2018 in Israel

← 2017 2016 2015 2018 in Israel → 2019 2020 2021
Decades:	1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	History of Israel Timeline of Israeli history List of years in Israel

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 – The fatal stabbing of Itamar Ben Gal in Ariel, West Bank
• 9–25 February – Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics
• 10 February – 2018 Israel–Syria incident

March

• 30 March – Start of the 2018–2019 Gaza border protests

April

• 26 April – Ten military cadets from a cadet 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

12 May: Netta Barzilai performs the song Toy , which wins the Eurovision Song Contest.

14 May: The Embassy of the United States is opened in Jerusalem.

• 4–27 May – 2018 Giro d'Italia cycling Grand Tour
• 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

Aharon Appelfeld

Ephraim Stern

Amos Oz

• 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). ^[19]
• 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) ^[20]
• 7 December – Shmuel Flatto-Sharon, businessman and politician (b. 1930)
• 17 December – Rona Ramon, activist and NGO founder (b. 1964) ^[21]
• 28 December – Amos Oz, writer, novelist and journalist (b. 1939) ^[22]
• 29 December – Zvi Levi, activist and NGO founder (b. 1948) ^[23]
• 29 December – Yehoshua Glazer, footballer (b. 1927) ^[24]

See also

• Israel portal
• Asia portal
• Current events portal
• Modern history portal

• Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics
• Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2018
• 2018 Gaza-Israel conflict

References

1. "Israel: African migrants told to leave or face imprisonment". BBC News. 2018-01-02. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
2. "TEN YOUTH DEAD IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL FLASH FLOODS". Jerusalem Post.
3. "Netanyahu: Iran Nuclear Deal Is Based on Lies – Here's the Proof". Haaretz.
4. "Trump pulls US out of Iran deal". BBC News. 2018-05-08. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
5. "PROJECTILES FIRED TOWARDS ISRAELI FORWARD DEFENSIVE LINE IN THE GOLAN". Jerusalem Post. 10 May 2018. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
   Chamberlain, Samuel (9 May 2018). "Iran forces launch missiles at Israel from Syria, IDF says". Fox News. Associated Press. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
6. Judah Ari Gross (10 May 2018). "'Operation House of Cards,' the IAF mission to cripple Iran's presence in Syria". Times of Israel. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
7. Netta Barzilai brings Eurovision win to Israel, Ynet News, 13 May 2018.
8. Israeli joy, Palestinian fury over U.S. embassy launch in Jerusalem, Reuters, 14 May 2018.
9. Security Cabinet now authorized to declare war, Ynet News, 23 May 2018.
10. "Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli PM, charged with fraud". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
11. "Prince William in Israel: All the Details on the First-ever Royal Visit". Haaretz. 2018-06-25.
12. New York Times: Israeli Law Declares the Country the ‘Nation-State of the Jewish People’
13. "Israel opens high-speed rail link between Tel Aviv airport and Jerusalem". Reuters. 2018-09-25.
14. "Israel targets Hezbollah 'terror tunnels'". BBC News. 4 December 2018.
15. "Israel to withdraw from UNESCO, following US". Ynet News. 22 December 2018.
16. "Décès de l'écrivain israélien Aharon Appelfeld, survivant de la Shoah". lemonde.fr (in French). Retrieved 4 January 2018.
17. Sterni, Itai; Asheri, Mia (6 January 2018). "מתה בתיה עוזיאל, אשת הטלוויזיה והאמנות" [Batya Uziel, the woman of television and art, died]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved 14 May 2021.
18. פרופ' אפרים שטרן הלך לעולמו (in Hebrew)
19. Obituaries, Telegraph (2018-03-28). "Frank Meisler, Kindertransport sculptor – obituary". The Daily Telegraph . ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2025-11-09.
20. "השר לשירותי דת דוד אזולאי הלך לעולמו בגיל 64". 30 October 2018.
21. "Rona Ramon, widow of astronaut killed in Space Shuttle Columbia, dies at 54". 17 December 2018.
22. "Amos Oz, 'Israel's greatest writer,' advocate for peace, dies at 79". The Times of Israel .
23. "Zvika Levy, Israel Prize-winning 'father of lone soldiers,' dies aged 70". The Times of Israel .
24. "כדורגלן העבר שייע גלזר הלך לעולמו ביום הולדתו ה-91". 29 December 2018.