1954 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...
– David Ben-GurionDavid Ben-Gurion' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
(MapaiMapaiMapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...
) until January 26, Moshe SharettMoshe SharettMoshe Sharett on 15 October 1894, died 7 July 1965) was the second Prime Minister of Israel , serving for a little under two years between David Ben-Gurion's two terms.-Early life:...
(MapaiMapaiMapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...
) - 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...
– Yitzhak Ben-ZviYitzhak Ben-ZviYitzhak Ben-Zvi was a historian, Labor Zionist leader, the second and longest-serving President of Israel.-Biography:... - Chief of General Staff - Moshe DayanMoshe DayanMoshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
- Government of Israel - 4th Government of IsraelFourth government of IsraelThe fourth government of Israel was formed by David Ben-Gurion during the second Knesset on 24 December 1952. Ben-Gurion dropped the ultra-orthodox parties Agudat Yisrael and Poalei Agudat Yisrael from his coalition and replaced them with the General Zionists and the Progressive Party, who formed...
until January 26, 5th Government of IsraelFifth government of IsraelThe fifth government of Israel was formed by Moshe Sharett during the second Knesset on 26 January 1954, and was the first government not led by David Ben-Gurion. Sharett kept the same coalition partners as during the fourth government, i.e...
Events
- January 1 – The Kastner trial starts.
- January 26 – Moshe SharettMoshe SharettMoshe Sharett on 15 October 1894, died 7 July 1965) was the second Prime Minister of Israel , serving for a little under two years between David Ben-Gurion's two terms.-Early life:...
presents his cabinet for a Knesset "Vote of Confidence". The 5th GovernmentFifth government of IsraelThe fifth government of Israel was formed by Moshe Sharett during the second Knesset on 26 January 1954, and was the first government not led by David Ben-Gurion. Sharett kept the same coalition partners as during the fourth government, i.e...
is approved that day and the members were sworn in. - July 1 – Jordanian soldiers stationed at the walls of the old city of Jerusalem begin to snipe residents of the city. A 24-year-old young Israeli woman is killed from the shootings near the Jaffa Gate.
- July 29 – The Ma'agan disaster: a Piper J-3Piper J-3The Piper J-3 Cub is a small, simple, light aircraft that was built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. With tandem seating, it was intended for flight training but became one of the most popular and best-known light aircraft of all time...
light aircraft falls into the crowd of people who are attendeing a memorial ceremony for the Kibbutz's fallen Parachutists at the village Ma'aganMa'aganMa'agan is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee, it falls under the jurisdiction of Emek HaYarden Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 323....
; 17 people are killed and 25 people are wounded. - September 28 – The Israeli government's attempt for the Israeli ship "Bat Galim" to traverse the Suez CanalSuez CanalThe Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
fails after the ship is arrested by the EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian authorities. This attempt is made after Egypt prevented other Israeli ships and foreign cargo ships headed towards Israeli ports, of passing through the Suez Canal, in violation with the terms of the Convention of ConstantinopleConvention of ConstantinopleThe Convention of Constantinople was a treaty signed by the United Kingdom, Germany, Austro-Hungary, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia and the Ottoman Empire on October 29, 1888. In the 1880s Britain had recently acquired physical control over the Suez Canal and Egypt...
. - November 3 – The Tel Aviv Savidor Central Railway Station opens.
- December 8 – Five Israeli soldiers (including Uri IlanUri IlanUri Ilan was an Israeli soldier who committed suicide in a Syrian prison, after being captured in a covert operation on the Golan Heights. He became a symbol of courage and patriotism in Israel.-Early life:...
) are captured by Syrian soldiers near a Syrian post in the Golan Heights - December 11 - Trial of 11 Jews begins in Cairo in what became known as the Lavon affairLavon AffairThe Lavon Affair refers to a failed Israeli covert operation, code named Operation Susannah, conducted in Egypt in the Summer of 1954. As part of the false flag operation, a group of Egyptian Jews were recruited by Israeli military intelligence for plans to plant bombs inside Egyptian, American and...
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 1954 include:Notable Palestinian militant operations against Israeli targets
The most prominent Palestinian fedayeen 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 1954 include:
- March 17 – Ma'ale Akrabim massacreMa'ale Akrabim massacreThe Ma'ale Akrabim massacre was an attack on an Israeli civilian passenger bus, carried out the night of 16–17 March 1954. Eleven passengers were shot dead by the attackers who ambushed and boarded the bus...
: Armed Palestinian Arab militants ambush and board an Israeli civilian passenger bus traveling from Eilat 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...
. Eleven Israelis on the bus are brutally killed by the militants. Four passengers survived, two of whom are wounded by the militants. - June 27 – Armed Palestinian Arab militants, who infiltrated to Israel from Jordan, kill an elderly Israeli farmer on the outskirts of Ra'ananaRa'ananaRa'anana is a city in the heart of the southern Sharon Plain of the Central District of Israel with a population of 68,300, . Ra'anana is bordered by Kfar Sava on the east and Herzliya on the southwest...
.
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 1954 include:
- March 28 - Sixty members of 890th Paratroop Battalion, under command of Ariel SharonAriel SharonAriel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
, attack Nahhalin killing 4 national Guardsmen, 3 Arab LegionnairesArab LegionThe Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...
, the village mukhtarMukhtarMukhtar meaning "chosen" in Arabic, refers to the head of a village or mahalle in many Arab countries as well as in Turkey and Cyprus. The name refers to the fact that mukhtars are usually selected by some consensual or participatory method, often involving an election. Mukhtar is also a common...
and a woman. - June 27 - A seven-man raiding party, including Meir Har-ZionMeir Har-ZionMeir Har-Zion is a former Israeli military commando.As a key member of Unit 101 he was highly praised by Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan who described him as "the finest of our commando soldiers, the best soldier ever to emerge in the IDF." His three-year military career was ended by injuries sustained...
, attack an Arab LegionArab LegionThe Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...
camp at 'AzzunAzzunAzzoun is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, located 24 kilometers south of Tulkarm and is a part of the Qalqilya Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Azzoun had a population of approximately 8,300 in mid-year 2006...
killing three Jordanian soldiers in their beds. A shepherd was also killed as they approached the camp. One of the attackers was wounded and taken prisoner. - September 1 - 890th Paratroop Battalion attack Beit LiqyaBeit LiqyaBeit Liqya is a Palestinian town located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the northern West Bank, 21 kilometers Southwest of Ramallah...
killing three Arab Legionnaires and taking three prisoner. Two paratroopers are killed in the attack.
Unknown dates
- 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...
BahanBahanBahan is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located near Bat Hefer, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 260....
. - The founding of the city Kiryat Gat.
Notable births
- January 25 – David GrossmanDavid GrossmanDavid Grossman is an Israeli author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages, and have won numerous prizes.He is also a noted activist and critic of Israeli policy toward Palestinians. The Yellow Wind, his non-fiction study of the life of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied...
, Israeli author. - February 17 – Miki BerkovichMiki BerkovichMoshe "Miki" Berkovich is a retired Israeli basketball player. He was a 6' 4" shooting guard.- Career :Berkovich is recognized by many Israelis as the best Israeli basketball player who ever played. Berkovich joined Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club's junior team in 1965, and adult team in 1971...
, former Israeli basketball player. - February 25 – Gabi AshkenaziGabi AshkenaziGavriel "Gabi" Ashkenazi , was the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defence Forces from 2007 to 2011.- Background and early life :...
, 19th Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces - February 26 – Yuli TamirYuli TamirYael "Yuli" Tamir is an Israeli academic and former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party between 2003 and 2010, and as Minister of Immigrant Absorption and Education.-Biography:...
, Israeli academic and former politician. - June 20 – Ilan RamonIlan RamonIlan Ramon was a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, and later the first Israeli astronaut....
, Israeli Air Force pilot, Israel's first astronaut (d. 20032003 in Israel-Incumbents:* Prime Minister of Israel – Ariel Sharon * President of Israel – Moshe Katsav* Chief of General Staff - Moshe Ya'alon* Government of Israel - 29th Government of Israel until February 28, 30th Government of Israel-Events:...
) - September 16 – Rifaat Turk, Arab-Israeli former football player and manager.
- December 30 – Pnina RosenblumPnina RosenblumPnina Rosenblum is an Israeli businesswoman, model and media personality, who has also been involved in politics.-Career:Rosenblum was an actress and fashion model, known to foreign media in her youth as Pnina Golan. She appeared in the films Kasach , Am Yisrael Hai , Lo LeShidur , Diamante Lobo ,...
, Israeli businesswoman, model and media personality.
Notable deaths
- May 18 – Selig BrodetskySelig BrodetskySelig Brodetsky was a British Professor of Mathematics, a member of the World Zionist Executive, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the second president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.-Background:Brodetsky was born in Olviopol , Ukraine, the second of 13 children...
, Russian-born Israeli mathematician, politician and president of the Hebrew University of JerusalemHebrew University of JerusalemThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
(b. 1888) - November 17 – Yitzhak LamdanYitzhak LamdanYitzhak Lamdan was an Israeli poet, translator, editor and Hebrew columnist.- Biography :...
, Russian (Ukraine)-born Israeli poet and columnist (b. 1899)