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...

(

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...

) * President of the Supreme Court –

Moshe Landau Moshe Landau ( he, משה לנדוי) (29 April 1912 – 1 May 2011) was an Israeli judge. He was the fifth President of the Supreme Court of Israel. Biography Landau was born in Danzig, Germany (modern Gdańsk, Poland) to Dr. Isaac Landau and ...

* Chief of General Staff –

Rafael Eitan Rafael "Raful" Eitan ( he, רפאל "רפול" איתן, born 11 January 1929 – 23 November 2004) was an Israeli general, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (Ramatkal) and later a politician, a Knesset member, and government m ...

Government of Israel The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the government ...

– 18th Government of Israel until 5 August, 19th Government of Israel

Events

* 4 April –

Hakol Over Habibi Hakol Over Habibi (Hebrew: הכל עובר חביבי, lit. "Everything goes by, my love"; also known in English as Habibi Group) was an Israeli musical band which represented their country in Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song "Halayla" ...

represents Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “

Halayla Israel returned at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 held in Dublin, Ireland, after withdrawing from the 1980 contest because of National Day of Remembrance. Their entry was Hakol Over Habibi with the song "Halayla" after they won the Israeli ...

” ("Tonight"), achieving seventh place. * 28 April – For the first time,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

intervened directly in the war between

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and Lebanese Christians, as Israeli jets shot down two Syrian helicopters, killing four crewmen. Israeli warplanes also bombed Syrian positions on

Mount Sannine Mount Sannine ( ar, جبل صنين / ALA-LC: ''Jabal Șannīn'') is a mountain in the Mount Lebanon range. Its highest point is 2,628 m (8,622 feet) above sea level in Lebanon. Mount Sannine, which has a base of limestone, is the source of many ...

. Israel claimed that it was taking action to "spread a protective umbrella" over the Lebanese Christian militias. * 7 June –

Operation Opera Operation Opera ( he, מבצע אופרה), also known as Operation Babylon, was a surprise airstrike conducted by the Israeli Air Force on 7 June 1981, which destroyed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor located southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. ...

: Eight Israeli

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

s, escorted by F-15s, attack and severely damage

Osirak Operation Opera ( he, מבצע אופרה), also known as Operation Babylon, was a surprise airstrike conducted by the Israeli Air Force on 7 June 1981, which destroyed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor located southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. ...

, an

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...

under construction near

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, which Israeli

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

maintain was built by the regime of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

for the purpose of

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...

production to further an Iraqi

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

program. Israeli intelligence also believed that the summer of 1981 would be the last chance to destroy the reactor before it would be loaded with

nuclear fuel Nuclear fuel is material used in nuclear power stations to produce heat to power turbines. Heat is created when nuclear fuel undergoes nuclear fission. Most nuclear fuels contain heavy fissile actinide elements that are capable of undergoing ...

. * 30 June – The

party led by

wins the 10th Israeli legislative elections. * July – The

1981 Maccabiah Games The 11th Maccabiah Games brought 3,450 athletes to Israel from 35 nations. The Opening Ceremony was held on July 7, 1981, before a crowd of 53,000 and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Ramat Gan Stadium, with 3,500 Jewish athletes parading ...

are held. * 5 August –

presents his cabinet for a

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

"Vote of Confidence". The 19th Government is approved that day and the members are sworn in. * 30 November – The Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Cooperation was signed by U.S. Secretary of Defense

Caspar Weinberger Caspar Willard Weinberger (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006) was an American statesman and businessman. As a prominent Republican, he served in a variety of state and federal positions for three decades, including chairman of the Californ ...

and Israeli Defense Minister

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

. The MOU lasted only 17 days, and was suspended after Israel announced its annexation of the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

. * 14 December – The

approves the "

Golan Heights Law The Golan Heights Law () is the Israeli law which applies Israel's government and laws to the Golan Heights. It was ratified by the Knesset by a vote of 63―21, on December 14, 1981.Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Golan Heights Law Although ...

" which applies Israel's government and laws to the

. The law was condemned internationallyBBC News.
Regions and territories: The Golan Heights
and declared null and void by

United Nations Security Council Resolution 497 United Nations Security Council resolution 497, adopted unanimously on 17 December 1981, declared that the Israeli Golan Heights Law, which effectively annexed the Golan Heights, is "null and void and without international legal effect" and fur ...

.United Nations
Security Council Resolutions
1981. * 18 December – Four days after Israel annexed the Golan Heights, the U.S. terminated its recently made Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Israel. The MOU was not reinstated until 17 May 1983.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 1981 include: Notable Palestinian militant operations against Israeli targets
The most prominent Palestinian Arab terror attacks committed against Israelis during 1981 include: *March - A terrorist infiltrating from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

using a motorized hang glider manages to reach

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

and drop some bombs over the city's bay, but is arrested after his glider's motor runs out of fuel and is forced to land. *10 August – Palestinian terrorists threw two bombs at an Israeli embassy in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, wounding a 75-year-old woman. *29 August – 1981 Vienna synagogue attack: Palestinian terrorists killed two people and wounded 30 attending a Bar Mitzvah in Vienna. Notable Israeli military operations against Palestinian militancy targets
The most prominent Israeli military

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

operations (

military campaign A military campaign is large-scale long-duration significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of interrelated military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war. The term derives from the ...

s and

military operations A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...

) carried out against

Palestinian militants Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence perpetrated for political ends in relation to the State of Palestine or in connection with Palestinian nationalism. Common political objectives include self-determination in and sovereig ...

during 1981 include: * 10–24 July – The

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

began a regular bombardment of

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...

strongholds in

. The siege escalated after the Palestinian guerillas began shelling Israeli settlements. Until a 24 July ceasefire, 450 Palestinians and Lebanese, and 6 Israelis, died ** 17 July – Israeli bombing of Beirut: Aircraft from Israel bombed a residential area of West

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

that housed PLO headquarters. Ten apartment buildings were destroyed, more than 300 people were killed and 800 or more injured. Most were civilians. ** 24 July – American mediator

Philip Habib Philip Charles Habib (February 25, 1920 – May 25, 1992) was an American career diplomat active from 1949 to 1987. During his 30-year career as a Foreign Service Officer, he had mostly specialized in Asia. In 1968, he was working to prevent th ...

brokered a cease-fire between

and the

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and s ...

, temporarily halting the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

. * 1 August –

Abu Daoud Mohammad Daoud Oudeh ( ar, محمد داود عودة), commonly known by his nom de guerre Abu Daoud or Abu Dawud ( ar, أبو داود) (1937 - 3 July 2010) was a Palestinian militant, teacher and lawyer known as the planner, architect and m ...

, the PLO militant who had overseen the 1972 massacre of Israeli athletes was shot five times at close range while sitting in the coffee shop of the Victoria Hotel in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

."Suspected Olympic massacre mastermind shot"
''Montreal Gazette'', 6 August 1981, p10

Edward Mickolus Edward Francis Mickolus, Jr. (born December 28, 1950) is an author and counter-terrorism expert, and formerly an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, from which he retired in 2008. Mickolus is the author or co-author of a number of books ...

, ''The Terrorist List: A-K'' (ABC-CLIO, 2009) p159

Unknown dates

* The founding of the

community settlement A community settlement ( he, יישוב קהילתי, ''Yishuv Kehilati'') is a type of village in Israel and the West Bank. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the village's residents are organized in ...

Barkan Barkan ( he, בַּרְקָן) is an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank, about 8 km west of the Palestinian city of Salfit, under the administrative local government of the Shomron Regional Council. In its population was . The i ...

. * The founding of the

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

Alonei HaBashan. * The founding of the

Kalanit. * The Old City of Jerusalem and its walls are designated by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Notable births

* 27 January –

Yaniv Katan Yaniv Katan ( he, יניב קטן; born 27 January 1981) is a retired Israeli international footballer who played professionally for Maccabi Haifa, as a forward and winger. He earned 31 caps for Israel, scoring five goals. Personal life Katan ...

, Israeli footballer. * 8 April –

Ofer Shechter Ofer Shechter ( he, עפר שכטר; April 8, 1981) is an Israeli actor, stand-up comedian, television host, and former model. Early life Shechter was born and raised in moshav Hadar Am, Israel, to a family of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. At the ...

, Israeli actor, comedian, TV host and model. * 17 May –

Shiri Maimon Shiri Maimon (or Maymon, he, שירי מימון ; born ) is an Israeli pop/ R&B singer, TV show host and actress, who rose to fame as the runner-up in the TV show ''Kokhav Nolad''. She represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, wh ...

, Israeli singer, actress and TV host. * 9 June –

Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...

, Israeli-American actress. * 8 August –

Harel Skaat Harel Skaat ( he, הראל סקעת, born 8 August 1981) sometimes known by the mononym Harel is an Israeli singer and songwriter. He represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song " Milim" ("מילים", "Words"). Skaat h ...

, Israeli singer. * 11 August –

Yoni Bloch Yoni Bloch ( he, יוני בלוך; born August 11, 1981) is an Israeli musician, songwriter, composer, rock singer and hi-tech entrepreneur. Biography Bloch grew up in Beersheba and at the age of 17 moved with his family to Lehavim. He sta ...

, Israeli singer. * 18 September –

Lucy Aharish Lucy Aharish ( ar, لوسي هريش, he, לוסי אהריש; born 18 September 1981) is an Arab-Israeli news anchor, reporter, television host and actress. She was the first Muslim Arab news presenter on mainstream Hebrew-language Israeli tel ...

, Israeli journalist and actress

Notable deaths

* 12 January –

Hamad Abu Rabia Sheikh Hamad Abu Rabia ( ar, حماد أبو ربيعة, he, חמאד אבו-רביעה; born 1929, died 12 January 1981) was a Bedouin Israeli politician and a member of the Knesset. Biography Abu Rabia was born and grew up in the Negev, wher ...

(born 1929), Bedouin Israeli politician, murdered. * 11 February –

Franz Sondheimer Franz Sondheimer FRS (17 May 1926 – 11 February 1981) was a German-born British professor of chemistry. In 1960, he was awarded the Israel Prize for his contributions to science. Biography Franz Sondheimer was born in Stuttgart on 17 May 1926, ...

(born 1926), German-born Israeli-British chemist. * 25 March –

Yonatan Ratosh Yonatan Ratosh () was the literary pseudonym of Uriel Shelach ( he, אוריאל שלח) (November 18, 1908 – March 25, 1981), an Israeli poet and journalist who founded the Canaanite movement. Biography Uriel Heilperin (later Shelach) was ...

(born 1908), Russian (Poland)-born Israeli poet and the founder of the Canaanite movement. * 8 May –

Uri Zvi Grinberg Uri Zvi Greenberg ( he, אוּרִי צְבִי גְּרִינְבֵּרְג; September 22, 1896 – May 8, 1981; also spelled Uri Zvi Grinberg) was an acclaimed Israeli poet, journalist and politician who wrote in Yiddish and Hebrew. Widely re ...

(born 1896), Austro-Hungarian ( Galicia)-born Israeli poet and journalist. * 20 May –

Binyamin Arditi Binyamin Arditi ( he, בנימין ארדיטי, 1 July 1897 – 20 May 1981) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Herut and Gahal between 1955 and 1965. Biography Born in Vienna, Arditi attended high school i ...

(born 1897), Austrian-born Israeli politician. * 14 June – Haim Shirman (born 1904), Russian (Ukraine)-born Israeli scholar of medieval Spanish Jewish poetry. * 17 June –

Yitzhak Zuckerman Yitzhak Zuckerman ( pl, Icchak Cukierman; he, יצחק צוקרמן; 13 December 1915 – 17 June 1981), also known by his nom de guerre "Antek", was one of the leaders of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 against Nazi Germany during World War ...

(born 1915), Polish-born Israeli. One of the leaders of the

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; pl, powstanie w getcie warszawskim; german: link=no, Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. * 16 October –

Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan ( he, משה דיין; 20 May 1915 – 16 October 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1953–1958) du ...

(born

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

), Israeli general and politician. * 9 December –

Franz Ollendorff Franz Heinrich Ollendorff (Hebrew פרנץ אולנדורף or חיים אולנדורף; born 15 May 1900; died 9 December 1981) was an Israeli physicist. Biography Franz Heinrich (Haim) Ollendorf was born in Berlin. In 1924, he joined the Sie ...

(born 1900), German-born Israeli physicist.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1981 In Israel 1980s in Israel

Years of the 20th century in Israel