1968 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...
– Levi EshkolLevi Eshkol' served as the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. He was the first Israeli Prime Minister to die in office.-Biography:...
(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...
– Zalman ShazarZalman ShazarZalman Shazar was an Israeli politician, author. and poet. Shazar served as the third President of Israel from 1963 to 1973.-Biography:... - Chief of General Staff - Yitzhak 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....
until January 1, Haim Bar-Lev - Government of Israel - 13th Government of IsraelThirteenth government of IsraelThe thirteenth government of Israel was formed by Levi Eshkol on 12 January 1966, following the November 1965 elections. His coalition included the Alignment , the National Religious Party, Mapam, the Independent Liberals, Poalei Agudat Yisrael, Progress and Development and Cooperation and...
Events
- January 1 – Haim Bar-Lev is appointed as the eighth Chief of StaffRamatkalThe Chief of the General Staff, also known as the Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense Forces is the supreme commander and Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. At any given time, the Chief of Staff is the only active officer holding the IDF's highest rank, Rav Aluf , which is usually...
of the Israel Defense ForcesIsrael Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
. - January 25 – The Israeli submarine INS DakarINS DakarINS Dakar was the former modified British T-class submarine of the Royal Navy. In 1965, she was purchased by Israel as part of a group of three T-class submarines. She was commissioned into the Israeli Sea Corps in November 1967 and underwent sea and diving trials in Scotland. Dakar departed for...
sinks 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...
, killing 69. - May 2 – The Israel Broadcasting AuthorityIsrael Broadcasting AuthorityIsrael Broadcasting Authority is Israel's state broadcasting network.It grew out of the radio station Kol Yisrael, which made its first broadcast as an independent station on . The name of the organisation operating Kol Yisrael was changed to Israel Broadcasting Service in 1951...
commences television broadcasts. - August 13 – Israel's 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...
passes the Basic Law: The GovernmentBasic Law: The GovernmentBasic Law: The Government is a Basic Law, first legislated in the Sixth Knesset, on 13 August 1968...
. - December 28 – 1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon1968 Israeli raid on LebanonThe 1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon, code-named Operation Gift , was an Israel Defense Forces Special Forces operation against Beirut International Airport on the night of December 27 - 28, 1968...
: Commandos from the IDFIsrael Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
's elite Sayeret MatkalSayeret MatkalSayeret Matkal is a special forces unit of the Israel Defence Forces , which is subordinated to the intelligence directorate Aman. First and foremost a field intelligence-gathering unit, conducting deep reconnaissance behind enemy lines to obtain strategic intelligence, Sayeret Matkal is also...
destroy 13 civilian airplanes in the Beirut International Airport belonging to Middle East AirlinesMiddle East AirlinesMiddle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. , more commonly known as Middle East Airlines , is the national flag-carrier airline of Lebanon, with its head office in Beirut, near Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport...
(MEA) in response to the attack on the Israeli airliner in AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. There are no casualties reported.
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 1968 include:- December 20 - Lieutenant-Colonel Zvi OferZvi OferZvi Ofer also known as "Tzvika Ofer" or "Zvika Ofer", was the commander of the Israel Defense Forces Haruv Reconnaissance Unit, and recipient of the Israeli medal of valor for the 1962 Nuqeib operation in Syria...
(Tzvika Ofer), commander of the elite Haruv unit, former Military Governor of NablusNablusNablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
and recipient of the Israeli medal of valour, is killed in action in Wadi QeltWadi QeltWadi Qelt or Nahal Prat is a valley or stream running west to east across the Judean desert in the West Bank, originating near Jerusalem and terminating near Jericho, near the Dead Sea...
, west of JerichoJerichoJericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
, while in pursuit of militants who had crossed the Jordan.
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 1968 include:
- March 21 – The Battle of KaramehBattle of KaramehThe Battle of Karameh was fought on March 21, 1968 in the town of Karameh, Jordan, between the Israel Defense Forces and combined forces of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Jordanian Army...
takes place in the town of KaramehKaramehal-Karameh is a town in Jordan, near the Allenby Bridge which spans the Jordan River. The river defines the border between Israel and Jordan....
, JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
between IDFIsrael Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
forces and combined forces of the Palestine Liberation OrganizationPalestine 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...
(PLO) and the Jordanian Army.
Notable Palestinian militant operations against Israeli targets
The most prominent Palestinian 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 1968 include:
- July 23 – El Al Flight 426 hijacking: The only successful hijacking of an 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...
aircraft takes place, when a Boeing 707Boeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
carrying ten crew members and 38 passengers is taken over by three terrorists of the Popular Front for the Liberation of PalestinePopular Front for the Liberation of PalestineThe Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
(PFLP). The aircraft, El Al Flight 426El Al Flight 426El Al Flight 426 was an El Al passenger flight hijacked on July 23, 1968 by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, setting off a wave of skyjacking by this organization.- History :...
, which was on route from Rome 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...
, is diverted to AlgiersAlgiers' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
by the hijackers. Negotiations with the hijackers lasted for 40 days. Both the hijackers and the passengers, including 21 Israeli hostages, were eventually freed. - December 26 – El Al Flight 253 attack: Two PFLP militants attack an attacked an El Al plane about to departEl Al Flight 253El Al Flight 253, was a Boeing 707 en route from Tel Aviv, Israel, to New York when it was attacked by two Arab terrorists as it was about to depart from a layover in Athens Greece on December 26, 1968. One passenger was killed and one female crew member was seriously injured in the attack...
at the Athens International Airport, firing a submachine gunSubmachine gunA submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
and throwing grenades at the plane as it sat on the runway warming up prior to take off. An Israeli mechanic was killed in the attack and two others were injured.
Notable deaths
- January 11 – Moshe Zvi SegalMoshe Zvi SegalMoshe Zvi Segal was an eminent Israeli rabbi, linguist and Talmudic scholar.- Early life :...
(b. 1876), Russian (Lithuania)-born Israeli linguist and Talmudic scholar. - February 1 – Jacob van der HoedenJacob van der HoedenJacob van der Hoeden was a Dutch and Israeli veterinary research scientist.-Biography:Van der Hoeden was born into a Jewish family in the Netherlands in 1891. Having earned his doctorate in 1921, he served from 1924 to 1929 as a senior researcher at the Dutch national public health institute and a...
(b. 1891), Dutch-born Israeli veterinary scientist. - September 26 – Lipman HeilprinLipman HeilprinBen Shlomo Lipman-Heilprin was an Israeli physician and director of the Neurology Department of Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.-Biography:...
(b. 1902), Russian (Poland)-born Israeli physician. - December 20 - Zvi OferZvi OferZvi Ofer also known as "Tzvika Ofer" or "Zvika Ofer", was the commander of the Israel Defense Forces Haruv Reconnaissance Unit, and recipient of the Israeli medal of valor for the 1962 Nuqeib operation in Syria...
(b. 19321932 in the British Mandate of PalestineEvents in the year 1932 in the British Mandate of Palestine.-Incumbents:* High Commissioner - Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope* Emir of Transjordan - Abdullah I bin al-Hussein* Prime Minister of Transjordan - Abdallah Sarraj-Events:...
) Israeli soldier, former military governor of NablusNablusNablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
.
See also
- 1968 in Israeli film1968 in Israeli filmA list of films produced by the Israeli film industry in 1968.-1968 releases:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...
- 1968 in Israeli television
- 1968 in Israeli music
- 1968 in Israeli sport
- Israel at the 1968 Summer OlympicsIsrael at the 1968 Summer Olympics-Athletics:50 km walkShaul Ladany - 24th place.400 meter womenHana Shezifi - 7th in 3rd elimination heat. Time: 56.3800 meter womenHana Shezifi - 6th in 2nd elimination head...