2022 in Israel

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See also:	Other events of 2022 History of Israel • Timeline • Years

Events in the year 2022 in Israel.

Incumbents

• President of Israel – Isaac Herzog
• Prime Minister of Israel – Naftali Bennett
• President of the Supreme Court – Esther Hayut
• Chief of General Staff – Aviv Kochavi
• Government of Israel – Thirty-sixth government of Israel

Events

January

30 January: President Herzog meets the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during his official visit to the United Arab Emirates.

• 1 January – Two rockets fired from Gaza explode off the coast, one close to Tel Aviv and the second near Palmachim; the Israeli Air Force responds with strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza and tanks fire at Hamas military posts near Gaza’s border with Israel.
• 2 January – The first stage in a reform of Israel’s kosher certification system comes into effect, allowing food retailers and manufacturers to select any religious council in the country to provide them with kashrut supervision, rather than only their local council.
• 3 January – Two Israel Air Force pilots are killed when a Eurocopter AS565 Panther helicopter crashes during a training exercise off the coast near Haifa, while a third crew member survives with moderate injuries.
• 5 January – President Isaac Herzog and First Lady, Michal Herzog, receive their fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as a second booster dose vaccination campaign begins in Israel.
• 9 January – Israel mostly reopens its borders, closed to tourists since November, and abolishes its “red list” of restricted travel countries, as coronavirus rates rise to record-high levels due to the Omicron variant, making the impact of travel bans negligible.
• 13 January – Several days of clashes in the Negev Desert between Bedouin protesters and the police triggered by a forestation project leads to a coalition crisis and the government advancing a comprehensive plan to formalize the status of some unrecognized Bedouin settlements as permanent villages.
• 20 January – The United Nations General Assembly approves by consensus a resolution co-sponsored by Israel and other countries to combat Holocaust denial, on the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference at which Nazi leaders decided on the “final solution to the Jewish question” for the systematic annihilation of European Jewry.
• 20 January – the Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit, opens an investigation into claims that the Israel Police used NSO spyware on Israeli’s cellphones.
• 23 January – Israel and the United Arab Emirates establish a multimillion-dollar joint research and development fund to support private sector collaboration and investment in the next ten years.
• 23 January – the government decides to establish a state commission of inquiry into submarine and naval vessel purchases from German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp for $2 billion that occurred under the government of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for possible corruption and bribery.
• 24 January – An earthquake registering slightly more than 4.1 on the Richter scale centered northeast of Beit She'an, south of the Sea of Galilee, is felt throughout the country; no injuries or damage are reported.
• 30 January – President Herzog makes the first official visit of an Israeli president to the United Arab Emirates, meets with Emirati government and business leaders, and members of the Jewish community, and opens an Israel national day at Expo 2020 in Dubai.

February

17 February: Isaac Herzog awards the State Basketball Cup to the 2021–22 season winner, Bnei Herzliya.

26 February: Protest rally in Tel Aviv against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

• 1 February – Former minister and leader of the Shas Party, Aryeh Deri, is sentenced to a 12-month suspended prison term along with NIS 180,000 fine in a plea deal for tax offences.
• 2 February – Defense Minister Benny Gantz visits Bahrain in his first official visit to sign security agreements as the two nations further bolster their ties, and meets top Bahraini officials, including King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
• 4 to 20 February – Six athletes represent Israel at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, in Figure Skating, Short Track Speed Skating and Alpine Skiing.
• 15 February – Prime Minister Bennett meets with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, senior government officials, businesspeople, and representatives of local Bahraini Jewish community, during the first visit to Bahrain by an Israeli premier, to discuss the development of trade, technology and innovation, and defense ties.
• 16 February – The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, leads a congressional delegation on a visit to Israel and reaffirms the United States' "ironclad" guarantee of Israel’s security in the face of threats from Iran posed by its nuclear program and support for terrorist organizations.
• 16 February – The Israel Innovation Authority and the Defense Ministry allocate some $62 million to develop the infrastructure for quantum computational ability and ultimately, a quantum computer.
• 17 February – Bnei Herzliya win the State Basketball Cup in the final match against Hapoel Tel Aviv with a score of 87-82.
• 24 February – Foreign Minister Yair Lapid condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine as “a grave violation of the international order” and offers humanitarian assistance to the citizens of Ukraine.
• 25 February – 40,000 runners participate in the Tel Aviv Marathon; Vincent Kipsang Rono of Kenya and Bikaya Mantamar of Israel are the men’s and women’s winners, respectively.
• 26 February – Thousands of Israelis rally in Tel Aviv to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to demand that the Israeli government take stronger measures in support of Ukraine.

March

• 1 March – The government relaxes almost all health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic; only the rules regarding face masks in indoor public spaces, 'Green Pass' to enter old age homes, and PCR tests upon arrival for Israelis returning from abroad remain in place.
• 2 March – The newly elected Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, makes his first official visit to Israel.
• 5 March – Prime Minister Bennett flies to Moscow on Shabbat to meet with President Vladimir Putin regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine; Bennet also speaks by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before and after the meeting, and flies to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz before returning to Israel.
• 9 March – President Herzog meets with the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara, in what is perceived to be a renewal of relations between Israel and Turkey, which have been practically frozen since 2010.
• 11 March – Sheina Vaspi represents Israel at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Alpine Skiing; she is the first Israeli athlete ever to compete at the Winter Paralympic Games.

Predicted and scheduled events

• 25 March – The Jerusalem Marathon will take place.
• May – Michael Ben David will represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy.
• May – The football final of the 2021–22 Israeli Premier League will take place.
• 5 May – The International Bible Contest will take place in Jerusalem on Independence Day.
• 29 June – Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, will receive the Genesis Prize from President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem.
• 12 to 26 July – The 21st Maccabiah Games will be held with over 10,000 athletes from Israel and Jewish communities throughout the world competing in 47 sports.
• 14 to 17 July – The 2022 European Athletics U18 Championships will take place in Jerusalem at the Hebrew University Stadium.
• 9 December – The Tiberias Marathon will take place.

Deaths

• 1 January – Chanan Rapaport (b. 1928), clinical psychologist, professor of Psychology, director of the Henrietta Szold Institute, social issues advisor to Prime Ministers Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin.
• 2 January – Yitzhak Kaul (b. 1945), Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Communications (1976–1986), businessman, CEO of Israel Postal Authority (1986–1990), Bezeq (1990–1997), and Clal investment company (1997–2000).
• 2 January – Suzanne Singer (b. 1935), contributor and editor of Moment magazine and the Biblical Archaeology Review, director of the Alex Singer Project.
• 3 January – Mordechai Ben-Porat (b. 1923), organizer of Operation Ezra and Nehemiah rescue of Iraqi Jews, Member of Knesset 1965–1977 and 1981–1984, Minister without Portfolio 1982–1984, and recipient of the Israel Prize in 2001.
• 6 January – Yoram Taharlev (b. 1938), prolific songwriter, poet and author.
• 10 January – Aura Herzog (b. 1924), First Lady of Israel (1983–1993) during the presidency of her husband Chaim Herzog, mother of the current president, Isaac Herzog, social and environmental activist, and founder of the Council for a Beautiful Israel.
• 12 January – Meier Schwarz (b. 1926), plant physiologist, lecturer and academic, head of the Hydroponics department at the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research in Beer Sheva.
• 16 January – Tova Berlinski (b. 1915), artist, notably of the Holocaust and her hometown Oświęcim, Poland, recipient of the Jerusalem Prize (1963) and the Mordechai Ish-Shalom Award (2000).
• 18 January – Eliezer Schweid (b. 1929), philosopher, scholar, writer and professor of Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and Israel Prize recipient (1994).
• 19 January – Yevgeny Aryeh (b. 1947), playwright, theater director, and founder of the Gesher Theater in Jaffa.
• 21 January – Haim Shahal (b. 1922), naval engineer, member of the Palmach and the Israel Defense Forces, recipient of the Israel Prize (1973).
• 24 January – Miriam Naor (b. 1947), District and Supreme Court judge, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (2015 – 2017).
• 25 January – Mark Tseitlin (b. 1943), chess International Master (1978) and Grandmaster (1997).
• 26 January – David Bannett (b. 1921), electronics engineer, radar technologies pioneer, inventor of the Shabbat elevator, lecturer in electronics at Bar Ilan University and the Jerusalem College of Technology.
• 31 January – Esther Pollard (b. 1953), wife of former spy Jonathan Pollard.
• 10 February – Daniel Sasson (b. 1994), power forward player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League 2018–2021.
• 13 February – Emanuel Marx (b. 1927), social anthropologist, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel Aviv University and recipient of the Israel Prize (1998).
• 13 February – Julia Wiener (b. 1935), writer, poet and translator into Russian.
• 15 February – Nachman Wolf (b. 1951), world champion discus thrower, shot put and javelin medalist for Israel at the Paralympics (1984 and 1988).
• 18 February – Gabriel Bach (b. 1927), State Attorney, one of the prosecutors in the Eichmann trial, jurist, Supreme Court Justice (1982–1997).
• 21 February – Nava Arad (b. 1938), Alignment and Labor Party politician, Member of Knesset (1981–1992, 1995–1996).
• 23 February – Yoel Marcus (b. 1932), journalist and political commentator, Sokolov Prize recipient (2017).
• 1 March – Amnon Shamosh (1929), non-fiction author and poet, recipient of the President's Prize for Literature in 2001.
• 2 March – Yosef Carmon (b. 1933), film actor, and actor and director at the Cameri Theater for over 50 years.
• 7 March – Avraham Hirschson (b. 1941), Likud and Kadima Member of Knesset, Minister of Tourism, Communications and Finance; director general of the Treasury, convicted of embezzlement (2009).
• 12 March – Eliezer Goldberg (b. 1931), jurist, Supreme Court Justice (1983–1998) and state comptroller (1998–2005).
• 12 March – Henry Herscovici (b. 1927), Israeli sports shooter at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics, the Asian Games (1966, 1970, and 1974) and the Maccabiah Games (1965, 1969).

See also

• COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
• Israel at the 2022 Winter Olympics