1959 in Israel

Incumbents

• Prime Minister of Israel – David Ben-Gurion
• President of Israel – Yitzhak Ben-Zvi
• Chief of General Staff - Haim Laskov
• Government of Israel - 8th Government of Israel until 17 December, 9th Government of Israel

  Events

• 8 January – Four Egyptian MiG-17 jets penetrated Israeli airspace near Beersheba before being driven off by Israeli fighters.
• 1 April – The "Night of the Ducks" scandal: A surprise Israeli military exercise to test the mobilization of the IDF's reserves causes panic throughout Israel and puts the armies of the neighboring Arab states on high alert.
• 7 April – Israel created the first Holocaust Memorial Day by vote of the Knesset in Tel Aviv, to be observed on the 27th day of Nisan, which fell on 5 May in 1959. If the 27th falls on a Friday, the observation is held on the 26th.
• 5 July – David Ben-Gurion resigned as Prime Minister of Israel and new elections were called for the Knesset.
• 9 July – The Wadi Salib riots begin in Haifa.
• 10 July – A memorial for Frank Foley was dedicated in Harel, Israel, in the form of a forest planted in the desert. As a passport control officer at Britain's embassy in Nazi Germany, Foley flouted strict rules in order to help as many as 10,000 German Jews to leave the country.
• 6 October – The Carmelit, Haifa's underground funicular railway, is opened.
• 3 November – Mapai leader David Ben-Gurion wins the fourth Israeli legislative elections, capturing 47 of the 120 seats, but still 13 short of a majority.
• 4 November – Six Israeli jets and four Egyptian MiG-17s clashed in a dogfight near the border between the two nations. All planes reportedly returned safely and the battle did not lead to further action.
• 17 December – David Ben-Gurion presents his cabinet for a Knesset "Vote of Confidence". The 9th Government is approved that day and the members were sworn in.

  Israeli–Palestinian conflict

• 1 February - Three Israeli civilians are killed by a terrorist landmine near moshav Zavdiel.
• 15 April - An Israeli guard is killed at kibbutz Ramat Rachel.
• 27 April - Two Israeli hikers are shot at close range and killed near Masada.
• 3 October - A shepherd from kibbutz Heftziba is killed near kibbutz Yad Hana.

Notable births

• 9 April – Hanny Nahmias, Israeli actress and entertainer.

  Notable deaths

• 28 January – Yosef Sprinzak, Russian-born leading Zionist activist, an Israeli politician and the first Speaker of the Knesset.
• 20 February – Zalman Shneur, Russian -born Israeli poet and writer
• 25 February – Yehudah Arazi, Russian -born leading Haganah commander.
• 25 February – Eliyahu Berligne, Russian-born early Zionist leader and a founder of Tel Aviv.
• 26 February – Selig Suskin, Russian-born Israeli agronomist and early Zionist.
• 6 April – Leo Aryeh Mayer, Austro-Hungarian -born Israeli scholar of Islamic art and rector of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
• 25 July – Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, Russian -born Chief Rabbi of Ireland, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of the British Mandate of Palestine and of Israel.
• 13 September – Israel Rokach, Israeli politician, Knesset member, and mayor of Tel Aviv.
• Full date unknown – Shimon Fritz Bodenheimer - German-born Israeli biologist and zoologist.

  Major public holidays