# 2015 in Israel

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Events in the year **2015 in [Israel](/source/Israel)**.

## Incumbents

- [President](/source/President_of_Israel) – [Reuven Rivlin](/source/Reuven_Rivlin)
- [Prime Minister](/source/Prime_Minister_of_Israel) – [Benjamin Netanyahu](/source/Benjamin_Netanyahu) ([Likud](/source/Likud))
- [Government of Israel](/source/Government_of_Israel) – [Thirty-third government of Israel](/source/Thirty-third_government_of_Israel) until 14 May, [Thirty-fourth government of Israel](/source/Thirty-fourth_government_of_Israel)
- [President of the Supreme Court](/source/Supreme_Court_of_Israel) – [Asher Grunis](/source/Asher_Grunis) until 17 January, [Miriam Naor](/source/Miriam_Naor)
- [Chief of General Staff](/source/Chief_of_General_Staff_(Israel)) – [Benny Gantz](/source/Benny_Gantz) until 16 February, [Gadi Eizenkot](/source/Gadi_Eizenkot)

## Events

### January

- January 5 – [The Tower of David Kishle prison museum](/source/Tower_of_David), possibly the site of where [Jesus](/source/Jesus) is believed to [have been tried before the Sanhedrin](/source/Sanhedrin_trial_of_Jesus) before [his crucifixion](/source/Crucifixion_of_Jesus) opens to the public in the [Old City of Jerusalem](/source/Old_City_of_Jerusalem).[1]
- January 18 – It was reported that Israeli helicopters [attacked a Hezbollah's convoy](/source/January_2015_Mazraat_Amal_incident) in the Syrian-controlled part of Golan Heights, killing six prominent members of Hezbollah and six [IRGC](/source/IRGC) commanders, including a General.[2][3]
- January 21 – A [Palestinian](/source/Palestinian_people) man from the [West Bank](/source/West_Bank), Hamza Muhammad Hassan Matrouk, illegally crosses into Israel for the express purpose to stab people, [attacking over a dozen Israelis on a bus](/source/2015_Tel_Aviv_attacks) in central [Tel Aviv](/source/Tel_Aviv). Security forces captured the assailant as he continued to indiscriminately stab people in the street.[4]
- January 28 – Hezbollah [fired an anti-tank missile](/source/January_2015_Shebaa_farms_incident) at an Israeli military convoy in the [Israeli-occupied territory](/source/Israeli-occupied_territories) of [Shebaa farms](/source/Shebaa_farms) near the Lebanon border, killing two soldiers and wounding seven. In response, Israel fired at least 50 artillery shells across the border into southern Lebanon, in which a Spanish UN peacekeeper was killed.[5][6]

### February

- February 15 – Opening of the [Netivot Railway Station](/source/Netivot_Railway_Station)

### March

- March 17 – [Early elections for the twentieth Knesset](/source/2015_Israeli_legislative_election) are held. The [Likud party](/source/Likud_party), led by incumbent Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu](/source/Benjamin_Netanyahu), wins the most seats in the Knesset, winning 30 out of 120 seats.[7]
- March 30 – The Jerusalem District Court convicts former [Prime Minister of Israel](/source/Prime_Minister_of_Israel) [Ehud Olmert](/source/Ehud_Olmert) of accepting cash from an American businessman for personal use.[8]

### April

- April 16 – A car driven by a Palestinian hit two Israelis at the French Hill junction in Jerusalem in what was described as a terror attack.[9]
- April 25 - A [series of attacks](/source/April_2015_Qalamoun_incident) attributed to the Israeli Air Force were made in the Qalamoun region of Syria against Hezbollah camps and weapons convoys in two brigade bases.[10] - Four police officers were hit by a car in Jerusalem near the Mount of Olives in a suspected terror attack.[11]

### May

- 23 May – [Nadav Guedj](/source/Nadav_Guedj) represents [Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest](/source/Israel_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest_2015) with the song “[Golden Boy](/source/Golden_Boy_(Nadav_Guedj_song))”, achieving 9th place in the finals. [12]

### June

- June 12–28 – Israel sent 141 athletes and won 12 medals at the [2015 European Games](/source/Israel_at_the_2015_European_Games)
- June 19 – An Israeli civilian was shot dead by a Palestinian gunman after they stopped when the Palestinian waved down their car on a dirt road near the West Bank settlement of [Dolev](/source/Dolev). His companion was injured.[13]
- June 21 – An Israeli Border Police officer was seriously wounded after being stabbed by a Palestinian terrorist outside the Old City of Jerusalem.[14]

### July

- July 3–14– Israel sent 27 athletes to the [2015 Summer Universiade](/source/Israel_at_the_2015_Summer_Universiade)
- July 15 - The [123rd Squadron](/source/123_Squadron_(Israel)) was relocated to the [Palmachim Airbase](/source/Palmachim_Airbase).
- July 24-August 9 – Israel sent 16 athletes to the [2015 World Aquatics Championships](/source/Israel_at_the_2015_World_Aquatics_Championships)
- July 27–31 – [Israel national baseball team](/source/Israel_national_baseball_team) competed in the B-level qualifier for the [2016 European Baseball Championship](/source/Israel_at_the_European_Baseball_Championship) finishing 3rd
- July 29 – First ever game of the [Israel Premier Lacrosse League](/source/Israel_Premier_Lacrosse_League)
- July 29 – An Israeli airstrike destroys a vehicle located in a Druse village in southwestern Syria, killing Hezbollah fighters and a pro-Assad militant.[15] A second airstrike targeted a military base along the Syrian-Lebanese border belonging to a pro-Assad Palestinian faction.[16]
- July 30 – [Yishai Schlissel](/source/Yishai_Schlissel) stabbed 16-year-old Shira Banki to death, and wounded six other people at the [Jerusalem gay pride parade](/source/Jerusalem_gay_pride_parade)

### August

- August 6–15 – [Israel women's national lacrosse team](/source/Israel_women's_national_lacrosse_team) competed at the [2015 Women's Lacrosse European Championship](/source/2015_Women's_Lacrosse_European_Championship), their first time competing in the tournament, and finished 4th
- August 20–21 – After four rockets hit the Golan Heights and Upper Galilee, Israel allegedly strikes Syrian territory, killing several militants.[17]
- August 22–30 – Israel sent 4 athletes to the [2015 World Championships in Athletics](/source/Israel_at_the_2015_World_Championships_in_Athletics)
- August 30 – [Israel national American football team](/source/Israel_national_American_football_team) won their first ever game, qualifying them for the [European Championship of American football](/source/European_Championship_of_American_football)

### September

- September 21 – Opening of [Turner Stadium](/source/Turner_Stadium)

### October

- October 18 – [Beersheva bus station shooting](/source/2015_Beersheba_bus_station_shooting)
- October 20–22 – the [37th World Zionist Congress](/source/37th_World_Zionist_Congress) is held in Jerusalem[18]
- October 31 – Israeli aircraft attacked numerous Hezbollah targets in southern Syria, close to the border with Lebanon in the Qalamoun Mountains region. Estimated targets included a weapons convoy destined for Hezbollah.[19]

### November

- November 11 – Israeli airstrike near Damascus airport that targeted Hezbollah weapons warehouses.[20][21]
- November 19 – [Tel Aviv synagogue stabbing](/source/2015_Tel_Aviv_synagogue_stabbing)
- November 23 – Israeli airstrike in the Qualamoun region killed 13 Syrian troops and Hezbollah fighters.[22]
- November 28 – Israeli airstrike around Qalamoun, causing dead and wounded among Hezbollah fighters.[23]

### December

- December 20 – Explosion in [Jaramana](/source/Jaramana) attributed to the Israeli Air Force that killed Hezbollah commander and convicted murderer [Samir Kuntar](/source/Samir_Kuntar).[24]
- December 26 – Alleged Israeli airstrike against seven Hezbollah positions in the Qalamoun Mountains area.[25]
- December 31 – Opening of the [Ofakim Railway Station](/source/Ofakim_Railway_Station)

## Deaths

- January 13 – [Hillel Zaks](/source/Hillel_Zaks), Polish-born Israeli rabbi (born 1931)
- January 14 – [Mordechai Shmuel Ashkenazi](/source/Mordechai_Shmuel_Ashkenazi), rabbi (born 1943)
- January 16 – [Miriam Akavia](/source/Miriam_Akavia), Polish-born Israeli writer and translator (born 1927)
- January 27 – [David Landau](/source/David_Landau_(journalist)), editor-in-chief of *[Haaretz](/source/Haaretz)* (born 1947)
- January 29 – [Israel Yinon](/source/Israel_Yinon), conductor (born 1956)
- February 6 – [Eliezer Shlomo Schick](/source/Eliezer_Shlomo_Schick), rabbi (born 1940)
- February 9 – [Roman Frister](/source/Roman_Frister), newspaper editor and Holocaust survivor (born 1928)
- February 16 – [Uri Orbach](/source/Uri_Orbach), politician and government minister (born 1960)
- February 23 – [Haim Corfu](/source/Haim_Corfu), politician and government minister (born 1921)
- February 27 – [Nadia Hilou](/source/Nadia_Hilou), politician (born 1953)
- March 11 – [Janice Rebibo](/source/Janice_Rebibo), American-born Israeli poet (born 1950)
- March 13 – [Lia van Leer](/source/Lia_van_Leer), Romanian-born Israeli film programming pioneer (born 1924)
- March 24 – [Yehuda Avner](/source/Yehuda_Avner), prime ministerial advisor, diplomat, and author (born 1928)
- April 3 – [Shmuel Wosner](/source/Shmuel_Wosner), rabbi (born 1913)
- April 14 – [Meir Rosenne](/source/Meir_Rosenne), lawyer and diplomat (born 1931)
- April 12 – [Aharon Lichtenstein](/source/Aharon_Lichtenstein), rabbi (born 1933)
- May 7 – [Arieh Elias](/source/Arieh_Elias), actor (born 1921)
- May 8 – [Menashe Kadishman](/source/Menashe_Kadishman), sculptor and painter (born 1932)
- May 16 – [Moshe Levinger](/source/Moshe_Levinger), rabbi (born 1935)
- May 19 – [Robert S. Wistrich](/source/Robert_S._Wistrich), historian (born 1945)
- June 3 – [Avi Beker](/source/Avi_Beker), writer, statesman, and academic (born 1951)
- June 5 – [Eshel Ben-Jacob](/source/Eshel_Ben-Jacob), physicist (born 1952)
- June 8 – [David Rotem](/source/David_Rotem), politician (born 1949)
- June 12 – [Shoshana Arbeli-Almozlino](/source/Shoshana_Arbeli-Almozlino), politician and government minister (born 1926)
- June 27 – [Zvi Elpeleg](/source/Zvi_Elpeleg), Polish-born Israeli academic and diplomat (born 1926)
- July 1 – [Shlomo Moussaieff](/source/Shlomo_Moussaieff_(businessman)), diamond merchant and antique collector (born 1925)
- July 8 – [Yoash Tzidon](/source/Yoash_Tzidon), politician (born 1926)
- August 6 – [Orna Porat](/source/Orna_Porat), German-born Israeli actress (born 1924)
- August 13 – [Shlomo Smiltiner](/source/Shlomo_Smiltiner), chess player (born 1915)
- August 16 – [Jacob Bekenstein](/source/Jacob_Bekenstein), Mexican-born Israeli-American theoretical physicist (born 1947)
- September 25 – [Moti Kirschenbaum](/source/Moti_Kirschenbaum), TV show host (born 1939)
- November 6 – [Yitzhak Navon](/source/Yitzhak_Navon), diplomat and politician, former President of Israel (born 1921)
- December 4 – [Yossi Sarid](/source/Yossi_Sarid), politician and news commentator (born 1940)
- December 15 – [Harry Zvi Tabor](/source/Harry_Zvi_Tabor), British-born Israeli Physicist (born 1917)

## See also

- [Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2015](/source/Timeline_of_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict_in_2015)

## References

1. ["Possible Site Of Trial Of Jesus Uncovered By Archaeologists"](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/05/jesus-trial-jerusalem-_n_6418582.html?cps=gravity_2677_-5231061724809062833). *[HuffPost](/source/HuffPost)*. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

1. ["Region on edge after Israel's deadly strike"](http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Jan-19/284555-region-on-edge-after-israels-deadly-strike.ashx). *Daily Star*. 2015-01-19.

1. ["Report: Six Iranians killed in Israeli strike in Syria, including Revolutionary Guards general"](https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Report-Six-Iranians-killed-in-Israeli-strike-in-Syria-including-Revolutionary-Guards-general-388210). *Jerusalem Post*. 2015-01-19.

1. ["Stabbing on Tel Aviv Bus Breaks a Fragile Calm"](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/world/middleeast/middle-east-violence.html). *The New York Times*. 21 January 2015.

1. ["Two Israeli Soldiers Killed in Attack Claimed by Lebanon's Hezbollah"](https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-strikes-syrian-army-artillery-posts-1422433830). *The Wall Street Journal*. 28 January 2015.

1. ["Two Israeli soldiers killed in Hezbollah missile attack"](http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/01/israeli-soldiers-injured-shebaa-farms-missile-attack-150128100642659.html). *Al Jazeera*. 28 January 2015.

1. ["Netanyahu Soundly Defeats Chief Rival in Israeli Elections"](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/world/middleeast/israel-election-netanyahu-herzog.html?_r=0). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.

1. ["Ehud Olmert convicted in Talansky case retrial"](http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4642310,00.html). 30 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.

1. ["Motorist hits pedestrians at Jerusalem bus stop; 1 dead, another injured"](https://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/16/world/jerusalem-suspected-terror-attack/). *CNN*

1. ["Israel reportedly hits Hezbollah, Assad targets in Syria"](http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-reportedly-hits-hezbollah-assad-targets-in-syria/). *The Times of Israel*

1. ["Four police officers wounded in Jerusalem terror attack"](http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4650502,00.html). *Ynet*

1. ["Sweden rocks Eurovision as Israel places ninth"](http://www.timesofisrael.com/sweden-rocks-eurovision-as-israel-places-ninth/). *The Times of Israel*. 2015-05-23.

1. Raanan Ben Tzur, Yoav Zitun, Itay Blumenthal, ['Israeli killed in West Bank terror attack,'](http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4670391,00.html) [Ynet](/source/Ynet) 19 June 2015.

1. [Terror attack: Border Police officer stabbed, critically hurt in Jerusalem](https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Stabbing-at-Jerusalems-Damascus-Gate-outside-Old-City-406658) *[The Jerusalem Post](/source/The_Jerusalem_Post)* 21 June 2015.

1. ["Report: IAF strike in Syria targeted Hezbollah members and fighters under Lebanese terrorist Kuntar"](https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Report-IAF-strike-in-Syria-targeted-Hezbollah-members-and-fighters-under-Lebanese-terrorist-Kuntar-410490). *Jerusalem Post*

1. ["Second reported IAF strike: Damascus says Israel strikes pro-Syrian Palestinian militia"](https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Second-reported-IAF-strike-Damascus-says-Israel-strikes-pro-Syrian-Palestinian-militia-410523). *Jerusalem Post*

1. ["IAF strikes in Syria, kills rocket launchers"](http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4693080,00.html). *Ynet News*

1. ["At World Zionist Congress, Reform stakes its claim in Israel's future"](https://www.timesofisrael.com/at-world-zionist-congress-reform-stakes-its-claim-in-israels-future/). *The Times of Israel*. 21 October 2015.

1. ["Report: Israeli Air Force attacked Hezbollah targets in Syria"](https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Report-Israeli-Air-Force-attacked-Hezbollah-targets-in-Syria-430616). *Jerusalem Post*

1. ["'Hezbollah weapons warehouses were the target of Wednesday's Israeli airstrikes in Syria'"](https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Hezbollah-weapons-warehouses-were-the-target-of-Wednesdays-Israeli-airstrikes-in-Syria-432840). *Jerusalem Post*

1. ["Syrian media reports Israeli airstrike near Damascus airport"](https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Syrian-media-reports-Israeli-airstrike-near-Damascus-airport-432733). *Jerusalem Post*

1. ["Syrian opposition: IAF struck Hezbollah, regime targets near Syria-Lebanon border"](https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Syrian-opposition-claims-IAF-struck-targets-in-country-on-Monday-435233). *Jerusalem Post*

1. ["Report: Israel Air Force strikes targets in Syria near Lebanese border"](https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Report-Israel-Air-Force-strikes-targets-in-Syria-near-Lebanese-border-435694). *Jerusalem Post*

1. ["Hezbollah: Samir Kuntar killed in Israeli airstrike on Damascus - Middle East News"](https://web.archive.org/web/20151220061545/http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.692786). *Haaretz.com*. Archived from [the original](https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.692786) on December 20, 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-20.

1. ["Syrian media: Israel hits Hezbollah targets in Qalamoun area"](http://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-media-israel-hits-hezbollah-targets-in-qalamoun-area/). *Times of Israel*. December 26, 2015.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [2015 in Israel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_in_Israel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_in_Israel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.