Cabinet Halts Lavi Production
August 30, 1987 On a 12-11 vote, the Israeli Cabinet decides to end production of the Lavi fighter jet, under development since 1980 by Israel Aerospace Industries and first flown as a prototype in December…
Jonathan Pollard Is Sentenced to Life in Prison
Jonathan Pollard, accused of spying for Israel, is sentenced to life in prison for espionage. He is later released in 2015.
Terrorists Capture Flyer Ron Arad
Ron Arad, the 28-year-old navigator of an Israeli F-4 Phantom II, is captured by the Shia terrorist group Amal after parachuting out of his burning aircraft over Lebanon.
Achille Lauro Is Hijacked
Members of the Palestinian Liberation Front hijack the cruise ship Achille Lauro off the coast of Egypt. The ship had departed from Genoa, Italy on October 3rd with 748 passengers on board for an 11-day cruise with planned stops in Naples, Alexandria, Port Said, and Ashdod, Israel.
TWA Flight 847 Hijacked
June 14, 1985 Two Lebanese Shiite terrorists armed with grenades and handguns hijack TWA Flight 847, a 727 traveling from Cairo to San Diego with scheduled stops in Athens, Rome, Boston and Los Angeles, shortly…
Shin Bet Arrests 15 Jewish Underground Terrorists
After a two-year investigation, the Shin Bet (The Israeli Security Force) arrests fifteen members of the Jewish Underground.
Egged Bus 300 Is Hijacked
Egged bus 300 traveling from Tel Aviv to Ashkelon is attacked by four Palestinian terrorists. They take the forty passengers hostage.
Abu Musa Declares a Palestinian Revolt Against Arafat
Palestinian militant factions unsuccessfully challenge Arafat’s control during the First Lebanon War.
Israelis Protest Sabra and Shatila Massacre
September 25, 1982 An estimated 400,000 protesters in Tel Aviv demonstrate anger at the massacre in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon and demand an investigation into Israel’s role and responsibility. Organized by…
Multinational Force Arrives in Beirut to Oversee PLO Evacuation
American, French, and Italian troops supervise the evacuation of around 15,000 PLO forces from Lebanon’s capital. Terrorists and Syrian forces leaving Beirut are one of Israel’s principal goals during the 1982 Lebanon War.
Palestinian Terrorists Attack Jewish Restaurant in Paris
Chez Jo Goldberg, a Jewish deli in Paris, is attacked by two terrorists wielding grenades and machine guns. Six people are killed and twenty-two injured. The attack is believed to have been planned and carried out by the Abu Nidal Organization, an international Palestinian terrorist group.
Yehuda Amichai Is Awarded the Israel Prize for Poetry
Renowned Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai jointly wins the 1982 Israel Prize for poetry with Amir Gilboa.
Moshe Dayan Dies at 66
Moshe Dayan, Israel’s iconic military and political leader, passes away from a heart attack in a Tel Aviv hospital at the age of 66.
Ronald Reagan Arms Saudi Arabia
President Ronald Reagan announces a plan to sell military aircraft to Saudi Arabia.
Israel Destroys Iraq’s Nuclear Reactor
June 7, 1981 Eight Israeli F-16s fly a 2,000-mile round trip to bomb Iraq’s Osirak plutonium nuclear reactor at the Tammuz I complex 10 miles south of Baghdad. The mission, Operation Opera, succeeds at destroying…
Jewish Underground Bombs Palestinian Officials
June 2, 1980 HaMakhteret HaYehudit (the Jewish Underground), a terrorist group formed by members of the Orthodox Gush Emunim movement, launches its first round of car-bomb attacks on West Bank Palestinian officials. Bassam Shakaa, the…
Yigal Allon Dies
Yigal Alon, born in 1918 in Kfar Tabor, begins his career in the Haganah. Later elected to the Knesset in 1954, he remains a parliament member until his death.
Khomeini Returns to Iran
After 15 years in exile, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Iran, two weeks after the Shah of Iran flees the country.
Munich Mastermind Assassinated
January 22, 1979 Ali Hassan Salameh, the mastermind behind the Palestinian terrorist attack on the Israeli team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, dies at a hospital about 30 minutes after a Mossad car…
Egyptian President Sadat Says Agreement with Israel Urgently Needed
Six months after his historic visit to Jerusalem, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat invites Israel’s Foreign Minister Ezer Weizmann to meet with him in Salzburg, Austria.
38 Killed in Coastal Road Massacre
A group of eleven Palestinian terrorists, who had departed from Lebanon by boat, land on a beachhead north of Tel Aviv and embark on one of the worst terrorist attacks in Israel’s history.
Prime Minister Rabin and President Carter Meet in Washington
The Carter Administration had already established that negotiating a comprehensive resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict is a foreign policy priority for its administration.
IDF Carries Out Daring Rescue of Jewish Hostages at Entebbe
Elite Israeli military forces launch a successful rescue attempt of Israeli hostages on board a hijacked Air France flight at Entebbe Airport, Uganda. PM Netanyahu’s brother, Yoni Netanyahu is killed in operation.
Ex-IDF Chief of Staff David Elazar Dies
David Elazar, who served as Chief of Staff of the IDF in the early 1970s, passes away at the age of fifty following a heart attack.
